Pennsylvania Rail in 2035

PennDOT released their rail plan for 2035.

I was happy to see that the Pittsburgh airport connector (and many other small projects) deemed too expensive for the expected results. PennDOT is attempting to focus on the big picture and projects like the Mon-Fayette expressway and MagLev airport connector are just too small potatoes.

As it is, they've come up with a whopping 7 corridors on which to focus, and we'll be lucky to make headway on 3 of them.

1. The I-95 Corridor, also known as the big money corridor, connecting Philadelphia to New York City and Washington, DC. This corridor

2. Keystone East - PennDOT's success story between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. PennDOT has very specific goals in mind for this route - reducing travel time even further and will inevitably meet those goals well before 2035. Earlier this year, the corridor received 26.4 million for improvements along the route.

3. Keystone West - the connection between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. In January, PennDOT received $750,000 to perform a study on improving Keystone West. Given the lack of specific outlined goals for this project, I expect another study will be in the works by 2035.

4. Lehigh Valley - This Harrisburg direct-connect to New York City line is one of the least-developed, but it would be a great coup for Harrisburg.

5. Scranton-New York City. This is the new love-child between PennDOT and New Jersey Transit. The two agencies are working together to make rapid progress on this section of the state. I'm sure it also doesn't hurt that Vice President Joe Biden is from Scranton.

6. The Southwest Corridor. This corridor is vital to the Pittsburgh region, ultimately improving our connections from Washington, DC all the way to Chicago. Right now, this is also the only project in the region on the receiving end of any serious money. Unfortunately, it also has the furthest to go in terms of reaching high-speed passenger rail. Hopefully, by 2035, we're in a state where all the groundwork has been laid.

7. The Erie Corridor. Quite honestly, this one seems like an afterthought. Penn DOT is effectively saying that if New York and Ohio want to plan it, they'll go along.

The real story in this report appears to be the National Gateway project. This is a public-private partnership netting millions of Federal dollars, crossing multiple state lines, and intended to improve our freight corridors. They claim that as a side effect of improving the freight movement in the country that rail schedules will be "freed up for additional passenger and commuter services." The bottom line is that in Southwestern Pennsylvania, freight is king, whether it be coal barges in the rivers or coal trains on our tracks. I just hope that tied to this National Gateway money is a guarantee that the CSX corp will actually make room for efficient passenger rail service instead of just using the rail for more and more freight service.

If you want to see PennDOT's plan for yourself, click here.

On Driving, Biking and Riding in Pittsburgh

Last month, Ray LaHood declared an end to favoring motorized transportation. He should have declared an end to favoring self-motorized transportation. As much as I love the health benefits of biking and walking, I will never be able to get rid of my car until we have serious public transportation for short trips. Taking the 28X to the airport allows me to travel to any major city in the world conveniently, cheaply, and safely but I can't say the same about Penn State, Harrisburg, Cleveland or any suburb. We need to see progress on commuter rails to Greensburg and Latrobe. We need to see progress on train rides to Harrisburg and Cleveland. We need to see progress on service between Oakland and Downtown. Instead, we are seeing cuts.

Nationwide, public transportation is facing cut after cut. According to the Post-Gazette, "Systems in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New Jersey, Louisville, Ky., Orange County, Calif., and Fort Worth, Texas, are among those cutting service or proposing to do so."

Closer to home, the recent Federal decision to decline tolling on Interstate 80 is forcing Port Authority of Allegheny County and SEPTA in Philadelphia to ponder yet more service cuts and/or fare increases.

Public transportation fans around the country cheered when the Federal Stimulus bill devoted $8 Billion to high-speed rail projects. This weekend, I drove from Pittsburgh to Albany, New York. I couldn't help but notice the abundance of road construction occurring along that route, but I didn't notice any public transportation project construction. That's because overall, the Department of Transportation received almost $40 Billion, and most of that money is being devoted to highways.

Are we an irreversible car society? I hope not. But we are going to have to keep fighting on all fronts if we want to turn the tide. For now, I'll take hope in news that the megabus has restored service to Pittsburgh and Allegheny County has started talks with Westmoreland County to move forward with a commuter rail from Latrobe through Greensburg to downtown Pittsburgh. They are also considering a line that starts in Arnold and goes through Penn Hills to downtown Pittsburgh. A study determined last year that both lines were feasible.

When I asked my neighbor of 70-something years if he thought the commuter rail would go forward, he said: "Yes. If there's anything I've learned, it's that you can't stop progress." He's optimistic because he's watched the slow but steady progress of Pittsburgh's transition from a steel city to a green city. Personally, I think they should sell it as the "Steelers Training Camp" line. Ultimately, Pittsburgh will fund anything involving the Steelers.

Midwest Pittsburgh

The tentative results of the destination of $8 Billion for high-speed rail are in. To give you some background on the state of high-speed rail in the USA, check out this Wired article with lots of pictures (courtesy of Pazzler.)

The results?

• Florida and California are the big winners - as marked by Obama giving the official announcement in Tampa later today.
• Maglev is dead.
• Philadelphia to Harrisburg will get about $26 Million with Harrisburg to Pittsburgh getting another $750,000 for research studies.
• Ohio is getting $400 Million to link Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton.

Pittsburgh, it's time to embrace our midwest location. Governor Rendell (and his succeeding governor) are not going to suddenly realize that Pittsburgh is a gem hidden in the rough. We are only 2 1/2 hours from Cleveland. Let's jump on the Ohio bandwagon and ultimately connect ourselves to Chicago in less time than it takes to get to Philadelphia. Now is the time for leadership and inter-state cooperation. In the next round of rail funding, there needs to be a request for improved Pittsburgh to Cleveland rail. Otherwise, we will be left in the dust.

PennDOT and High-Speed Rail

PennDOT submitted their first request for Federal High-Speed Rail stimulus money this week totaling $28.2 Million.

Breakdown:
$27.45 Million for improvements along the Harrisburg to Philadelphia line.
$00.75 Million for a feasibility study for increasing service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

The last study [regarding Pittsburgh to Harrisburg] concluded in 2005 that track and signal improvements would be needed if more passenger trains were added, in order to avoid slowing down freight trains.

What's changed? 4 years of doing nothing have out-dated this study bringing us back to square one. But 4 years ago, George W. Bush was the acting President of the country, and the last thing he cared about was high-speed rail. Maybe we have a chance for decent rail in Pittsburgh now that we have a President who has a vision for this country. It's only a shame how much money and time has been wasted in the meantime.

And will PennDOT resurrect Maglev and request funding for the next stage there? We have until October 2 to find out.

Commuter Rail Options For Pittsburgh

The results of a delayed 15-month study are finally ready and the results are good for mass transit in the Pittsburgh region. The map below is a rough mock-up of the two potential commuter rail lines studied (plus the existing South Hills light rail line and a potential future airport line for balance).




Not too shabby.

The study found that the cost of building both services would be about $200 Million (much less than the expected $300 Million). Also, the study states that the Greensburg line would attract at least 1,500 passengers per day, and the Arnold line would attract at least 2,700 passengers per day.

So, what's next? Another study. Still, this is a very timely study and very promising. These rail lines could really help transform Pittsburgh into a world-class city with viable regional transit options. Considering the cost of the current construction on Rte 28 is scheduled to cost between $150 and $170 Million, $200 Million for 2 alternate routes seems pretty damned reasonable.

Pittsburgh's North Shore Connector not among the projects receiving the latest Federal Stimulus grants

Hopefully this is the last time I have to bash the North Shore Connector, or the "Bore to the Shore", as the Port Authority refers to it as. Anyone familiar with the Port Authority's North Shore Connector project shouldn't be shocked that it wasn't among the recipients of the latest round of $742 million in Federal Stimulus grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The NSC needs roughly an additional $60 million to complete what was supposed to be a $430 million project, bringing the total cost to around $550 million. The project, once completed, will extend our light rail from downtown and under the Allegheny River to the city's North Shore. The new extension will not touch any residential neighborhoods and will most likely be used primarily to transport people going to Steelers and Pirates games, and eventually the new Casino, from downtown and the South Hills.

The project, in the minds of most people with at least half a brain (Former Mayor Tom Murphy still thinks it was a good idea), is not only a misuse of taxpayer dollars - it is a poster child of boondoggle projects that are thought up by politicians, special interests groups, and businesses (like the Pittsburgh Steelers) that do not add value to the greater public. The real need here in Pittsburgh, for years, has been the Oakland to Downtown light rail link. That project would have not only increased ridership, reduced congestion, and led to more economic development in the uptown area- it would have received a bigger part of the Federal Stimulus dollars that are currently being granted to light rail projects in Virginia (Dulles Airport link to DC Metro), Phoenix, and Denver, and even Utah. Yes, even Utah is building light rail that actually touches neighborhoods where people live.

So far the Stimulus Bill looks like a major disappointment

Change may have happened at the top, but both the lower and upper houses of our Congress still suck. If you peruse The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 you will see many pork projects brought to you by House Democrats and a huge amount of the bill dedicated to tax cuts, brought to you primarily by Republicans, who year after year fail to provide any ideas for our economy beyond tax cutting. According to Talking Points Memo, the Senate draft looks even more disappointing.

Here is brief summary of my problems with the House Stimulus Bill:

• Too much pork!! Way too much going towards pork projects and programs that have nothing to do with economic stimulus (billions for student financial aid, energy assistance for seniors, and a number of pork projects like the $200 million revitalization of the National Mall)
  
• Too much (approx. $300 billion) going towards tax cuts or credits, most of which will not creates jobs or stimulate the economy
  
• Far too little going towards rail and public transportation projects (only $10 billion) and a disproportionate amount going towards highways ($30 billion)
• Only $18.5 billion going towards the DOE's energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  

Okay okay, so are there any good parts to the House Bill? Sure. Energy wise, despite such a small portion of the bill going to the DOE and renewable energy, there are some good projects that will advance our clean energy economy, and even help clean up our producers of dirty energy. Here are the highlights

• $8 billion for the DOE's Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program
• $4.5 billion for modernization of our electricity grid (smart grid!)
• $2.4 billion for Carbon Capture and Sequestration demonstration
• $2 billion for the DOE's Advanced Research Projects
• $1 billion for the Advanced Battery Loan Guarantee Program
• $600 million for Plug-ins and Hybrid vehicles for the Federal Government's Vehicle Fleet
• $600 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's climate sensors and climate modeling technology
• $350 million for the R&D and evaluation for improvements in energy generation, transmission, regulation, use, and storage, for military installations, military vehicles, and other military equipment (An energy independent Military?)

Total for energy related projects: $20.7 billion

Sunlight Labs extracted the appropriations from the bill into a spreadsheet, where you can view the stimulus funds appropriated to each department. They were baffled that they were only able to find $356.4 billion in appropriations within the text of the bill. Where is the other $475 billion? Well, $300 billion of it is going towards tax cuts for individuals and businesses. I think some tax cuts for small businesses makes a lot of sense, but additional tax cuts or tax rebates for individuals? Last year's tax rebate showed that the any positive impacts due to the fiscal stimulus checks were both minimal and temporary, and now we are going to try to tax cut our way to prosperity again? We need to start building things again!

***Please note that Obama has stated to House Republicans that he "had no pride in authorship of the current bill. " THANK GOD Obama isn't as clueless as some of the idiot House Democrats. Good god - don't these people realize that it is time for change instead of the same old bullshit in our politics and legislation?!

Obama could bring us this stimulus package, the first major piece of legislation during his presidency, in two ways. He could pull a George W. Bush and simply rubber stamp a bill produced by his own party. The other option is to do the right thing. He could make both parties put country first by working together to draft a bi-partisan bill that will create jobs, improve our infrastructure, and put us on the road to energy independence. That is the kind of change we need! If Obama wants to turn this stinker around, and improve his already high approval rating, he will do something audacious. He will veto this dog shit of a bill when it gets passed in both the House and Senate. He will piss off the members of his own party by demanding that they remove the funding for the pork projects, and he will ask them to replace some of the tax rebates /cuts with tax cuts for small businesses, which will show some love to the Republicans.

NOTE: Pennsylvania is slated to receive $22.07 billion of the stimulus money, with a little over $2.3 billion going towards the state budget shortfall. I would bet that Governor Rendell makes sure that the North Shore Connector gets that $120 million it needs in order to be completed.

The Washington Post has a good story on the Democrats who oppose the stimulus plan as is.

The Washington DC Metro - is awesome

How nice to be able to get pretty much anywhere around town via the subway here in Washington DC. It's a good thing too, because how would DC be able to function this Inauguration week without a kickass subway system? The metro is expecting over 1 million riders on Tuesday, Inauguration day, higher than the record 800,000+ when President Clinton was sworn in back in January of 1993.

Will 2009 be the year of the railroad?

One of my predictions for 2009 is that this will be the year that passenger rail transport is finally brought back from the dead. I've you live or have lived in cities like Chicago or Philadelphia, you may be thinking that the railroads have never went away. But here in Pittsburgh, in Atlanta, and in a number of other cities across the country, the transformation of freight railroads to passenger/commuter rail lines have already been proven feasible, and may only be months away from the first phase of their implementation, as the President-elect has made a point that he intends to stress the utilization of railroads to ease congestion and reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-centric transportation of the highways and airways.

Here is a May 2008 quote from Obama on his transportation priorities:

The irony is with the gas prices what they are, we should be expanding rail service. One of the things I have been talking bout for awhile is high speed rail connecting all of these Midwest cities -- Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, St. Louis. They are not that far away from each other. Because of how big of a hassle airlines are now. There are a lot of people if they had the choice, it takes you just about as much time if you had high speed rail to go the airport, park, take your shoes off.

This is something that we should be talking about a lot more. We are going to be having a lot of conversations this summer about gas prices. And it is a perfect time to start talk about why we don't have better rail service. We are the only advanced country in the world that doesn't have high speed rail. We just don't have it. And it works on the Northeast corridor. They would rather go from New York to Washington by train than they would by plane. It is a lot more reliable and it is a good way for us to start reducing how much gas we are using. It is a good story to tell.

So, I think anyone reading this blog will agree that having a President who wants to move our national transportation infrastructure into the 21st century is a good thing, is it not?

Also on the list of transportation initiatives that should interest anyone who is a fan of being able to get from point A to B without the hassles of the airlines - 2009 should be the year we finally learn which region will be the recipient of our nation's first MAGLEV train line. Funding for the nation's first 310 MPH MAGLEV train, which was initiated in the 1990's, was shelved following the 9/11 attacks, but the initiative has been revived in recent years, and despite having a federally funded tunnel to nowhere project already underway our US Senators are still working on bring the first federally funded MAGLEV track to the Pittsburgh region. In addition to the Pittsburgh MAGLEV project, MAGLEV train lines have been proposed for the Los Angeles - Las Vegas corridor, and the Chattanooga-Atlanta corridor (The Chattlanta line). Last but not least, the California High Speed Rail initiative got the approval of voters this past election. The high speed rail will link all of California's major cities and should become the model of how we can implement high speed rail throughout the country.

As you can see by the passenger rail map I have provided below, I think the Pittsburgh region has a number of good commuter rail options on the table. The combination of just a few of them would improve region's mobility by leaps and bounds without a multibillion dollar 54 mile long high speed train that goes from Greensburg to downtown to the airport. But, while I think a high speed rail line around one city, especially one as small as Pittsburgh, would be underutilized, I still think that a MAGLEV train connecting bigger cities or regions (ay the east coast to the Midwest, or New York or Philadelphia to Chicago) to one another, bypassing the highways in a manner similar to the California initiative, would be a good step towards reaching the goal of building President Obama's national high speed rail network. Pittsburgh, with its relative proximity to such a very large chunk of the US population, would be a logical place to start building the Northeast to Midwest line. Starting with a line between Cleveland and Pittsburgh or Pittsburgh and Philadelphia would provide a lot of benefits for the region and those professionals who would now have the mobility that would permit them to live and work in different cities.

I create the Google map below with an assist from The East Busway Blogger, and also the Southwestern PA Commission's report on regional transportation alternatives. The SPC's report has some great statistics on projected ridership and the cost of implementing and operating some of the Pittsburgh region's commuter rail options. Some of these options have already made it into the Pittsburgh Regional Integrated Transportation Plan, or the Pittsburgh Transportation Wiki Project for short. If you have additional ideas please feel free to add them to the wiki plan, and if you would like to include additional ideas for passenger rail lines please create them in Google Maps and email me or leave the URL or your idea in the comments section.

After years of hearing about the wonderful high speed rail lines throughout Europe and Asia, and feeling as though we'll never move beyond highways and air travel, it seems as though we are on the verge of turning a corner, and it feels good.


View Larger Map

Councilman Peduto wants the city of Pittsburgh to utilize lightly used freight rail line for commuter rail service

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto has publicly announced a plan to use a lightly used freight rail line for commuter rail service between the city's Hazelwood and Lawrenceville neighborhoods. The commuter service will be via a diesel rail engine on a rail line that is only used by the Allegheny Railroad a few times each day. I like the idea a lot, but I think it is only feasible if it is part of a broader initiative to leverage existing rail infrastructure and, most importantly, if it is integrated with the current light rail line that services the south hills and downtown. Without the downtown link to Oakland I do not see a separate line having enough riders to justify the cost and effort. Still, the low cost of implementing the line (estimated to be $25 million compared to $1 billion + for the downtown to Oakland link) make it seem like a very low risk venture, and the type of thing that could spur new development and additional passenger rail lines throughout Pittsburgh, as the region has a lot of rail lines, some that are hardly used or not even used at all.

When I emailed Bill Peduto with my concerns about the proposed line needing a connector to downtown he wrote the following response:

There are a few “spur” options from the main line. One would be to use the existing Jail Trail (the old B&O line) to connect to the parking garage/ The T stop on Second Avenue downtown. Another would be to utilize an abandoned line from Lawrenceville through the Strip to a potential stop near the convention center and the MLK busway downtown. However it is important to note that this East End Express would connect the two proposals being discussed in Harrisburg the Pittsburgh-Greensburg run and the Pittsburgh-Kittanning run. It should also connect to the busway and the T.

Councilman Peduto also stated that he will soon be releasing a report on his proposed rail line.

While we are on the subject of regional rail initiatives, the plans to bring the Allegheny Valley Commuter rail line service from the Northeast Allegheny County / Route 28 corridor to downtown is moving forward, and it has a key sponsor in District 4 Congressman Jason Altmire, who a few months ago posted an announcement of his support of the project on his website. Despite the lack of rail projects in Mayor Ravenstahl's infrastructure stimulus wish list, it is good to know that some local officials like Altmire and Peduto are truly trying to move the region's transportation system forward.

Below is the Google Map I created to show the Peduto rail line and how it could link up to the proposed Allegheny Valley commuter line.


View Larger Map

The Mayor's Infrastructure Stimulus Wish List...prepare to be Underwhelmed

Pittsburgh's mayor Luke Ravenstahl released his list of projects for the Obama administration's massive infrastructure program, which should should go into effect as early as Obama's first month in office.. The mayor announced his plan amid criticism from members of Pittsburgh city council, who were upset that the mayor did not submit the city's wish list to the US Conference of Mayors in time to be included in the group's Jobs and Infrastructure Report, although 427 other cities were able to do so. You can view that report here.

My first reaction after looking over the list of 110 projects was "Where is the green?" and "Where are the transit projects?" Where are the big and bold ideas for light rail and commuter rail, like the things we have proposed as part of CityLive's Transportation Wiki? I've compared Pittsburgh's list to the wishlists of other cities, such as Miami, which asked for funding for $3.4 in projects, including $280 million on a new streetcar system, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which requested $2.3 billion in funding, with over $1 billion of that money being earmarked for renewable energy projects. Below is a list of the ten cities which requested the most money for infrastructure projects. (The jobs figures are so inflated that you shouldn't even pay mind to them)



Again, the mayor's plan left me asking for plans to expand the light rail to Oakland, or a massive plan for citywide energy efficiency initiatives, like Councilman Peduto's LED lighting plan. To be fair, a lot of the projects on the mayor's list are essential and are long overdue. Our sewer systems should have been upgraded decades ago, and Pittsburgh is not alone as many cities across the US are asking for money for water and waste related projects. But when looking for true green projects I only found a handful that even come close to being considered "green". These projects included bike trails, LED lighting along the trails, and new parks and green spaces. These 10 projects, listed below, represent $38 million of the $1.02 billion in requested funds, meaning only 3.3 % of the total that Mayor Ravenstahl is requesting is going to projects that will make Pittsburgh a greener city. This is a joke when stacked up against other cities, both larger and smaller than Pittsburgh, who realize that projects focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency, not to mention CO2 reductions, will be at the top of the Obama's administration's list of priorities.




A friend, who had reviewed the list earlier today, sent me an email with the following:

Where’s the leadership? Where’s the innovation? The imagination? Where’s the $%@$ creativity or inspiration?

That’s just a rote $%#@ laundry list of stuff that came out of the backs of reports that have been filed away in the City-County Building for years.

My thoughts exactly. As I said earlier, the mayor's plan does address some essential fixes to things which are in dire need of upgrades, but anyone who has been living in Pittsburgh for a few years could have recommended those projects. These are not the big bold ideas that we need to "move Pittsburgh forward", as the mayor likes to say often. Obama's stimulus plan will be an unprecedented opportunity to improve our transportation system and finally build out our light rail network, which still only serves the South Hills and downtown Pittsburgh. Other cities have put forth bold ideas that will make them more competitive not only here in the US but on a global scale as well. Like every other issue, this one shows the glaring weakness of Pittsburgh : the lack of bold leadership from our top public officials.

The complete list of projects can be viewed and downloaded to a spreadsheet from Swivel.com

Now is the time for a national infrastructure investment initiative

The other day The New York Times' Paul Krugman wrote that infrastructure projects were a great way for the federal government to provide a boost to our struggling economy. Krugman said that the next President cannot afford to be weary of spending money on infrastructure as the well being of our economy should take precedent over concerns of our growing deficit.

I'm a big fan of a massive investment in new roads, bridges, and most importantly, and new rail lines, including high speed rail (I just read that Pittsburgh's maglev project is still alive!). The catch is that we cannot afford for our government to hastily spend this money on things like a bridge to nowhere, or Pittsburgh's very own tunnel to nowhere, and this is way I am in favor of a national infrastructure bank. Below is a excerpt of a post from my technology + politics blog on the proposed NIB.

Cutting taxes or sending out rebate checks does not create sustainable economic growth. Using that money to instead put people to work on building new and fixing existing bridges, roads, and rail would give us taxpayers the highest ROI, but we must spend taxpayer dollars responsibly, and that is why I favor the passing of legislation similar to the Dodd-Hagel National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007. The reason we need a National Infrastructure Bank to stimulate growth through infrastructure investment is that at this point we cannot afford taxpayer money to go towards mores roads, bridges, and tunnels to nowhere. We need a system in place where the best projects are funded based on both their need (like our crumbling bridges here in Western PA) and their potential to spur economic growth. Our very own half billion dollar tunnel to nowhere should be enough evidence in favor of creating a better system and process for approving and funding projects that will make a difference.

How has $4 gas impacted your life?

I am a firm believer that we've finally reached a tipping point now that $4 gas is here. Here in Pittsburgh, a region that hates things like car pooling and public transportation, more people are more willing to sacrifice the comfort of their vehicles and morning radio shows for a ride on the bus or light rail. More people think twice about making a trip across town - and making a 2 to 3 hour trip to visit friends or family requires one to consider the fuel implications of doing so.

How have you changed your driving behavior now that gas is $4 a gallon? Below are my observations and some of the things we are doing at the Schultz household.

1. The T station lots in the South Hills are booked to capacity. Finding an open space at 8am is near impossible. When its not too hot out I try to walk to a nearby T station, which is almost 3/4 a mile from my doorstep. The lot there is tiny and its impossible to find a space there after 7:30am so when I can't walk I drive about a mile to the Castle Shannon station which has a much larger surface lot.

2. Do you still fill up while at the tank? Since filling up once a week now eats up about half of my monthly disposable income I only pump enough gas to get me around to where I need to go, so I'm now only putting in $20 to $25 in the gas tank each week. Since the mpg of my car sucks that means I can drive about 100 to 120 miles a week, and hopefully I can stretch that into the next week but when I have to drive to and from the airport each week that's not likely.

3. I am considering buying a bike instead of a car when my lease is up. My wife just took a job in downtown Pittsburgh so during the week she won't need to drive. When I work in town I take the T, but often I work either out of town or somewhere that is not accessible by the T (most of Pittsburgh unfortunately!). We need at least one car, but owning two is now a waste. A bike will allow me to take short trips around town when my wife needs the car on weekends. Again - this will force us to drive less and it will save us a ton of money.

4. When will we start to see real plans for a comprehensive rail system in the Pittsburgh region? I am lucky to live in the South Hills and be within 1 mile from two T stops, but all Pittsburghers - those to the north, east, west, should have access to the T along with those of us who live south of Pittsburgh.

Green is the way to economic growth here in Pittsburgh

Over at technology + politics I posted about today's post-gazette column by CMU's Harold Miller titled "Regional Insights: What can keep people from leaving Pittsburgh?" Mr. Miller's post wasn't really about people leaving Pittsburgh - it was more about how to attract the types of people from other regions and countries who will make Pittsburgh's economy more diverse, attractive, and dynamic than the one we have today. In my response over at t + p I proposed five initiatives that we need here to solve this conundrum. Several of them involve making Pittsburgh a leader in the green economy and showcase for world class transit oriented development. Here are my remarks from t + p:


One thing we have not heard are some specifics how to address these challenges. Credit is due to Mr. Miller for pointing out a study released by the American Assembly last fall titled "Retooling for Growth" and for discussing the need to make our region more entrepreneur friendly. Also worth checking out is the Brooking report titled "Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial Cities." These reports are well written and I recommend reading them, however, not all challenges faced by the regions covered in these reports can be solved by a one size fits all strategy.

So what should we do for Pittsburgh? Well, first, we need someone at the helm of local government who realizes that economic development and growth in startups could be a "rising tide to lift all boats." We missed out when the citizens of Pittsburgh voted against their economic interest by electing boy blunder Luke Ravenstahl as mayor over local entrepreneur and public policy professor Mark DeSantis this past November. Additional ideas, in no particular order, include the following:

1. Aggressively expand our light rail throughout Allegheny County with the goal of attracting Transit Oriented Development
2. Make up for the risk averse venture capital community by creating more entrepreneurial support programs and competitions like Tech Stars and the Pittsburgh Tech Council's EnterPrize competition.
3. Create zones or districts where people will shop, dine, work, and live. The key will be placing these districts near public transportation and areas that have parking.
4. Decide on which segment of the green economy to focus on as a region. Right now it looks like the Pittsburgh region is building a strong concentration of biofuels companies (Steel City biofuels, United Oil, GTECH, Thar, Fossil Free Fuels, CCI).
5. Our local leaders, officials, and celebrities need to step up to address the lack of diversity issue as well as the racism and xenophobia that exists throughout our region. As Senator Barack Obama demonstrated, an honest and real dialog about this complicated and controversial issue can be achieved - but not without the critics over analyzing the remarks and turning the debate into an issue of the speech itself instead of the actual problem.
   

Here are some more details on these initiatives:

1. Extend commuter rail lines throughout the region to spur Transit Oriented Development. If planned properly, new rail and additional light rail lines like the one we have here in the South Hills could lead to revitalization of business districts and the development of new employment centers. Here in Mt Lebanon, where I was recently appointed to the Economic Development Council, we are working to create a world class transit oriented development zone that should serve as the blueprint for not only the rest of Allegheny County but other struggling rest belt cities. Cleveland is well ahead of Pittsburgh in this regard and seems to have turned the corner on leveraging Transit oriented development.

2. Make more capital available to new entrepreneurs through the fostering of a risk taking culture. This past week I participated in the first phase of the Pittsburgh Technology Council's EnterPrize competition. EnterPrize has been around for a while and has a whole list of past winners who have achieved success following their participation in the competition. As someone who has worked for startups in the past and is currently a founder in a new startup here in Pittsburgh, it seems that securing investment in this town is much more difficult than others. One solution is having more competitions like EnterPrize in Pittsburgh, but I think the root of the problem is the risk averse culture that is present in not just the general population but also the investment community.

The best way to get around this is to make sure that we don't let our Google's move away to regions like DC (Clearspring Technologies) or the west coast. It is sort of a chicken and egg problem. VCs like their investments to be close to them, so when investors here in Pittsburgh are reluctant to give up the cash, someone else on the east or west coast is. If we can convince more startups to stay home or come here from other regions then we will eventually have more Freemarkets and Fore Systems in Pittsburgh, which will give us more Glen Meachems types, entrepreneurs who make Pittsburgh their permanent home while putting their new wealth to use through angel investments in the next potential

So how do we deal with this problem effectively? We have a lot of vacant office space around town. Why not turn some of these spaces into shared work spaces for startups? Innovation Works has already initiated their new AlphaLabs program which, along with a $25k investment, will offer 6 months of consultation, mentoring, and office space for soon to be announced startups in the Pittsburgh region. We have applied to this program and I hope to report on it's effectiveness if we are accepted and choose to participate.

3. Create more places where people can live, work, play, AND get around. In conjunction to #1 above, green houses and town homes near public transportation, parks, bike trails, or the workplace is the key to creating that entrepreneurial culture and buzz that attracts the types who are going to move to Pittsburgh. We need something besides strip malls and lifestyle center developments. New green or even LEED certified offices close to new urban housing developments and mass transit, like the TRID project in Mt Lebanon, will attract folks from outside the region who are looking for something new and cutting edge.

4. Focus on a niche in the green energy economy and then run with it. Pittsburgh is becoming a haven for biofuels companies. Here is a list of the companies that are here:

Steel City Biofuels
United Oil
GTECH Strategies
Thar Technologies
CTI
Fossil Free Fuels

It is great that we are building a concentration of biofuels companies in Pittsburgh. The key question is this though - what is our local government doing to assist these businesses and utilize their existence? Another thing we talked about on the DeSantis campaign policy team was a commitment on the behalf of city government to collaborate with private technology startups in an effort to both reduce the costs of government while simultaneously stimulating economic growth and job creation. GTECH Strategies has been doing work with the local government on cleaning up brown field sites and rehabilitating blighted urban neighborhoods, but more has to be done with regards to taking advantage of our concentration of biofuel companies. In my mind, this is a perfect opportunity for Pittsburgh to become a model for the rest of the world through the creation of infrastructure that will allow all of the dirty fuel burning diesel trucks and buses in our region to burn cleaner and cheaper fuels produced and refined right here in our own backyard. Now that is sustainability everyone could appreciate.

5. So last but not least, what can we do to attract more international immigrants? Our universities already attract a large number of international students but the problem is keeping more of them here. Why are they leaving? Part of the problem has been mentioned above - they are going to places where there are more startups and good paying jobs, but I believe the core problem is the racism and xenophobia that makes parts of Pittsburgh seem like you are back in 1960 rather than the 21st century. There is indeed racism here in Pittsburgh, and its not just among whites and blacks. The further you travel from the city's east end the less welcoming the residents are of foreigners.

A typical example of what I am talking about here is when a Spanish firm bought local amusement park and icon Kennywood last year. The xenophobia that came out in the post-gazette comments was ridiculous. I thought I was reading comments from 1907 rather than 2007. Our local leaders and celebrities need to step up here. It is fine to highlight the mayor's hiring of minorities but until our leaders address the issue and give foreigners a seat at the table, the majority of citizens of this region will continue to be closed minded One of the few bright spots in the region was the election of D. Raja, or "RAJA", as one of Mt Lebanon's five commissioners this past fall. In an area that has as little diversity as Mt Lebanon (one person on Blog Lebo bothered to ask "whats the big deal about diversity?") this was a promising development.

Also, instead of ignoring areas where the influx of foreign immigrants are moving to in our region, like my old neighborhood of Beechview, we need to embrace these trends and capitalize off of the influx of new citizens. Beechview looks like many of Pittsburgh's other eighty something neighborhoods on the outside but in it's core is a unique neighborhood with a growing concentration of Mexican immigrants. The city and county need to invest in these neighborhoods by, for example, making them centers for international culture through encouraging and incentivizing foreign born business owners to locate there.

There is more to come but I hope you will leave your thoughts as this has to be a collective and collaborative effort from all of us, the bloggers, entrepreneurs, academics, and those in government.

A terrible idea for Pittsburgh's Eastern Corridor - and some better alternatives

Last night on KDKA radio I heard of a proposal put forth by Pennsylvania turnpike commission CEO Joe Brimmeier that was downright ludicrous. Brimmeier recommend that the PA department of Transportation (the infamous PenDOT) build an elevated toll road above of the current park way east to alleviate the worst congestion in this the area - the parkway east's approach to the Squirrel Hill tunnel. Now, I have had some fantasies of my own for regional transit but this just tops the cake. I was surprised to see that the Post Gazette actually put this story on the front of their web page - as I felt this idea was not worthy enough to print.

After the tunnel, or chunnel, to nowhere (The north shore connector), we do not have room for any boondoggle transit projects - especially a highway on top of another highway which would do nothing to improve our region's air quality.

Before I even heard of this I was thought of another congestion alleviation option for the eastern corridor as I was driving from the North Shore over to East Liberty earlier that day. While looking at the Martin Luther King, Jr. East busway I noticed that there was not one vehicle on the busway - which means that there should be enough room for additional vehicle traffic. So why don't we utilize the east busway to alleviate some of the congestion at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and parkway east??? The busway already exists and is basically empty with the exceptions of the buses that utilize it throughout the day. The one concern I see them raising is that the busway is also utilized by emergency personal and also VIPs like the mayor (ha!) if they need to be evacuated from downtown.



My short term alternative is the following:

Use the existing busway as an express toll road for cars. Buses and cars would have to share the road but it would be much faster than the current alternatives. Also, there have been some studies underway to extend the busway from Swissvale out to Monroeville, which means a toll road would make a lot of sense. This would kill two birds with one stone - it would alleviate congestion and also raise funds for the port authority. Note to the Port Authority - people will pay tolls to not sit in traffic each and everyone morning and evening during their commute!

Now, a study to analyze the bus way and other eastern corridor transit options was completed back in 2003, but unfortunately the people who should be making the decisions on the recommendations take forever to come up with a plan to implement the solutions. The recommendations coming out of that study are good ones - but with the exception of the 1st alternative I haven't heard of any action for the other options, which are the following:

Allegheny Valley Commuter Rail: Downtown Pittsburgh to Arnold

• Commuter Rail service along the southern shore of the Allegheny River via the Allegheny Valley Railroad right-of-way

My comment: After years of studies and mulling of this project, a second feasible study is underway. Good grief - more studies and reports with little or nothing to show for it! My colleague at work said he would "definitely take a train" that would take him into downtown from his home in New Kensingtion and help him avoid the congestion on Route 28.

Norfolk Southern Commuter Rail:

• Commuter Rail service along the Norfolk Southern right-of-way via East Pittsburgh, Irwin, etc., possible extension to Latrobe.

My comment: If we could pull off a commuter rail to downtown from all the way out to Greensburg I say go for it! The tracks are already there to the only question is the right of way from Norfolk Southern. This rail would be a much better option than any expressway and much cheaper than the high speed Maglev train that was proposed a long time ago.

SpineLine Light Rail/BRT: Downtown to Oakland and points East

• Light Rail along city streets (underground or at-grade) to Oakland with extension along city streets to Wilkinsburg or along CSX right-of-way to Hazelwood and Homestead
• Bus Rapid Transit on city streets

My comment: This is long over due and should have been implemented in the 90's had it not been killed by the county commissioners, who I fault for not having a vision for growing the region through world class transit infrastructure. Chris Briem has a SpineLine study over at his website.

East Busway Extension: Swissvale to East Pittsburgh or Monroeville

• Extension of the East Busway along Norfolk Southern right-of-way to East Pittsburgh, with the possibility of using Tri-Boro or Mon-Fayette Expressway into Monroeville.

My Comment: My problem with just extending the busway to Monroeville and keeping it exclusively as a bus only expressway is that a lot of people do not like to ride buses. An ideal option would have been to turn it into a light railway but I guess that project did not make the cut. So, the busway as both a toll road and bus expressway makes a lot more sense since it could be implemented within months of this blog post - and within a few years extended out to Monroeville. In my opinion, right now with bus only transport the expressway is vastly underutilized.

Mon Valley Light Rail: Downtown Pittsburgh to McKeesport and Etna along the CSX right-of-way.

• Light Rail service underground from Steel Plaza to Convention Center, along the Allegheny Valley Railroad right-of-way to 33rd Street and two branches from 33rd street along CSX right-of-way to Etna and to McKeesport via Oakland, Hazelwood and the northern/eastern shore of the Monongahela River.

My Comment: I'm not sure about this one - if the new north shore alternative for the Mon Fayette Expressway is ever completed then I don't see this project happening - although I would prefer this rail line as it would take more cars off the road.


It is time we start pushing some of these ideas forward rather than sit around and hope for these solutions to fall into place. Which options do you like? Do you have some additional ideas?

Pittsburgh's big dig begins: Video of the North Shore Connector "boring"

In what could become the biggest government boondoggle in our region's history, the Pittsburgh North Shore Connector will extend the Port Authority's Light Rail line less than one mile from downtown, under the Allegheny River, and to the city's North Shore. The North Shore is not a neighborhood - besides a section of apartments there really aren't many residents on the North Shore. The North Shore is a section of city that includes several businesses, restaurants, and, most importantly, the stadiums for the Pirates and Steelers and the soon to be built Majestic Star Casino.

As argued fervently by the blogs, media pundits, and local policy wonks, the half billion dollar extension, which could run up to around $1 billion, has very little benefit for to the region. Basically - the only use for the tunnel shuttle those who live either in downtown or south of the city to the stadiums for sporting events or to the casino where they can flush their hard earned money down the drain.

The argument that commuters will use the tunnel is without merit. I currently commute from the South Hills to my office on the North Shore and I am able to take the light rail (the "T") from a station that is one mile from my house to a station in downtown Pittsburgh that is a half mile from my office. I enjoy the brisk half mile walk each morning and afternoon and I'll probably boycott riding the "T" to the north shore since I like to get some exercise in before I sit down at a desk for most of the day.

Another argument - that the extension will serve as the first leg of a light rail line to the airport- is also bogus. The light rail line would have to go either over or under the Ohio River if it were to go out to Pittsburgh International Airport. Does that mean they dig another tunnel or would they build an addition to an existing bridge, like they should have done for this project?

Below is a clip of the "boring" process that started recently. I can't wait until the day they finally extend the light rail to the eastern part of town - so I no longer have to drive into that part of the city.

Video of the boring "boring" process

"Who killed the Streetcar?" Part I

Ever wonder what happened to Pittsburgh's Streetcars? I'm sure many of you, like I, have wondered, why did the streetcars of Pittsburgh, and most major US cities, disappear? The blog, Carectomy, ponders the question "Who Killed the Streetcars?" and provides some evidence, via About.com, that the auto manufacturers were behind the demise of the streetcar.

From About.com

GM first replaced trolleys with free-roaming buses, eliminating the need for tracks embedded in the street and clearing the way for cars. As dramatized in a 1996 PBS docudrama, Taken for a Ride, Alfred P. Sloan, GM’s president at the time, said, “We’ve got 90 percent of the market out there that we can…turn into automobile users. If we can eliminate the rail alternatives, we will create a new market for our cars.” And they did just that, with the help of GM subsidiaries Yellow Coach and Greyhound Bus. Sloan predicted that the jolting rides of buses would soon lead people to not want them and to buy GM’s cars instead.

The book Supercapitalism covered GM and it's power and ability to dictate the US economy in the 1940's and 50's. The following sentence pretty much sums up the power of big corporations during those times: "If we can eliminate the rail alternatives, we will create a new market for our cars."

Back in January of 2007 the Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Bill Steigerwald wrote a column on the revival of streetcars in a number of US cities.. He wrote that Pittsburgh would be better off investing in reviving it's system of streetcars instead of the billion dollar tunnel to nowhere known as the Northshore Connector. But Mr. Steigerwald, along with a Port Authority official, says don't count on a streetcar revival here in the burgh.

It's a shame Port Authority is blowing so much of its fiscal and political capital on "The Tunnel to Nowhere." It's a blatant waste of taxpayer money that is certain to be as underused as the rest of Port Authority's inventory of expensive busways, rail lines, tunnels and parking garages.

In a better, more rational, more imaginative transit world, instead of tunneling under the Allegheny River the Port Authority would throw away several hundred million dollars less and put together a modern streetcar fleet.

Think how much cooler it'd be to have sleek European streetcars quietly plying Downtown's lonely streets again -- instead of hundreds of smelly, thunderous buses.

Think how much cooler it'd be to have streetcars -- with big windows for viewing Pittsburgh's fabulous sights -- climbing the Hill (past the new arena) and looping out to Oakland and back. Or to have streetcars on bridges zipping over the Allegheny to the North Shore's ball fields and gambling parlors.

A streetcar system still would be a waste of taxpayer money -- state and local. But because it'd be above ground it would tie parts of the city together, attract tourists and make the act of riding it an end in itself.

It'll never happen. Port Authority has over-invested in giant buses and tunnels. The "T" is already under Downtown. For Pittsburgh, streetcars -- last seen on Downtown streets on July 2, 1985 -- are forever part of the past.

I'm hoping this isn't the case. I believe that public pressure, along with a campaign for the revival, can bring back some of city' streetcar lines. As I said in a previous post, at a minimum the city should consider a streetcar line between downtown and Oakland and also downtown and the Strip District. The streetcar lines would be much cheaper to install and would take a lot less time to implement than the proposed light rail extension.

Besides taking cars off the road, there would be many ancillary benefits associated with streetcar lines in the city of Pittsburgh . Riding a streetcar through Bloomfield's business district, and then down through the Strip District on the way to downtown would be a draw for tourists and locals alike. The lines between downtown and Oakland would help to develop the uptown and lower hill district neighborhoods - and would come in particularly handy when there are games at the new Penguins arena. What's not to like about that?

Opponents of these lines say that driving a car between those areas would be more difficult. Sure, but isn't the point to stop driving your car all the time?