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Parkway, not bypass, for 202
Because of the cost and community opposition, PennDot is offering a $200 million compromise.

HARRISBURG — Citing cost and community opposition, PennDot officials said yesterday that they have scrapped a controversial plan to build a four-lane high-speed bypass to Route 202, proposing instead a scenic two-lane parkway to ease traffic congestion in central Bucks and Montgomery Counties.

The $200 million plan calls for the parkway on nine miles of state-owned right-of-way between Doylestown and Montgomeryville, Montgomery Township, that was first identified for an "outer ring" bypass in the 1960s.

The road project has been the subject of a decades-long battle between environmentalists and motorists, who have endured increasingly longer backups on Route 202.

Voicing the opinion of a number of local leaders, State Rep. Eugene McGill (R., Montgomery), who has strongly supported an expressway, said, "This is a heck of a compromise that has tremendous potential."

Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler said the parkway plan was a "recipe" for breaking up traffic congestion that would cost half the price of an expressway and accommodate twice as many vehicles as the existing Route 202.

"Some groups were urging us to consider lower-scale improvements; others were rooting us on to build a freeway," Biehler said at a news conference. "We asked our consultants to look at the corridor, and came up with a concept to address congestion and fit with the fabric of the community. We believe this is such a concept."

The parkway would be built at grade level; have 12 intersections between Route 63 and Lower State Road controlled by signals or roundabouts — similar in some ways to traffic circles — and limit speeds to no more than 40 miles an hour. It would feature an adjacent multi-use trail for hikers and bikers.

The raised expressway would have had three exits and allowed speeds of 60 miles per hour, and required sound barriers for neighboring communities.

Biehler said the next step for the new proposal would be for municipalities to discuss it. He wouldn't give a timetable, but said that, once it was approved, it could take four years to complete.

Officials said such a parkway would cost $161 million. An additional $40 million would be used for improvements to intersections on Route 202.

The 202 expressway was expected to cost $383 million. PennDot had already spent $82 million on planning and land acquisition for the new roadway.

The proposal received instant kudos from county and township officials who attended a briefing before the news conference.

"It gets a lot of credit for being innovative," said David Sanko, Bucks County's managing director. It would relieve traffic on 202 and "preserve the bucolic nature of the county."

Municipalities that fought the earlier highway proposal in court said they liked the parkway plan.

"It's a big win for the community," said Bob Sugarman, solicitor for Buckingham and Tinicum Townships, both of which have opposed a freeway.

Henry Rowan, chairman of the Buckingham Township Board of Supervisors, said, "It's the first solution proposed that is based on engineering, not politics."

But Rowan said some Buckingham supervisors were worried that a parkway, which is intended to be a more scenic thoroughfare lined by trees and grass, might lead to a freeway in the future.

State Rep. Katharine Watson (R., Bucks), a proponent of the bypass, called the compromise palatable because it would use land already acquired and create a "linear park" of grass and trees.

The parkway proposal, unveiled after 10 months of study, represents a novel approach to road-building in the state. Biehler said he believed that Bayfront Parkway in Erie was the only other parkway in Pennsylvania.

Biehler said he would prepare an outline of steps needed to complete the project to present to municipalities. He said that, although an environmental review likely would be needed, he felt confident the proposal would meet regulatory requirements.

Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com.