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Policy Analysis

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Executive Summary
The city of East Wallingford, a rapidly growing community of 45,000 people has been plagued by chronic traffic congestion which brings average trip times during peak hours far below State standards for the community of this size. The officials of the city are seeking to solve this problem and have asked for assistance from the Community Transportation Planning Division of the State Department of Transportation.
Considering the situation this policy analysis paper is aiming to asses the possible alternatives to the ineffective current transportation policy in East Wallingford. Federal money is available for implementing four alternative transportation policies: constructing a Southern or a Northern Bypass, widening …show more content…

III. Current Policy Description. Current Policy Effectiveness and Efficiency
According to the Preliminary Problem Analysis prepared by the Junior Policy Analyst of the Community Transportation Planning Division of SDOT M. Ubahn at the moment East Wallingford is served by two state highways. Route 146 (Nottingham Road), a north-south arterial, passes through the western side of the city. Route 9, an east-west arterial, passes through the center of East Wallingford, and connects to Route 146, which is its Western terminus. In the central business district, Route 9 is actually divided for 1.5 miles to allow for one way traffic flows. Route 9E is known as State Street; Route 9W is known as Main Street. Three miles south of the central business district on Route 146 is an interchange for Interstate 59.
Traffic flows are unacceptably heavy on Route 146 and on Main (Route 9W) and State (Route 9E) Streets. During peak travel hours (7:30 AM to 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM), average trip times are far below State standards for a community of this size. Trips between point A and point B in either direction, a distance of 4.5 miles, require 30 minutes on average.
City officials want average trip time in this corridor to be reduced to 15 minutes. While this seems to be a reasonable goal, application of SDOT standards in this case suggests it should be seen as a target, rather than as an absolute cutoff.
IV. Policy Alternatives

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