FOCUS AREAS
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
DRAFT
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“Active Transportation” refers to any non-motorized self-propelled, human-powered modes of transportation including walking, bicycling, wheelchairs/mobility devices, skateboarding, scootering, and more. Active transportation engages people in healthy physical activity and is a sustainable method of getting from place to place in every community. Benefits of active transportation include the following:
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Health: Promotes physical and mental well-being
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Economic: Increases property values and lowers transportation costs, medical expenses, and maintenance needs on roadways
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Environmental: Reduces air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, noise, and water pollution
QUICK LINKS
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Neighborhood Connectivity: Improves safety and promotes fairness and inclusivity by allowing residents to access daily needs and services without the financial burden of vehicle ownership
CONDITIONS
HATS REGIONAL ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN —
In April 2025, HATS adopted an Active Transportation Plan for the region, which empowers residents, employees, and visitors of the Tri-County Region to utilize non-motorized transportation modes to safely travel to, through, and beyond the communities in Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry Counties. The ATP serves as a guidance and vision document for the region’s 3 counties and 103 municipalities. The ATP does not supersede or replace local plans but focuses on large regionally-impactful investments typically requiring federal transportation funds and/or coordination between multiple municipalities, counties and stakeholders. Through an outreach process that engaged the region’s public, municipalities, and stakeholders, the following vision for the ATP was established:
This Active Transportation Plan will identify, and continually update, a network of existing and proposed cycling and pedestrian routes (aka The Regional Backbone) connecting people with places to live, work, shop, and play, while facilitating needed coordination, education, and engagement with partners and stakeholders to promote a culture of active transportation in the Tri-County Region.
EXISTING ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES —
The region’s existing active transportation system consists of sidewalks, trails, mixed-use paths, on-street bike lanes, and roads marked for shared use. Many of the urban centers, boroughs, and residential areas are well connected internally by sidewalks, but a lack of interconnected regional active transportation facilities along major transportation corridors limits connectivity to other places and, therefore, active transportation opportunities for area residents.
Major active transportation facilities in the region include the Capital Area Greenbelt, Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, and Jonathan Eshenour Memorial Trail. There are also major designated bicycle/pedestrian routes in the region, which include BicyclePA Route J, 9/11 National Memorial Trail, and US Bicycle Route 11. The interactive Existing Active Transportation Facilities map is available here.
BICYCLE LEVEL OF STRESS —
Bicycle Level of Stress (BLOS) broadly assesses the relative comfort level experienced by a cyclist, with 1 being considered low stress (typically associated with dedicated, physically separated or buffered bicycle facilities) and 4 being considered high stress (typically associated with high-volume, high-speed corridors with limited shoulders). This analysis uses data from the PennDOT RMS system. The evaluation methodology matrix for this analysis is available here. The interactive Bicycle Level of Stress map is available here.
BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN DEMAND —
To broadly estimate demand for active transportation across the region, parcel-level land use data was used to identify properties that were likely to be generators of non-motorized trips. These uses included retail commercial establishments, schools, neighborhood parks, libraries, government offices, employment centers, hospitals, medical facilities and transit nodes. Once identified, “walkability” buffers were applied to each of these properties and an overlay analysis was performed, with areas having more overlapping buffers being considered to have a higher bicycle and pedestrian demand. The interactive Bicycle and Pedestrian Demand map is available here.
PLAIN SECT CORRIDORS —
Outreach to the region’s Amish, Mennonite, and other Plain Sect communities is part of HATS ongoing public and stakeholder engagement. Through these discussions, general areas of concentration and specific corridors of high-volume Plain Sect travel have been identified. Within these areas, and especially along these corridors, any roadway or bridge improvement project should be evaluated for expansion of shoulders and/or inclusion of horse-and-buggy/bicycle-friendly safety improvements. The interactive Plain Sect Corridors map is available here.
REGIONAL BACKBONE & PRIORITIES —
The Regional Backbone represents the cumulation of extensive outreach, analysis, and planning efforts undertaken for the HATS Regional Active Transportation Plan. While the identified routes highlight the most critical connections along the most likely roads and pathways, additional planning may uncover alternative options that achieve similar connections, even as temporary solutions until permanent facilities can be established.
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Existing Facilities: Major regional non-motorized transportation facilities including multi-use trails, biking/walking paths, bicycle lanes, etc.
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Under Development: Non-motorized transportation facilities actively progressing toward construction or currently in project development, including design or construction
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Proposed On-road: Important non-motorized routes along existing roads or streets where on-road facilities are most likely improvements due to limited alternatives or opportunities for off-road trails or multi-use paths
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Proposed Off-road: Important non-motorized connections along routes with opportunities for off-road trails or multi-use paths or where lack of existing roads or streets provide limited options for on-road facilities
The HATS Regional Active Transportation also identified Short- and Long-Term Priorities within the Regional Backbone. Short-Term Priorities are projects and connections for which planning work has been undertaken and construction is feasible within a short- to mid-term timeframe. Long-Term Priorities are connections and routes identified or designated but would require planning and/or feasibility work before a construction project could be developed.
To view the Regional Backbone, click here for the interactive mapping application.
ISSUES
CONNECTIVITY ALONG MAJOR ROUTES —
Many of the urban centers, boroughs, and residential areas are well connected internally by sidewalks, but a lack of interconnected regional active transportation facilities along major transportation corridors limits connectivity. This limits the ability of the region’s residents and visitors to fulfill daily needs using active transportation, even in areas of high demand. Because these areas are highly developed, opportunities for dedicated active transportation facilities typically involve many different stakeholders/property owners, are constrained by physical barriers and other infrastructure, and require investments beyond the capacity of the local municipality. As the MPO, HATS is uniquely situated to be the conduit to coordinating, planning, and ultimately programming funding for these regionally significant projects, particularly those identified as part of the Regional Backbone in the HATS Regional Active Transportation Plan.
MULTIMODAL ACCOMMODATIONS IN ALL PROJECTS —
Too often, the things we design and build make it harder for our region’s residents to walk and bike. All projects - housing or commercial land developments, public facilities like schools and parks, and transportation projects like road and bridge improvements – need to include accommodations for safe, convenient, easy access for people who walk, bike, use mobility devices, and take public transit. When paired with or complimentary to larger investments and projects, these incremental improvements can fill small but critical gaps in our regional active transportation network.
By taking a comprehensive approach and designing or building for users of all modes of transportation, our region’s residents can access their daily needs regardless of where they live and how they get around.
ADMINISTRATION, COORDINATION, AND OUTREACH —
Improving the region’s active transportation facilities requires cooperation and coordination between HATS staff and a variety of regional partners, including state agencies, counties, municipalities, social service organizations and bikes/ped advocacy groups. While HATS Regional Active Transportation Plan will provide broad policies and identify the important connections between communities, local planning efforts will still need to be completed and implemented to provide secondary routes or additional connections to places within those communities. Similarly, HATS funding decisions will need to be coordinated with funding and other implementation decisions made by our other regional partners. Ensuring these regional partners understand the importance of active transportation planning, encouraging planning studies to identify local goals and priorities, and providing assistance in addressing them is key to developing an active transportation network that serves the entire HATS region.
ACTIONS
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Prioritize transportation funding investments – construction and planning – on routes and facilities identified in the HATS Regional Active Transportation Plan
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Incorporate non-motorized accommodations and facilities into all transportation improvement projects throughout the region, including rural areas and along identified Plain Sect Corridors
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Engage regional partners, stakeholders, and the public in coordination, outreach, advocacy, and technical support to improve active transportation for all communities and populations
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Emphasize the importance of active transportation modes into municipal comprehensive planning, and transportation safety, congestion, or mobility planning and implementation