RPO BACKGROUND & STATISTICS

The NEPA RPO region includes 151 municipalities, total land area of approximately 3,043 square miles and according to the 2000 Census a regional population 441,849. Based on the 2000 Census, three of the five RPO counties (Monroe [44.9], Pike [65.6] and Wayne [19.5]) have highest population growth rates in the Commonwealth.

Major east-west highway corridors within this region of the Commonwealth include I-\80 and I-84. The north-south corridors include I-81, I-380, I-476, US 209, PA 309, and PA 61.

There are three primary public transit services in the RPO region, which include the Schuylkill Transportation System (STS) that services Schuylkill County, the Monroe County Transportation Authority (MCTA) that services Monroe County and the Carbon County Community Transit (CCCT) that services Carbon County. They all provide fixed route and paratransit services within their county borders.

There are five rural public use airports in NEPA RPO region. The East Stroudsburg-Pocono Airport and the Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport are both located in Monroe County. The Schuylkill County/Joe Zerbey Airport is located in Schuylkill County. The Cherry Ridge Airport is located in Wayne County. Jake Arner Memorial Airport is located in Carbon County.

The restoration of passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City (via a connection in Hoboken, New Jersey) has been under investigation for several years. The renewal of this service has been investigated and discussed by elected officials, business leaders and transportation professionals over the past fifty years and is gaining significant momentum.