New Bedford 2020 - VHB.com

A City Master Plan New Bedford 2020Vehicular TrafficTo gain an understanding of existing travel patterns and to provide a basis for areas of focus and potentialrecommendations, historical traffic data were reviewed. In this region, the Southeastern Regional Planning andEconomic Development District (SRPEDD) gathers information for the City both from in-house data collectionefforts combined with data provided by third parties. SRPEDD then publishes this information in a summaryformat on an annual basis. Not surprisingly, the busiest roadways from a volume perspective are:> Route 140—ranging between 35,000 to 53,000 daily vehicles in 2006;> Interstate-195—ranging between 42,000 and 73,000 daily vehicles in 2005/2006; and> Route 18 (JFK Highway)—ranging between 28,000 and 48,000 daily vehicles in 2005/2006.Other Modes of TransportationAirportNew Bedford Regional Airport is located near the junction of I-195 and Route 140, and is conveniently located tothe business and industrial centers of the city. In addition to local fixed route services, the Airport serves as anaerial gateway to the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard via service provided by Cape Air. 1 During thesummer season, Cape Air provides more than a dozen daily scheduled flights to the Islands and during the wintermonths approximately six scheduled flights a day. The Airport also hosts corporate jet service facilities, includingmaintenance and flight instructional classes.The Airport, which opened in 1942, consists of two 5,000-foot runways. The Airport expects to prepare a masterplan update in 2011 that will evaluate the future needs and expansion requirements to meet Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) safety requirements, anticipated growth, and plan for their implementation. Anenvironmental review will ultimately be conducted for the master plan update.Public TransitThe Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) has been in existence since 1974 and provides fixed route busservice to its member communities, which include: New Bedford, Acushnet, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, and Freetown.SRTA operates more than 28 fixed routes throughout its service area and has a Demand Response Service to meetthe needs of the disabled who require transportation that is not adequately being met by regular bus service.Pedestrians and BicyclesGiven the city’s network of streets and sidewalks, a number of opportunities exist to expand upon pedestrianlinkages between key sections of the city, such as the waterfront, Downtown, historic and recreational resources,businesses, and residential areas.FerryNew Bedford has ferry service to Martha’s Vineyard and Cuttyhunk Island leaving from the Ferry Terminal locatedon the north side of State Pier. Ferry passenger vehicle parking is provided at the Whale’s Tooth Parking Lot(located near Routes 6 and 18), which includes a free passenger ferry shuttle service between the Whale’s ToothParking Lot and State Pier.1 Refer to the Cape Air website at: www.capeair.comTransportation7-3