Plans for major road improvements to Freedom Road, a state road that connects Routes 19 and 228 with Beaver County to the west of Cranberry Township, have been under active discussion since the mid-1980s. Much of that discussion was prompted by businesses along the Ohio River in Beaver County which had difficulty accessing the Turnpike and I-79. That led PennDOT to propose a project known as Crows Run – a new, limited-access highway linking Beaver Valley to both Interstate roads.

During the Crows Run project, three different alignments were proposed for the roadway, all of which were opposed by the affected communities. As a result, in 2001, PennDOT abandoned the idea and instead proposed a series of smaller improvements to roads in the area which were already being used for traffic to and from Beaver County, including Freedom Road.

Cranberry actively partnered with PennDOT on several phases of improvements including securing rights of way, signalizing intersections, adding turning lanes, improving drainage, paving shoulders, and assisting in plans for a five-lane Turnpike crossover. But in the summer of 2007 – even though preliminary design for the Turnpike bridge had already been completed – the General Assembly enacted Act 44 which required PennDOT to put repair projects ahead of new capacity ones like the Freedom Road expansion.
Although it is unclear when or whether state policy will change and make financing available for the needed improvements to Freedom Road, what is certain is that the long-term health and viability of the corridor will depend upon incremental decisions related to transportation and land use.

Questions about the essential character of the future upgraded Freedom Road and its relationship to nearby properties were not resolved in the Township’s comprehensive planning process that concluded in April, 2009. Because of the unique and highly detailed concerns affecting that roadway, the Cranberry Plan’s recommendations included Action Strategy # 6 J, which is ranked as a high priority: 

“Work with residents and businesses impacted by the Freedom Road Corridor to develop a land use and transportation master plan that will guide future land use decisions and implementation of road improvements in the Freedom Road Corridor.”

The Township Board of Supervisors, upon review of the challenges facing the corridor, approved implementation of a special planning process to fulfill the Cranberry Plan recommendation, pursuant to Resolution #2008-63, dated September 4, 2008. The intended outcome was to collect input from community stakeholders that would be used to make recommendations that will have the greatest positive affect on the corridor.

Freedom Road Study Committees were formed and tasked with analyzing land use and transportation together under the assumption that additional improvements would be needed to relieve congestion and improve traffic flow in the corridor. The group considered what the road might look like, what land uses would be appropriate in the corridor, and how those land uses could affect traffic.

Their mission was to generate ideas that could be used create a Master Plan that addressed key issues of both transportation and land use. Specifically:

Transportation Implement a context sensitive design. Control traffic flow through access management.

Land Use Maintain property values. Mitigate impacts of new development.

The Master Plan process involved six sequential steps. The Planning Advisory Commission meeting on December 7, 2009 is step four in that process.

STEP 1: Approval of planning process and creation of committees.

• Three committees created; one for each study area.

STEP 2: Hold a stakeholder meeting. (Haine School - December 15, 2008)

• All potential stakeholders were notified via US mail.
• Input was collected from all stakeholders regarding the entire corridor.
• Request for committee volunteers was made.

STEP 3: Hold committee meetings.

• Each of the three committees met separately on the same date to discuss the challenges and opportunities specific to each study area.

Committee Meeting # 1 – January 15, 2009 Committee Meeting # 2 – February 18, 2009 Committee Meeting # 3 – April 22, 2009

Committee Meeting # 4 – May 27, 2009 Committee Meeting # 5 – June 22, 2009 Committee Meeting # 6 – September 22, 2009

STEP 4: Planning Advisory Commission review of committee findings. (December 7, 2009)
Recommendations: Freedom Road Transportation and Land Use Master Plan (DRAFT)

Proposed Freedom Road Study Area Usage Maps Study Area A Study Area B Study Area C

STEP 5: The Planning Advisory Commission forwarded a package of recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. (Feb. 1, 2010)

STEP 6: Review and consideration by the Board of Supervisors. (TBD)