About 40 people attended a recent public meeting about the draft Phoenixville Region Multimodal Transportation Plan, which will focus on connectivity and accessibility to all modes of transportation in and around the Phoenixville area.

The event attendees explored posters depicting the 13 priority project recommendations for the plan. Priority projects were selected earlier this year by the project steering committee from a larger group of recommendations made by the public at a Planning Commission workshop last year.  

Planning Commission staff members were available to answer questions and receive comments on the recommendations being made in the plan during the Feb. 15 meeting, which took place at the Technical College High School – Pickering Campus. Transportation Planner Heather Martin, the project manager, also gave a presentation on the overall goals for the plan.

Nearly 84 percent of residents in this area currently commute to work by driving alone. This creates significant congestion on our local road network, and this draft plan looks at ways to diversify transportation modes in the Phoenixville region. The region encompasses five municipalities in Chester County—Charlestown, East Pikeland, Phoenixville, Schuylkill, Upper Providence, and West Vincent—and Upper Providence in neighboring Montgomery County.

This project addresses the limitations of the current conditions for walking, biking, and transit use and focuses on ways to handle key challenges, including gaps in the network, lack of connections between urban and suburban centers, and lack of access to public transportation. The draft plan identifies potential capital improvements and programming initiatives to increase the safety and efficiency of the transportation network regardless of age, ability, or mode of travel.

The final plan will be released in June. Learn more about the project.