It will also offer restaurants, retail and public restrooms. North Hills communities in the proposed light-rail corridor are home to about 132,000 people, or roughly 1,200 people per square mile, according to 2010 Census data. Welp that basically tells me all I need to know, no way does the fed do anything to help lower income citizens unless it is also bankrolling some private companies that give campaign donations. Past discussion proposed extending a line along Route 65 and crossing the Ohio River en route to the airport, Fitzgerald said. Simply put, there needs to be a much greater usage of a light rail line for it to be comparable in cost to operating a bus on a busway. Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk, Jared Leone, Cox Media Group National Content Desk, Florida man tosses golf clubs on highway, later punches trooper, 2020 Tip Challenge: Actor Tom Selleck leaves server $2,020, Amazon driver arrested for stealing packages from porches along her route, officials say. Before you get "on board" so to speak. PITTSBURGH — A year after opening the North Shore Connector, elected officials are talking with engineers about again extending Port Authority of Allegheny County's light-rail system. Expanding our busways, especially the East busway by adding stops past South Braddock Avenue would change many more people's lives than would spending gigantic money for the bougies in Cranberry who wouldn't ride anyway. The system’s owner, Pittsburgh Railways, bought out its competitors in the first decade of the century, bringing all urban transit in the region under its monopoly. T ridership decreased year-to-year in the previous three years, after a 5.5 percent gain in 2008, APTA data show. Personally I think we need to start making these rural fucks, or even worse rich suburbanites pay for their own fucking local police. For reference, see the data on the two blue lines, which go through less dense areas than the Red Line: Just say you need more money for the mon valley expeessway. With voter approval in 1996, 2008 and 2016, Sound Transit is building the most ambitious transit expansion in the country, with new service opening every few ye The light-rail link from Downtown to the North Shore opened a year ago on Monday. Metro of Pittsburgh America / United States. It would make the North Shore station an extremely busy hub, as riders desiring to go into Pittsburgh would disembark and get on a connecting T under the Allegheny River. The Stadtbahn name in Germany usually denotes light rail-type trains, but in Karlsruhe the transit system is a unique hybrid of light rail and regional rail. The drill is tunneling 22 feet underneath the Allegheny River, which is 25 feet deep. Light rail is proven technology, and would be ideal for Pittsburgh, which basically grew up around the trolley system. Tips for Taking Public Transit. Never run after the car or bang on the side of a vehicle. The system is owned and operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County. (One big factor is the Federal Regs make it much harder and costly than it needs to be)There it is relatively easy to build light rail lines too ( flat and straight) I just think here the costs alone would make it prohibitive. Nationally, light-rail ridership rose 4.5 percent last year, APTA said. At present, expansion of the light rail system is a tough nut to crack. That talk ended when runaway costs and delays soured the public's perception of what became a $517 million project. And no politicians in these toxic times want to be the ones who raised taxes at election time. I’ve learned from cities like Philadelphia, St. Louis and Boston that a regional rail system makes commuting easier and cheaper. The North Shore Connector project is a 1.2-mile extension of the Pittsburgh light rail system from the existing Gateway station in downtown, under the Allegheny River, to the North Shore district. I'm guessing the communities that OP is wanting to expand to are of lesser density than where the Red Line goes through, so the cost to operate would be even higher in those cases. Washington, recently discussed a plan to extend the T with a group including Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Councilman Bill Peduto, whom Fitzgerald supports in the mayoral race, and several development officials. At present, expansion of the light rail system is a tough nut to crack. I've been taking this light rail for years now and it really is a pretty nice little system. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the city. Without that funding, the Trax system isn't what it is today. The federal government paid for 90 percent in the 1980s. ... Election shake-up in San Diego bodes well for envisioned $177 billion rail expansion . It is the succ… It … The big obstacle is funding. By comparison, South Hills communities along the T are home to about 115,000 people, or more than 2,900 people per square mile. A rail right of way also already exists there, which would mean this is actually in the "realistic money" category. Figure 3 is a map of the project and its connection to the existing light rail system in downtown Pittsburgh. Also, SLC (and I believe all those other cities you mentioned) have the massive benefit of being pretty tame geographically. The hov might as well be a busway to the north. PITTSBURGH — A year after opening the North Shore Connector, elected officials are talking with engineers about again extending Port Authority of Allegheny County's light-rail system. After repeated added costs, the extension cost $523.4 million and took five and a half years to build, the Post-Gazette reported at the time. “I think it's something we have to at least take a look at,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who organized a recent meeting with engineering consultants to discuss an extension. But a surge in the transit agency's light-rail ridership and development along the T over the past year rekindled interest in rail. The existing system is an upgraded version of a trolley system that has been in the South Hills since the early 20th century and was saved because it ran on its own right-of-way. Creagh said he and DiMiceli did not produce a proposal to extend a T line to Pittsburgh International Airport. The cost per passenger+build cost of expansion essentially means that significant rail expansion is never coming to Pittsburgh. The coalition of community-based organizations is among groups studying ways to provide faster, more efficient transit service than an ordinary bus line. Rail expansion (or lack thereof) In 2012, the light rail’s controversial North Shore Connector opened, adding two stops on the North Shore near PNC Park and Heinz Field. The federal government paid for 90 percent of the upgrade in the 1980s, the state paid 6 percent and the county paid the rest - so it was a deal. The Port Authority of Allegheny County, the largest transit agency in southwestern Pennsylvania, provides public transportation services throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Buses are where it’s at! Expansion of Pittsburgh's light-rail system to Oakland remains far off. As projects advance through the process, updated profiles will be posted on the Current Projects page. Not to mention all the political boondoggles and opportunities for things to not work at all well, Plus it would take decades BTW. brt is the way to go. Either that or let it all become a lawless wasteland and let them beg to move to civilization. Haulk said county officials should consider directing limited transportation funding toward alleviating congestion on the Parkways East and West, which present bigger traffic headaches for commuters than the Parkway North. Tucked between two hills in Bethel Park, it’s barely visible from nearby roads. More than 7.7 million people rode the T last year, up 14.7 percent from the 6.7 million who used it in 2011, according to American Public Transportation Association data. “The North Shore Connector obviously was a controversial project. That same study said it would cost nearly $2 billion to trim a whopping 10 minutes off the trip in each direction. This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE. Buses/BRT are where it's at. Predicts cost at at least $1Billion. The Authority operates a total of 102 routes, including 98 bus, 3 light rail, and 2 inclines.ConnectCardA reusable plastic smart card makes paying your fares faster, easier, and more secure than paying with cash. Port Authority's gain represented the nation's 6th-largest jump in light-rail traffic, behind systems in Hampton, Va., Memphis, Dallas, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Just tap your ConnectCard on th… SLC expanded their light rail in large part from hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics. A North Hills extension would run from the Allegheny Station near Heinz Field to Cranberry, roughly following the path of Interstates 279 and 79, Creagh said. Can't share source :(. Busses can work quite well, can be much more flexible to changing needs and ultimately improving bus service would cost a lot less. This mode of transport is divided in two sections. I know that cities like Denver, Dallas, Houston and Salt Lake City have largely funded expansion of light rail, and they did it by raising their local taxes or floating bonds or a combination of both. Haulk, whose organization studied and frequently criticized the North Shore Connector, questioned Creagh's cost estimate, noting the leg started out as a $240 million idea. The project enables future expansion of the T to Pittsburgh International Airport, the Parkway West/Airport Corridor, the North Hills, and other areas within Allegheny County. Planning for Port Authority's next big capital project turned to developing rapid bus service between Downtown and Oakland at a fraction of the cost of light-rail. They are essentially rail lines without the rail because they're on their own right-of-way. In the city center, trains run in street. The trains then looped around the rail yard for the return trip to Pittsburgh. The south hills just aren't dense enough for rail to make sense. I know the above will be unpopular, but those statements are incontrovertibly true. We'll go where the community wants to go,” Ritchie said. does wonders in the north, east and west of the city. The closest landmark is a Walgreens. Port Authority of Allegheny County is the public transit agency for the greater Pittsburgh area, providing bus, light rail, incline and paratransit service to about 230,000 riders daily.. For bus service and the "T" - Pittsburgh's light rail system - pay as you enter at the front door. The first one is the subway, which runs underground through the city’s downtown, while the second one, the light rail runs through the southern neighborhoods. They took the trolleys off the streets of downtown in 1985 when the subway opened. By comparison, it could cost $20 million to $100 million — or $6.5 million to $33 million per mile — to develop a bus rapid transit, or BRT, line between Downtown and Oakland, said Chris Sandvig, regional policy director for Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group. Creagh said the project could alleviate traffic congestion and spur development in growing North Hills communities while revitalizing areas of Pittsburgh's East Allegheny neighborhood. Community curated front page of Pittsburgh's place on the internet. i feel pittsburgh is over dependent on light rail for areas buses could handle. Seven stations would be built. Riders on Pittsburgh’s Light Rail T system at Steel Plaza station may have noticed four tracks: one goes inbound, one goes outbound and two veer … Please keep these safety tips in mind when riding light rail: Board only at designated stations and stops. Federal rules require that money from the drilling lease with Cecil-based Consol Energy Inc. be used for airport-related purposes. A box car sits idle on the side rails. I feel that Pittsburgh is over dependent on buses for areas that light rail could handle, and I want to do my part to push for such changes. © 2020 Cox Media Group. The rail yard extended to a spot near the present-day Lebanon Shops along Mount Lebanon Boulevard. Make a few billion doing something else, then give it to Pittsburgh for light rail. Our light rail cars service 27 stations, utilizing 26.2 miles of track from the South Hills to the North Side. Bill Peduto said his ideal model for an expansion of Pittsburgh’s light rail, commonly referred to as the “T,” would connect most of the city through lines that ran north, east, south and west, which would cost several billion dollars. I'm a big proponent of public transit, but as others have said, light rail rarely pencils out. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. By linking the Light Rail North line into the General Robinson Garage/North Shore T Station, this is a way for Port Authority to justify calling it a multi-modal center. The existing system is an upgraded version of a trolley system that has been in the South Hills since the early 20th century and was saved because it ran on its own right-of-way. Seattle's Central Link light rail between Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport opened July 2009, with the South Lake Union Streetcar already open (1.3 miles) in downtown Seattle. Pittsburgh Business Times, March 3, 2008, Talks about the formation of the "Transportation Action Partnership" and its purpose of moving the spine line into reality. i understand buses are for the poors but it is more efficient. "As part of the expansion, Peduto is envisioning a light rail line that would go through the North Side neighborhoods to Cranberry Township, which is about 20 miles north of Downtown. This was the location of the Arlington Station, the final stop along the line. Transit officials said the underground system will separate light rail from downtown traffic ensuring a faster and safer commute. The … Which as I see it the Port Authority has room for some improvement for sure. Expansion of Link Light Rail was already approved in Sound Transit’s Proposition 1, November 2008. The North Shore Connector. Light rail is too expensive to build and operate. The Pittsburgh Light Rail, or "T", is a convenient transportation alternative for South Hills commuters. Expansion of Pittsburgh's light-rail system to Oakland remains far off. There is no sign at either entrance. This means the T would have to go through very dense areas for it to be economically viable. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. However, despite that, it really turned out to be successful and something that lived up to the intention of leaders in the community,” said Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie. There are a couple groups: The Allegheny County Transit Council is a Port Authority rider group that provides input to the board of directors, and there's a group called Pittsburghers for Public Transit. Stage Three of Pittsburgh Light Rail redevelopment project began in 2004, with plans for a link to the North Shore. Census data show the region's population dropped about 3 percent since 2000. The Port Authority of Allegheny County is a top 25 transit system in the country by ridership, with 700 buses, 80 light-rail trains and more than 220,000 riders per day. Adding to the comments regarding investment to expand the T, here's some operational data for comparison between two rapid service line on dedicated right-of-ways of similar length, which shows that from an operational cost standpoint, it makes little sense to expand the T: (This data is taken from the Port Authority's 2017 Annual Service Report). They took the trolleys off the streets of downtown in 1985 when the subway opened. Pittsburgh’s light rail also known as The T covers 42.16 kilometers (26.19 miles) between two lines and 53 stations. As befitted a city of Pittsburgh’s wealth and prominence, the streetcar system was everywhere in the first half of the 20th century. The Downtown-Oakland link (connecting two of the densest and most popular destinations in the city) would have high ridership, and would be inadequately served by BRT or “people movers”. The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T) is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and surrounding suburbs. Busways are more flexible than rail because you can funnel the routes from suburban and neighborhood areas onto the busway at several access points. “I'd double any cost estimate they come up with,” Haulk said. The Metro Rail Expansion project (Proposed Action) would extend the existing 6.4-mile light-rail transit (Metro Rail) system in Buffalo from its current terminus at University Station on the University at Buffalo South Campus to Tonawanda and Amherst. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Start by asking how the State Police received $4.7 billion from the Gas Tax increase. However, some services merge onto the conventional rail network for direct, rapid services to … Washington. The region's population increased almost 9 percent since 2000. Press J to jump to the feed. The future of … By Erin Lawley – Mar 3, 2008, 12:00am EST Updated Feb 29, 2008, 9:29am EST. Hello, just wondering if there are any groups that I could become involved in that are trying to expand the T to reach more communities? Another new light rail line would travel through the West End neighborhoods to the Pittsburgh International Airport, which is about 20 miles west of Downtown. Walker says Pittsburgh’s busways “make sense” for areas they serve, and the region's light-rail makes sense for the areas it serves. The North Shore Connector is a light-rail extension opened in 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Incline Our inclines not only offer expansive views of the city, but provide a quick and convenient way to scale Mt. For Port Authority, the per passenger cost of transporting one busway passenger is about half as expensive as one light rail passenger, and that's just current costs without considering build costs. A North Hills project would cost about $77 million per mile. The Hillcrest light-rail stop is not easy to find. The information below reflects the status of projects during development of the Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report on Funding Recommendations. He estimated the total cost for an 18-mile line at $1.385 billion. Jake Haulk, president of Castle Shannon-based Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, thinks the light-rail extensions would be warranted if the North Hills were more densely populated, airport traffic was booming and more federal transportation funding was available. Roughly 28,000 people ride the Pittsburgh area’s light-rail system every day, which is operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County. A PennDOT study in 2015 put the cost of a high-speed passenger rail connection between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh — the much slower leg of the Pittsburgh to Philadelphia journey — at anywhere from $1.5 billion to $38 billion. Check out the extreme difficulties, many issues and cost (overruns) they have had in Denver ( Denver Regional Transportaion District) in trying to do just that, build an expanded rail network. Registered professional engineer Kevin Creagh of Ohio Township said he and his consulting partner, data analyst Steve DiMiceli of Mt. Pittsburgh has too many hills and rivers to expand light rail through most neighborhoods. The agency’s vision would also include expanding the region’s light-rail network. when they hand you hundreds of millions of dollars, use it for lift rail instead. We do have a pretty good busway system, with busways to the east, south and west. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Pittsburgh light rail is rated pretty poorly in terms of efficiency when compared to other light rail systems. The feds don't do that anymore. The company was a behemoth, but automobile competition and the Great Depression gradually hollowed out Pittsburgh Railways. In 2013, City Paper wrote about a … That would be a hard sell in Pennsylvania. Envision Downtown director Sean Luther gives a presentation on public transportation to city planners, transit officials and community developers. “There is no plan on the books today to expand it, but that was one of the key goals, to develop something that was expandable in the future. SLC and Denver are basically in valleys so they can sprawl easily and have a nice grid system of roads. Share news, events, and thoughts with/about the Pittsburgh community. Take the East busway. Strong Towns has done some writing on the topic: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/3/21/the-folly-of-go-big-or-go-home-transit, I also suggest checking out their Slack if you want to have some really good conversations, especially about transit, with folks all over the country: https://www.strongtowns.org/discussion-board, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Creagh, Shaler's township engineer, said Fitzgerald invited them to make the presentation. And with the cost to extend just about anywhere in the billions of dollars, there is very little political will locally or statewide to raise the revenue, because that means taxes. And with buses, you don't have the expense of caternaries, overhead wires, power stations, rail, and expensive rail vehicles. He said officials would investigate whether it's possible to use any of the projected $500 million the county Airport Authority will get from natural-gas drilling at Pittsburgh International to develop a transit line to the airport. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. log in to manage your profile and account. Though the federal government provides money for transit capital projects, staffers for U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, said the congressmen did not participate in the meeting. “It was a very preliminary discussion,” Creagh said. The Castle Shannon Station at Willow Avenue. Starting in the late 1990s, proponents of building the 1.2-mile North Shore Connector under the Allegheny River pitched it as the possible first leg of an extension to the North Hills or Pittsburgh International Airport. The system is largely linear in a north-south direction, with one terminus just north of Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in the South Hills. Port Authority's 2017 Annual Service Report, https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/3/21/the-folly-of-go-big-or-go-home-transit, https://www.strongtowns.org/discussion-board. 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