Statement of Purpose and Need

Introduction

This statement of purpose and need for the NCTS Phase II study serves to (a) establish the motivation behind this study and (b) provide the criteria for evaluating the proposed alternative solutions identified later in this study. This statement will be updated and refined during the course of the study.

1.0 Study Area

Bounded on the north by Canada, on the east by Lake Champlain, on the south by the Adirondack Mountains, and the west by the St. Lawrence Seaway and Lake Ontario, the North County is both strategically located and geographically isolated. It is strategically located because of its location adjacent to the Canadian cities of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Yet while accessibility is provided at the edges of the region, trips to and through the region, regardless of transportation mode, remain largely inadequately served.

1.1 Motivation

The lack of accessibility to the region and mobility within the region, creates barriers to desired economic development and hampers the goal of a well balanced quality of life for the region's residents.

The Development Authority of the North Country has received $1.5 million in federal funds to find out what it would take to improve transportation and support economic development in the region. This North Country Transportation Study is examining the full range of transportation options for improving access to, from, and within the region, including air, highway, bridge, and bus. It is looking at the technical and financial feasibility of various improvements in different areas of the region. Environmental impacts of each option will also be considered.

1.2 Objective of this Document

This statement of purpose and need will serve to guide the analysis over the 16 month study interval and will also be refined as findings from initial tasks make clear new elements to be incorporated. As such this document should be considered a "living" statement. This document should also succinctly explain to interested stakeholders the reasons for as well as the approach to this examination.

Background for NCTS Phase II

2.0 Concern that economic development is constrained

Community leaders and development professionals throughout the region continue to express concern that economic development may be stifled by inadequate transportation access.

3.0 Study Area Needs and Goals

There is general consensus that transportation improvements are needed to improve access to and mobility within the region. The North Country Transportation Study has been undertaken to examine ways to make travel throughout the region more convenient and efficient and to sustain and support economic development. At the same time, the North Country must protect the environmental integrity of the region's greatest asset--it's bountiful green landscape--if it is to compete successfully in today's global marketplace.

The following establishes the needs and goals that will guide the identification of alternatives and criteria for evaluating them.

Goal No. 1: Improve Access to and from the Region

To provide efficient transportation linkages to border crossings, Interstates, intermodal centers, and other primary activity centers within the North Country.

Specific Needs:

• Decrease travel times to major markets, suppliers, population centers, and destinations

•  Increase reliability of road transportation & Improve highway access to/from Canada (to and over existing bridges)

• Improve highway access to/from outside business markets (Midwest, Northeast, etc.)

•  Improve highway access to/from state capital

• Regional airport

• Low-cost fast air service to/from area gateways (e.g., Syracuse, Albany, Ottawa, Montreal)

• Retain & improve rail freight to/from suppliers (South, Midwest) and markets (all directions)

• Restore passenger rail service (between Syracuse and Plattsburgh)

• Improve bus links with hubs in Syracuse and Albany

Discussion:

While Interstate Highways bound the region on the west and east (Interstate 81 and Interstate 87, respectively), inadequate highway linkages exist to these Interstates, border crossings, intermodal centers, and other major activity centers. Failure to provide highway system linkages degrades mobility and results in congestion and delay for automobiles, trucks, intercity buses, and other roadway users.

Air access is a critical issue for the region given the regions' current demand for air services and how that demand currently gets met from facilities outside the immediate market. The North Country has limited commercial aviation service. A well served market has direct access to multiple markets, provided by more than one carrier. The region is served by only one commercial carrier with service to only one external market.

Limited public transit -- both air and ground -- compound access problems in a region that struggles to serve the universities, the military, and the area's rural / disadvantaged population.

Goal No. 2: Facilitate Access within the Region

To reduce the conflicts among motorists, pedestrians, truckers, and bicyclists that would otherwise result from growth in traffic volumes.

Specific Needs:

• Improve travel time through/around village centers

• Improve highway access and decrease travel times within region to/from I-81 area

• Improve highway access and decrease travel times within region to/from I-87 area

• Improve highway access and decrease travel times within region to employment centers (Massena industries, Potsdam/Canton universities, etc.)

• Improve access to inter-modal connections (truck/rail, truck/sea)

• Improve access from regional airports to colleges in Canton and Potsdam

• Improve safety on local highways (passing, intersections, curves, shoulders)

• Improve reliability for truck shipments on local highways (passing, intersections)

• Road capacity for Fort Drum vehicles

Discussion:

Route 11, Route 37, Route 3, Route 12, and other arterials handle all highway related demand within the North Country. Highway users whether residents, tourists, truckers, buses, cyclists, and pedestrians all use the same facility despite their different travel purposes. In addition, these roadways traverse village, town, and city centers creating the potential for conflict between through trips and those serving local land uses.

Safety and Accident Reduction - To improve motorist, pedestrian, bicycle, and truck safety and to reduce roadway related hazards that contribute to accident frequency and/or severity.

Accidents create an unacceptable risk to using the North Country's transportation facilities. It is important to always strive to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents by applying appropriate planning and design standards responsive to the roadways context.

Transportation Service - To provide transportation system improvements that are capable of meeting current and projected future demand by all modes and classes of vehicles.

Congestion is usually a good indicator of inadequate capacity; yet, a non-existent transit service will have no riders, and an airport that has no air service can have no air travelers. The point is that inadequate facilities or service whether highway, public transit, rail, air or water discourages use and gives the appearance of adequate transportation capacity.

Goal No 3: Promote Economic Development

To provide transportation infrastructure that supports initiatives for regional economic development by providing appropriate levels of accessibility and mobility.

Specific Needs:

• Create quality jobs to stem population loss and to attract & retain workforce

• Attract new industries to the region, to expand job and income opportunities

• Lower transportation costs for existing farms and industries by reducing truck travel times and attracting other industry for haul-backs

• Strengthen trade links with Canada

• Maximize value-added from extractive industries and ports through more finished products

• Promote tourism by improving access to population centers

• Increase attractiveness and competitiveness of area colleges through better outside access

• Enhance the area's image; overcome the notion that it is inaccessible

• Improve road signage

• Invest in telecom infrastructure

• Rework regulations that limit Port shipment activity

Discussion:

The North Country's chronic isolation has retarded its economic growth and vitality. Economic development is influenced by the extent and choice of transportation access, as well as the quality of such access. Transportation provides access. Access to a choice of markets, services, recreational outlets, etc is critical to growth and development. In addition to access, transportation improvements should reduce travel time, decrease travel cost, and reduce the potential of accidents. These are all measures of the quality of transportation access. The caliber of the improvements impacts the region's competitiveness relative to markets it has gained access to through transportation.

Trucks serving North Country industries have difficulty getting raw materials to factories and goods to market on time and at competitive cost. A recent development in the rail industry to further reduce rail service levels will no doubt preclude certain types of development. Rural residents have long commutes to widely dispersed jobs. University and college administrators believe their institutions might attract and retain more students if their campuses were more accessible to major cities and resources. Improvement in aviation service levels will aid in the attraction and retention of employees, and enhance overall business effectiveness. Local military facilities are challenged in fulfilling preparedness for full-scale military deployment. A growing local corrections industry is isolated from the statewide corrections network.

Goal No. 4: Retain Environmental Integrity

To meet local, regional and statewide transportation needs while observing local growth and development goals and attempting to reduce excess burden on North Country Municipalities and Counties.

Specific Needs:

• Preserve high quality of life (from natural environment)

• Avoid environmental degradation

• Support the vitality of the region's farms

• Minimize impacts on environment and wetlands

• Prevent development sprawl

• Preserve and strengthen existing population centers and town centers

Discussion:

The region is well-endowed in agricultural land and resources as well as protected parks and natural forests. These resources are an important part in preserving quality of life for residents, and the ability to attract and retain a work force. Therefore, there is a need to preserve agricultural and natural land as an important part of the region's economic future and quality of life.