Perryville Transit Oriented Development & Greenway Plan

The plans were adopted by the Perryville Mayor and Commissioners on March 6, 2012 and endorsed by the WILMAPCO Council March 8, 2012. Please contact WILMAPCO if you would like a copy mailed to you. Please email or phone 302/737-6205 if you have comments or questions.

Past meetings and events

  • Perryville Greenway Committee–January 26, 2012
  • Perryville TOD Advisory Committee–January 10, 2012
  • Perryville Greenway Committee – October 27, 10 a.m.

About the Plan

The Town of Perryville, located on the Susquehanna River, is poised for major growth as a result of the military-base relocation and closure activities of the federal government, which will bring about 40,000 jobs to the area surrounding the Aberdeen Proving Ground, just across the river. The town is currently the location of the northern terminus of the MARC commuter rail to Baltimore and Washington D.C., which attracts riders from a wider area including Cecil County, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. MARC commuter train ridership from Perryville has increased over recent years. Impacts to the Town have included an overflow of parking on surrounding streets and parking lots. Providing greater travel choices to this rapidly growing area is a critical component of the Town’s plans to further economic development. The development of a transit oriented center has been established in the Town’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan, along with the goal of developing a transit oriented/mixed use development, across from the Town Hall on an existing mobile-home park. This proposed mixed use area would connect to the train station via a pedestrian walkway extension and bridge over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad right of way. Parking solutions identified include a parking garage on the south side of Broad Street and vacant lots adjacent to the train station.

In addition, the Town has been working to promote walking and bicycling by residents and visitors through the development of greenways. Greenways provide the potential to shift driving trips to walking and bicycling, promote access to transit, and foster tourism. An interconnected network of greenways will also increase use of the funded Perryville pier and existing portions of the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway.

This plan will serve to:

  • Identify strategies to enhance community character in Perryville
  • Promote opportunities for transit supportive redevelopment within the town center and train station areas
  • Promote local and regional accessibility, connectivity, and mobility, particularly by walking, bicycling and transit
  • Support Maryland Smart Growth policies
  • Support improvements regional ambient air quality through the reduction of vehicle travel and traffic congestion in downtown Perryville

Planning Team and Public Outreach

The development of the Plan will be managed by WILMAPCO in partnership with the Town of Perryville Consultant technical assistance will support the Plan’s develop.

Work will include educating the community and seeking participation through community meetings, workshops, project web site, and media coverage. Partners will include:

Planning Team: WILMAPCO, Town of Perryville, Cecil County, Maryland Department of Transportation

Project Partners: Perryville Commissioners, Perryville Greenway Committee, Perryville Chamber of Commerce, Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Other interested stakeholders

These partners are needed to develop a quality plan. They include the agencies needed to implement the Plan, those affected in the community, and local leadership. We anticipate that two public workshops will be held along with several advisory committee meetings and/or meetings with existing committees.

Scope of Work

Identify Issues, Opportunities and Constraints

This project seeks to contribute to the revitalization of the traditional and historic community of Perryville with the improvement of the community surrounding the Train Station. Perryville’s compact mix of housing, businesses and institutions offers a unique opportunity to bring together all the characteristics that comprise a Transit-Oriented community. The potential sale and redevelopment of the mobile-home site across from the train station offers opportunity to support TOD at Perryville train station. Improved, convenient access by transit, walking and bicycling is essential, as is preparing for vehicular access needs and parking. Implementation of a train station improvement plan will strengthen Perryville’s identity and focus attention on its function as a transit-oriented community.

Prepare Master Vision Plan

The feasibility study should result in a concept plan for Perryville Train Station and Town Hall areas. The plan should focus upon TOD concepts at revitalization areas 1-3 identified in the Comprehensive Plan: (1) Rodger’s Tavern Waterfront Area, (2) MARC Train Station and Trailer Park Area, and (3) Town Hall Municipal Area. A landscaping component should also include the addition of station art. Traffic circulation, transit access, walking, bicycling and parking improvements within the TOD revitalization areas will also be included. Master Vision Plan should serve as a tool for working with developers and funding agencies to promote its implementation.

Develop Greenway Plan

The Greenway Plan will focus on documenting walking and bicycling connections within and between the revitalization areas, community centers, parks and schools. Using the proposed East Coast Greenway and under development Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway as spines for nonmotorized travel, the Greenway Plan will map links to complete a network for pedestrian and bicycle travel and provide recommendations for future funding and implementation through coordination with developers and transportation projects.

Develop Transit Supportive Land Use Recommendations

The plan will include development scenarios for the station area to support the planned train station. The current inventory of infrastructure and land use will be assessed to determine how it supports a TOD development project. Analysis should examine impacts of existing zoning such as lot coverage, setbacks and height limits which may make transit supportive land use difficult to achieve and recommend new land use policy as required. Land use recommendations should promote the location of key services near the planned station to accommodate transit users.

Implementation Policies

The plan should include recommendations for implementation priorities, estimated cost, potential funding partnerships and project phasing. Ridership estimates should be developed using and/or amending projections from previous studies based upon the planned station and land use recommendations. Updated demographics projections, including the anticipated impact of BRAC will be part of the analysis.