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By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff
Despite the presence of the PATCO Hi-Speedline, regarded in the industry as one of the country's best commuter rail lines, only 5 percent of South Jersey residents use mass transit to get to work.
And even fewer use it to play, shop or otherwise move from spot to spot.
There is no debate on where the chief trouble spot in the region lies: the spaghetti-like intersection of Route 42 and I-295.
"It brings together conflicting movements," said William Beetle, director of transportation systems planning for the state Department of Transportation. "You've got people coming up from Washington Township headed for Cherry Hill or Mount Laurel via 295. You've got Glassboro, Pitman and Winslow coming up 42 and 55 to get to 76 and Philadelphia. Put these together and you've got a real crunch.
"It's the single biggest challenge in terms of traffic."
No one knows that better than Bob Murphy, except, of course, the people who drive through during rush hour. Murphy, general manager of Smartraveler, has been looking at traffic in the region for 20 years, with Philadelphia TV station WPVI, the ARCO Go Patrol and now Smartraveler, a free information service funded by the transportation departments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
"Route 42 is the biggest headache," he said without hesitation. "It backs up as far as the Atlantic City Expressway in the morning."
Other trouble spots, he said, include:
•Route 73, particularly from Maple Shade to Mount Laurel.
•Route 38 from Pennsauken to Moorestown.
Beetle agreed, but said the problem areas of Route 73 extend farther south to Marlton and beyond.
As for Route 130, which runs parallel to the light rail rout, "it's not experiencing the same problems," Beetle said, although it could "if Burlington County's ambitious development plan succeeds."
"Route 295 is really a Route 130 bypass," Murphy said. " Route 130 takes more local traffic, I-295 the long-distance traffic."