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70 MPH Speed Limit Increase To 70 In Pennsylvania???

Started by jpi, October 24, 2013, 04:54:53 PM

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jpi

Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel


Interstatefan78

Here are some of the roads in the Allentown area that will have 70 mph I-476 from the south portal of the Lehigh Tunnel to exit 20 along with I-78 Exits 60-75 and Exits 1-35,but 35-60 goes up to 60mph to keep the 10 mph difference from the 70mph zone from 60-75 and 1-35. Lastly, PA-33 from I-78 to Pa-512 goes to 70 mph, but PA-33 from PA-512 exit to I-80 is increased to 60mph

cpzilliacus

Quote from: jpi on October 24, 2013, 04:54:53 PM

Yeah, I will believe it when I see it! ;-)
http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/909039_Proceed-with-caution-on-70-mph-in-state.html

I've a modest proposal - how about management at PennDOT and the PTC, hopefully informed by their inside and consulting engineering staffs, determine what the speed limits should be on the basis of roadway design (and in particular, design speed) and crash histories?
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

jpi

Quote from: cpzilliacus on October 24, 2013, 09:53:19 PM
Quote from: jpi on October 24, 2013, 04:54:53 PM

Yeah, I will believe it when I see it! ;-)
http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/909039_Proceed-with-caution-on-70-mph-in-state.html

I've a modest proposal - how about management at PennDOT and the PTC, hopefully informed by their inside and consulting engineering staffs, determine what the speed limits should be on the basis of roadway design (and in particular, design speed) and crash histories?
Agreed! :-)
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

jeffandnicole

"The trend toward 70 is only a few years old in most states, so data on whether it makes roads more deadly is still unclear."

Was this opinion piece written in 1998? 

What this line also means is that deaths are still down, but we'll wait a few more years and when they go up statewide, we can report back that the highways are now deadlier...even if the increase in deaths was due to pedestrian accidents on 25 mph roadways.

1995hoo

Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 25, 2013, 08:29:29 AM
"The trend toward 70 is only a few years old in most states, so data on whether it makes roads more deadly is still unclear."

Was this opinion piece written in 1998? 

What this line also means is that deaths are still down, but we'll wait a few more years and when they go up statewide, we can report back that the highways are now deadlier...even if the increase in deaths was due to pedestrian accidents on 25 mph roadways.

Reporters also use whichever statistic suits their own agenda, which usually means raw numbers of fatalities rather than the fatality rate. Put differently, if 10 people drive in a given state in one year and one person dies, and then the next year 200 people drive in that state and five people die, statistically you're much less likely to die in the second year even though "more people were killed."

The reporters also like to obscure the difference between correlation and causation, as it's too simple just to say "speed limit went up–more accidents–therefore it's due to the speed limit." Unless you can keep all other variables on the road the same, you can't know that for certain, and as a practical matter it's impossible to keep all other variables the same (volume of traffic, vehicular composition of traffic, road construction, weather conditions, etc.).

It reminds me of a medical study that was released during the 1990s that said that researchers had found that women who wear bras are 90% more likely to develop breast cancer than women who don't wear them. Problem is, since more than 95% of women in Western societies wear those things, the statistic is utterly meaningless. Of course they're more likely to develop cancer if such an overwhelming majority of them wear them–or, in other words, it's a false correlation, since if that many women wear them the cause is almost certainly something else.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

cpzilliacus

Frequently, opposition to higher speed limits comes from groups and persons that are ideologically opposed to travel in or on vehicles with rubber tires and some sort of motor driving the wheels. 

The Green Party of Germany has tried (and failed) for years to impose speed limits on all segments of the Autobahnen.  The Washington Post had a story earlier this year about a proposal (apparently championed by the Greens) to impose a 75 MPH (120 k/h) national speed  in Germany (here).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

sbeaver44

Interesting about the 70/60 near Allentown.  I don't think Pennsylvania has a single 60 zone, although I can think of a few appropriate places.  I too will believe it when I see it though.  I wonder if this will get PennDot to re-evaluate the 55 zone on 78 the entire way back to the Lenhartsville exit, 19 miles west of Allentown and well outside of any urban zone.  I always felt that section could be 65 west of the New Smithville exit. It isn't really much different than the Lebanon or Berks county sections of 78 which are 65.  Maybe it is cause of the Lenhartsville onramp being a ramp stop?

DBR96A

I say raise the limit to 70. That'll put pressure on PennDOT to upgrade all the older highways in the Commonwealth.

I also say raise the limit on the Turnpike to 75. People would be less reluctant to pay a toll if it meant they got to go faster.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: DBR96A on October 26, 2013, 09:59:37 AM
I say raise the limit to 70. That'll put pressure on PennDOT to upgrade all the older highways in the Commonwealth.

How come?  If there's no pressure now to upgrade them for a 65 mph limit, raising the limit to 70 isn't going to pressure them either.

PAHighways

Quote from: DBR96A on October 26, 2013, 09:59:37 AM
I say raise the limit to 70. That'll put pressure on PennDOT to upgrade all the older highways in the Commonwealth.

People already go 70 and and then some, including our former governor, on the roads we have now.

D-Dey65

Quote from: PAHighways on November 02, 2013, 04:22:00 PM
Quote from: DBR96A on October 26, 2013, 09:59:37 AM
I say raise the limit to 70. That'll put pressure on PennDOT to upgrade all the older highways in the Commonwealth.

People already go 70 and and then some, including our former governor, on the roads we have now.
Hey, I was able to do it on I-95 two and three years ago.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: DBR96A on October 26, 2013, 09:59:37 AM
I also say raise the limit on the Turnpike to 75. People would be less reluctant to pay a toll if it meant they got to go faster.

Much of the "mountain" section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (the E-W Mainline roughly between New Stanton and Carlisle and on the N.E. Extension north of the Lehigh Tunnel) should not have a speed limit that high, because the road is not designed for such speeds, at least not without widening to three lanes each way (which the PTC does not seem interested in doing).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

MASTERNC

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 03, 2013, 06:51:15 PM
Quote from: DBR96A on October 26, 2013, 09:59:37 AM
I also say raise the limit on the Turnpike to 75. People would be less reluctant to pay a toll if it meant they got to go faster.

Much of the "mountain" section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (the E-W Mainline roughly between New Stanton and Carlisle and on the N.E. Extension north of the Lehigh Tunnel) should not have a speed limit that high, because the road is not designed for such speeds, at least not without widening to three lanes each way (which the PTC does not seem interested in doing).

Many of the reconstruction projects in that section do call for adding a third lane in each direction.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: D-Dey65 on November 03, 2013, 03:08:30 PM
Quote from: PAHighways on November 02, 2013, 04:22:00 PM
Quote from: DBR96A on October 26, 2013, 09:59:37 AM
I say raise the limit to 70. That'll put pressure on PennDOT to upgrade all the older highways in the Commonwealth.

People already go 70 and and then some, including our former governor, on the roads we have now.
Hey, I was able to do it on I-95 two and three years ago.


70?  I hope you were keeping to the right lane and letting others pass! 

PAHighways

Quote from: D-Dey65 on November 03, 2013, 03:08:30 PM
Hey, I was able to do it on I-95 two and three years ago.

I did that, and then some, ten years ago.

The point is, people can go 70(+) on our current roads, it won't force PennDOT to do anything.  With a transportation bill stuck in the house, they barely have any money to rebuild the structurally-deficient and functionally-obsolete bridges in the state.

thenetwork

You'll never see 70 in Northern PA...

The joke on the I-90 stretch seems to be if it isn't part of the "Metropolitan Erie" 55 MPH zone, it's in some endless construction zone.  Everytime I drove I-90 thru PA, I was lucky to see about 10 miles of a true posted 65 MPH zone, construction and/or "Erie"-free.

MASTERNC

It may actually happen.  It was written into the transportation funding bill that just actually might make it out of the House (it passed a test vote tonight).  On the flip side, there will be a minimum $45 surcharge added to speeding tickets.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: MASTERNC on November 19, 2013, 10:21:45 PM
It may actually happen.  It was written into the transportation funding bill that just actually might make it out of the House (it passed a test vote tonight).  On the flip side, there will be a minimum $45 surcharge added to speeding tickets.

Maybe Hades is going to freeze over?  Seems CBS Philly is reporting that the Pennsylvania House passed a bill with an increase in highway user taxes and transportation spending on infrastructure.

Pa. House Passes Amendment In Transportation Funding Deal

QuoteHARRISBURG, Pa., (CBS) – A day after voting it down twice, the state House Tuesday night passed an amendment that will pump major new funding into roads, bridges and mass transit in Pennsylvania.

QuoteSince what was approved by the House was an amendment, there are still more steps for the transportation funding package. But nonetheless, the effort has now cleared a major roadblock after an impasse that lasted months.

QuoteIn fact, the plan now is to have the Senate amend similar language into to a House bill already sitting in the Senate and then send the bill back to the House for a final vote.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Alps

I'd rather see 65 on I-95 than 70 on I-80. I get the feeling that I could still go 74 on either road without issue regardless of the posted limit.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Steve on November 20, 2013, 08:37:08 PM
I'd rather see 65 on I-95 than 70 on I-80. I get the feeling that I could still go 74 on either road without issue regardless of the posted limit.

How about 70 MPH on both?  At least between Philly and the Delaware border, I suspect that the 85th percentile speed on I-95 is north of 70 right now.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

thenetwork

Good Luck in ever seeing 70 MPH on I-90 thru PA.   If it isn't the endless 55 MPH "urban" zone in the "Metropolitan Erie" area, PennDot will find another excuse to tear-up the 70 MPH-able zones keeping their construction speed zones closer to 55.  Mother Nature and the Lake Effect Snow Machine will take care of any 70 MPH zones in the winter!!! :evilgrin:

MASTERNC

Sounds like this is a done deal.  The funding bill with the speed limit increase just passed both chambers of the General Assembly.  Governor Corbett will be signing next week.

The change will be effective immediately, so PennDOT will be able to begin reviewing roads for a speed limit increase.

Alps

Quote from: cpzilliacus on November 21, 2013, 03:59:41 PM
Quote from: Steve on November 20, 2013, 08:37:08 PM
I'd rather see 65 on I-95 than 70 on I-80. I get the feeling that I could still go 74 on either road without issue regardless of the posted limit.

How about 70 MPH on both?  At least between Philly and the Delaware border, I suspect that the 85th percentile speed on I-95 is north of 70 right now.
No, it's not. It's actually faster in Philly (once you get south of the I-895/PA 413 wye). Given that the road is a substandard 4-laner, I wouldn't ask for anything more than 65.

sbeaver44

Turnpike will still play games with the speed limit:

70
Work Zone 55
(9 covered work zone speed limit signs in a row, spread out over a few miles, no actual work being done)
Oh look, still 55.




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