New Pittsburgh Transit Blog

I just heard of a new blog that is dedicated to transit and transportation issues here in Pittsburgh. From the blog No Commuter Left Behind's about page:

Ken Zapinski is senior vice president for transportation and infrastructure for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Prior to joining the Conference, he was a strategic marketing analyst for a Pittsburgh start-up tech company. He spent 15 years as a writer and editor for newspapers including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, the St. Petersburg Times, and The New York Times. He has covered areas including technology, economic development, land-use planning, utility deregulation, and transportation. And yes, he has used public transit to commute to work, both here and elsewhere.

Should Streetcars be part of Pittsburgh's transporation future?

If you're like me and think bringing streetcar lines back to Pittsburgh makes a lot a sense then please register and add your ideas for streetcar lines to the cityLive/popcity transportation plan page.

Van Jones talks to TPMtv about the ecoPopulist movement

I don't know about you but I get fired up listening to Van Jones talk about the green jobs movement. His main point is that the green movement should be the rising tide to lift all boats - meaning green should be the way to create jobs that will employee those who are living in poverty. Right now, he argues, the green movement is too focused on consumerism, where those who are well off being the ones who benefit the most through their purchases of expensive solar panels and eco-friendly products. To learn more about Van Jones and his green jobs campaign check out the Ella Baker Center website.

To all the Pittsburghers reading this, we are trying to get Van Jones to come back to Pittsburgh when we are hosts to next summer's Netroots Nation convention.

Progress on the Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transporation (PRIT) Plan

Two weeks into the cityLive!/PopCity transportation initiative and I have to say so far so good. We started off with only a handful of individual contributors but the number has been growing steadily. There is about 75 days left so if you want to have a say please register and start wikiing away at The Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transporatation Plan page. If you are on Facebook join our group.

UPDATE: The Post Gazette's Brian O'Neil covers the PRIT initiative in his column today.

What would a world class subway system look like here in Pittsburgh?

A contributor to the website Pittsburgh 2050 submitted this vision (found in TEQ magazine) for a comprehensive subway system (h/t Costa):

UPDATE: We have tracked down the mystery artist. His name is Ed Shin and you can check out the original graphic at Ed's portfolio website.

Katy McGinty: A Green Gubernatorial candidate for Pennsylvania in 2010?

Last month Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty resigned from her post effective July 18th. Katy McGinty, in my mind as well as the minds of other environmental and clean energy advocates here in PA and across the country, was the primary driving force behind Pennsylvania's transformation from a rust belt state to one of the leading states for clean energy development. Now the question that is on everyone's mind is -what will she do next?

Over at PolitrackerPA blogger Wally Edge wonders if McGinty's resignation signals her desire to run for Governor on 2010:

Kathleen McGinty gave her notice last week to Governor Ed Rendell. McGinty, who has been with the administration longer than most people have stayed with Rendell, has been a star for Rendell. McGinty has proven to be a loyal soldier, articulate speaker and brilliant resource for the governor. With her departure speculation began immediately that McGinty was laying the ground work for a run to be Rendell’s replacement. After talking to a variety of prominent Democratic activists and fundraisers we have confirmed McGinty is indeed making her calls, but there is no mention of a run for Governor at this time.

I attended an event in Pittsburgh this past spring where Katy McGinty spoke about the progress of Pennsylvania's green movement. I left away very impressed at not only her knowledge of the issue but her passion for change. Besides being passionate about PA's green agenda, she stated that environmental issues and economic development opportunities should go hand in hand. "Every environmental issue is an economic development opportunity in disguise" is what she said. Let's hope Pennsylvanians are wise enough to support our first "Green" Gubernatorial candidate if Katy McGinty decides to run in 2010!

A way to improve the efficiency and accountability of pubic transportation

King County Metro Transit's website has a java based applet that shows you the real time progress of its network of buses.

Tracker Map View uses a JAVA applet to display real-time Metro transit vehicle locations. The applet should launch automatically upon reaching this page. If it does not, please check the system requirements. If you have closed the Tracker Map View applet and want to re-launch it again later, please reload/refresh this page.

Would be nice to have something like this here in Allegheny County!