How could traffic along Benner Pike be improved? Officials want your feedback

The Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization recently completed a draft study that explores potential transportation improvements along the booming Benner Pike corridor, and now the group want your thoughts.

The draft Benner Pike Land Inventory and Corridor Study, which wrapped up earlier this month, examines current and future transportation needs along a 2.7‑mile segment of the Benner Pike, from the roadway’s intersection with Myrtle Street in Spring Township to its intersection with Penntech Drive in Benner Township.

Recommendations for five different themes — safety, roadway capacity, traffic operations, land use and multimodal transportation — were noted in the study. Examples include implementing a five-lane cross-section, upgrading signals, adding sidewalks and more.

Now the organization is requesting public input on the recommendations to help to refine the study before it’s officially adopted by the CCMPO, and the study concludes this later summer.

The public comment period opened Monday and will remain open through Wednesday, May 13.

“[Benner Pike] is one of the corridors that has the fastest growth in Centre County, so we’re looking at really increased traffic — as you can see there’s quite a lot of construction going on along that corridor,” said Centre County Commissioner and CCMPO Projects Committee Chair Amber Concepcion said at the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday.

She continued, “We want to make sure that everything, from the timing of traffic lights to egress and ingress onto that road, is as efficient as possible.”

Some of the developments that have contributed to the Benner Pike’s growth in recent years include the construction of Giant, McDonald’s and Chipotle in Paradise Plaza, the Rutter’s just off of Interstate 99, the Amazon delivery station in the Benner Commerce Park, the Avid/Candlewood Suites and Tru by Hillton hotels and more.

“It was like they were expecting this [growth] to happen a long, long time ago, and now it’s kind of erupting,” Commissioner Steve Dershem said.

Every recommendation in the study has been categorized through four different measures: priority (low, medium or high), estimated planning-level cost range, the agency that would lead the recommendation’s implementation and proposed timing (short, medium, long or ongoing).

Some of the high-priority recommendations found throughout the study include:

• Upgrade signal equipment ($25,000-$250,000): A short-term project that would upgrade signal equipment to provide flashing yellow arrow signals and retroreflective backplates at Benner Pike’s intersections with Amberleigh Lane and Stonecrest Drive.
• Implement access management strategies along Benner Pike ($25,000-$1 million): The consolidation of driveways where multiple access points exist, the installation of curbs to reduce access point width to current design standard if feasible. This recommendation also includes the provision of right-turn bays or wider shoulder where right-of-way exists to allow slower-moving turning vehicles to decelerate in the turn lane or shoulder.
• Implement a five-lane Benner Pike cross-section (over $5 million): Widening the Benner Pike to two through lanes each direction with a center two-way left-turn lane, providing additional dedicated turn bays at intersections to accommodate increased turning movements both along Benner Pike and on the minor street approaches and more.
• Ensure that bicycle and pedestrian accommodation is maintained and enhanced with the expanded lane configurations ($250,000-$1 million): Continuing to have marked crosswalks, accessible curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons, and appropriate signal timing to keep the corridor safe and accessible. This recommendation also includes the installation of sidewalks to provide pedestrian access and connections.
• Monitor and optimize signal operations ($25,000-$250,000): Conduct a traffic study to determine whether modifications to the coordinated signal system are warranted, consider include adding or removing signals from the coordinated system and monitor, repair or upgrade signal detection as needed to support optimized operations.
• Promote mixed-use and transit-supportive development patterns (less than $25,000): Encourage mixed-use development to shorten trip lengths, support transit use and increase the viability of walking and bicycling for trip-making through the corridor.

While there several more pages of recommendations listed in the study, none of them — other than those that are currently ongoing — would be implemented until the public comment period is over.

As part of the public comment period, the CCMPO will host two public open house sessions to share the recommendations and gather feedback directly from residents, businesses and other stakeholders. These open house sessions will be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 30 at the Benner Township Municipal Building, 1224 Buffalo Run Road.

Feedback on the recommendations can also be submitted via an online feedback survey and by emailing the Centre Region Council of Government’s Senior Transportation Planner and CCMPO member Greg Kausch at gkausch@crcog.net.

To get a physical copy of the study, visit the Centre Regional Planning Agency’s building at 2643 Gateway Drive, Suite 4, or the Centre County Planning and Community Development Office at the Willowbank Office Building, 420 Holmes St., Suite 340.

Additional information on the draft study and recommendations can be found on the official Benner Pike Corridor Study website.