Worsening traffic on 22 towards Murrysville (Pittsburgh, Scranton: sales, good schools, tax)

[BigPizzaHutFan]

Originally Posted by UKyank

What would a southern suburbanite know anyways

I live in the city, by choice and by the grace of God.

[tclifton]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

A friend of mine who works in State College has been having a rough time lately, so I've been hitting the road to visit her in Happy Valley on a monthly basis. I've noticed that the traffic lights along U.S. Route 22 through Murrysville are heinously out-of-synch, whether I keep my speed at the speed limit or go with the flow of traffic (usually a few miles per hour over it). This leads to more congestion, and, unsurprisingly, more road rage, as those of us just trying to pass THROUGH Murrysville, become annoyed that our already long treks are increasing due to unchecked urban sprawl.

A bypass around Murrysville is direly needed so through-traffic between Pittsburgh and points east can avoid Murrysville. This would also help commuters like the OP because we "extraneous" vehicles would be out of her/his commuting path.

If you don't mind a nice drive through the country, this is a good way to get around the worst part of Murrysville/22

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Pitt...40.7933949!3e0

[dbsteel]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

A friend of mine who works in State College has been having a rough time lately, so I've been hitting the road to visit her in Happy Valley on a monthly basis. I've noticed that the traffic lights along U.S. Route 22 through Murrysville are heinously out-of-synch, whether I keep my speed at the speed limit or go with the flow of traffic (usually a few miles per hour over it). This leads to more congestion, and, unsurprisingly, more road rage, as those of us just trying to pass THROUGH Murrysville, become annoyed that our already long treks are increasing due to unchecked urban sprawl.

A bypass around Murrysville is direly needed so through-traffic between Pittsburgh and points east can avoid Murrysville. This would also help commuters like the OP because we "extraneous" vehicles would be out of her/his commuting path.

I live in Murrysville but my commute allows me to stay out of this mess.

I think part of it is growth Eastward, and more stuff along 22.

But another part is the choppiness of the lights. I think they are trying to make you stop at every light and get people moving in packs so it doesn't back up..... but it doesn't work. So I think they always end up jacking around with the light timing.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by dbsteel

...
I think part of it is growth Eastward, and more stuff along 22.
...

Ding...Ding...Ding. We have a winner, at least in my estimation.

It is classic suburban sprawl/ road capacity expansion behavior:

Something like this:

• Rt 22 is such a mess, I don't want to drive that everyday

• Let's widen Rt 22 to deal with this nightmare

***Road Construction***

• Rt 22 is great now...look everybody

• Thousands of people have the same idea...I can now buy a bigger/ newer house for the same money, and with this great new road expansion my commute will be the same

• Return to the beginning

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Lobick

Ding...Ding...Ding. We have a winner, at least in my estimation.

It is classic suburban sprawl/ road capacity expansion behavior:

Something like this:

• Rt 22 is such a mess, I don't want to drive that everyday

• Let's widen Rt 22 to deal with this nightmare

***Road Construction***

• Rt 22 is great now...look everybody

• Thousands of people have the same idea...I can now buy a bigger/ newer house for the same money, and with this great new road expansion my commute will be the same

• Return to the beginning

Sounds like progress.

[armourereric]

Have not lived in PA for 30 years but used to make real good time from North Hills to Altoona by using PA 28 to US 422 and back then the last part of the Kittanning bypass and Indiana bypasses did not exist.

[PIT2MAD]

Originally Posted by Lobick

Ding...Ding...Ding. We have a winner, at least in my estimation.

It is classic suburban sprawl/ road capacity expansion behavior:

Something like this:

• Rt 22 is such a mess, I don't want to drive that everyday

• Let's widen Rt 22 to deal with this nightmare

***Road Construction***

• Rt 22 is great now...look everybody

• Thousands of people have the same idea...I can now buy a bigger/ newer house for the same money, and with this great new road expansion my commute will be the same

• Return to the beginning

lol everyone seems to forget that the current 22 they are all complaining about IS the bypass! It was originally built as a faster version of William Penn Highway. Then it got tol congested so several years ago they made improvements with turning lanes, timed lights, etc. Now from this thread it would appear capacity has increased to the point where this is no longer working to manage traffic. So the solution is to build a new road to attract new development where the roads are open. In another 30-40 years, they will be clamoring for a third bypass to avoid the gridlock traffic on the second bypass. Some call this "progress"

What about a rail line or an extended busway to Monroeville and Murrysville? Since new roads are only going to speed up your trip to the next chokepoint (which will even be worse because of all the new cars descending upon it), why not provide a mode of transportation that can move twice the people in half the time? That sounds like something worth investing in.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

Correct, but then why upgrade the rest of the road and leave the first 10 miles unimproved (not limited access)?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PIT2MAD

lol everyone seems to forget that the current 22 they are all complaining about IS the bypass! It was originally built as a faster version of William Penn Highway. Then it got tol congested so several years ago they made improvements with turning lanes, timed lights, etc. Now from this thread it would appear capacity has increased to the point where this is no longer working to manage traffic. So the solution is to build a new road to attract new development where the roads are open. In another 30-40 years, they will be clamoring for a third bypass to avoid the gridlock traffic on the second bypass. Some call this "progress".

Imagine if every time a parent from Pittsburgh wanted to take their child up to Erie to explore the beaches at Presque Isle or kick back and enjoy Waldameer they had to take U.S. Route 19 up through the North Hills and Cranberry Township because I-279/I-79 didn't exist. Imagine having a free-flowing ~2-hour trip each way turn into a ~3-hour trip each way, replete with stop-and-go urban sprawl-fueled traffic.

That's the way I feel whenever I have to visit my family near Scranton or want to help my friend in State College through rough patches. What should be a relaxing ~2-hour highway-like drive each way (to State College at least) has that merciless Murrysville choke point that is only worsening with each passing year and adds 20-30 minutes onto the trip going much slower than one would typically go from Delmont to Monroeville.

That's unacceptable to me. No, we don't need another sprawl-threatened artery. We need to build a LIMITED-ACCESS BYPASS around U.S. Route 22 in Murrysville so the through-traffic drivers that want nothing to do with Murrysville don't have to have their blood pressure raised by it.

[PITairport]

I generally support highway development when it makes sense, but one of the biggest wastes IMO was the construction of Toll 66 from New Stanton to Delmont. That money should have been used for a Murrysville bypass discussed here... an extension of the Parkway East to just east of Delmont. It would have been so much more successful for the Turnpike Commission.

The frustrating thing about PA is having highways where we don't need them, such as the MFE south of I-70 and Toll 66. We also have stretches of highway that are duplicate, such as I-81 and I-476 between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Another example is 119/66 and the Turnpike in the New Stanton Area. About 10 miles of highway in that area are nearly parallel and could have used the same pavement. Yet another example of this is I-79 and the Turnpike in the Cranberry area. Pittsburgh could have had its beltway with these duplicate stretches of highway.