Familiar scene: traffic on Route 422 East snakes toward Trooper PA.

SANATOGA PA – An endorsement “of the principles and strategies of the U.S. 422 Corridor Master Plan,” which so far has generated heated public comment over whether drivers should pay a fee to use the four-lane highway that crosses Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, was tabled last week (July 6, 2010) by the township Board of Commissioners because its members were unsure if backing the plan meant they also supported tolling.

Questions about the intent of its proposed resolution were raised by The Post after the board’s endorsement motion was already made and seconded, but before a vote was taken.

“I don’t know whether we’re endorsing a toll,” board Vice President Bruce Foltz admitted. His colleagues agreed, and so the motion and second were withdrawn.

“We’re in no hurry to do this,” township Manager Rodney Hawthorne added. “Let’s table it and we’ll get more information,” he said, indicating the proposal may re-appear on the agenda of the board’s July 22 (2010; Thursday) meeting.

Cover of the 422 Master Plan Summary Report.

Conducting a “traffic / toll revenue study,” to determine if imposing vehicle usage fees on U.S. Route 422 could pay for its improvement and other mass transit enhancements, is labeled as a “technique for implementation” of the far-reaching master plan. The document was introduced last year by regional and Montgomery County officials as a way to help manage traffic gridlock and control suburban sprawl.

A revenue study has not yet been released. When the master plan was presented during public sessions, however, supporters made it clear that federal and state funding, if available at all, would be insufficient for the substantial transportation changes envisioned for the corridor that stretches from King of Prussia to Reading PA. Tolling 422, they acknowledged, seems a logical option to pursue.

Currently, 422 is a toll-free road. The notion of possibly having to pay in the future for what drivers now travel for free prompted plenty of opposing, and sometimes angry, public reaction at meetings, in the media, and at websites like 422corridor.com, which promotes tolling as potentially necessary.

The resolution considered by Lower Pottsgrove concludes that, with its endorsement, the municipality “will strive to implement” the master plan’s principles and strategies. The specificity of its language might cause some to conclude that – if imposing tolls on 422 drivers becomes a revenue strategy for implementation – it already won the support of Lower Pottsgrove commissioners even if none ever said as much.

Whether that interpretation is valid, and whether it is accompanied by any political risk,  are subjects that may be considered by commissioners before they vote.

The limited-access highway has played what is seen by many as the preeminent role in opening areas northwest of Philadelphia for commercial and residential development. Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick townships, among others, have grown considerably as a result.

So, too, have their traffic-related problems. On any weekday morning or afternoon, law enforcement officials can testify, 422 often becomes a long, vehicle-packed, slow-moving train of commuter agony.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• Phoenixville Legislator Against ‘On-Off’ 422 Toll
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of July 6):

• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Cost of Fixing Parts Of 4 Streets? $46,000
• Before Demise, Limerick Homes Get Firefighters’ Farewell
• Final Words On Ringing Rocks: Okey-Dokey
• What Stinks? Unhappy Residents’ Uncollected Garbage
• Township Tax Collection Continues Up Over ’09
• Three Topics Cited In Township Exec Session
• Lower Pottsgrove Meeting Starts Early Tonight

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