RESOLUTION NO. ______, 2004

A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF HIGHLAND, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, SUPPORTING A TWO-LANE ALTERNATIVE FOR PA ROUTE 41 (GAP-NEWPORT PIKE)

Whereas PA Route 41 is a roadway in Chester and Lancaster Counties connecting central Pennsylvania and Delaware communities, and is currently plagued with safety problems resulting in an unusually high level of fatalities attributed to high speeds and unsafe vehicles;

Whereas the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is considering expansion of the southernmost 9.5 miles to up to six lanes with construction of high-speed, limited access bypasses around the village of Chatham and the Borough of Avondale to accommodate projected future traffic congestion;

Whereas this proposed expansion of Route 41 can be expected to create between 40% and 60% excess vehicle carrying capacity which will trigger direct and indirect impacts, inducing additional traffic, speed, and growth, accelerating sprawling land development, and degrading the quality of air, water, and land throughout this mostly rural region;

Whereas the community surrounding Route 41 in southern Chester County and in Lancaster County is a mostly rural area recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the American Farmland Trust and others as having some of the richest soils in the world, supporting one of the county's most important and largest industries, agriculture;

Whereas the American Farmland Trust states Chester, Lancaster, and five other Pennsylvania counties are the second most threatened agricultural region in the United States;

Whereas the community around Route 41 has been the focus of intensive efforts by private land trusts such as the Brandywine Conservancy to protect open space through donation of conservation easements, reinforced by state and county agricultural easement purchases, all of which now represents thousands of acres involving millions of dollars;

Whereas Chester County's nationally award-winning comprehensive plan, Landscapes, designates that the Route 41 corridor remain "Rural" with "Rural Centers" in future growth plans, and that "the development of new highways which stimulate development in the Rural and Natural Landscapes areas be discouraged;"

Whereas in an effort to protect the outstanding values that characterize the Route 41 community, a comprehensive two-lane traffic calmed plan has been proposed for the entire 22.219 mile roadway to vastly improve safety, congestion and infrastructure needs of the roadway while minimizing direct and indirect environmental impact;

Whereas, the two-lane alternative epitomizes Context Sensitive Design and takes advantage of flexibility allowed by the Federal Highway Administration in balancing the transportation needs of the roadway with protecting historic resources and the environment and tailoring a project to the desires of the community, namely, not to build excess capacity into a roadway and catalyze sprawl and loss of open space;

Therefore let it be resolved that Highland Township joins others in stating its preference for the two-lane alternative that has been proposed due to its comprehensive and sustainable nature, superior safety improvements, the reduced financial costs, and the minimal environmental disturbance.

Resolved and enacted the _____ day of ____________________, 2004 by:

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