By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for TransportWatchtower
New Port Authority Transit of Allegheny
County (PAT - Pittsburgh's public tranist agency) Chief Executive Officer Katherine Eagan Kelleman
presented a revised plan for the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
project to a meeting of Monongahela Valley transit riders on Thursday
Evening, April 12 at the Rankin Christian Center. The “Frequency
Preservation Plan” keeps Mon Valley bus service intact, while
saving $7 million per year by minimizing “bus-bunching” in the
Downtown – Oakland corridor.
Internet link to PAT's Frequency Preservation Plan is located near the end of this blog-post.
Internet link to PAT's Frequency Preservation Plan is located near the end of this blog-post.
This revised plan comes almost a year
after the original BRT plan included cutting nearly half of the
existing Mon Valley bus service. The Mon Valley bus route service
cuts would be the greatest cuts in public transit service in the Mon
Valley since 1989 April 28, when PAT eliminated Monongahela Valley
Commuter Rail / “PATrain” service.
Operated by the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, mostly on track owned by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie
Railroad, PAT funded the heavy-rail commuter service, which served
Hazelwood (neighborhood in the City of Pittsburgh), Braddock,
McKeesport, Port Vue and Liberty, and Versailles. PATrain service was
replaced by express bus service, but still did not match the speed of
the PATrain.
Mon Valley residents and other public
transit advocates immediately started protesting the original plan
for the proposed BRT project. The pro lotests culminated in a January 26
street protest outside of the Wood Street Subway Station, just ahead
of the first PAT Board of Trustees meeting attended by the new PAT CEO, Ms.
Kelleman. And, at the January 26 Board meeting, of the 28 scheduled
public speakers, only 7 were not specifically identified as
commenting on the proposed BRT project.
One of the January 26 speakers was
Glenn A. Walsh, a long-time public transit advocate, who emphasized,
“Rapid
Transit implies greater efficiency, which means PAT
should be able to afford more bus service, not less!”
The following is the transcript of Mr. Walsh's comments:
Statement
before Glenn
A. Walsh
Board
of Directors,
P.O.
Box 1041
Port
Authority of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15230-1041 U.S.A.
Allegheny
County: Telephone:
412-561-7876
Bus
Service !
Internet
Web Site:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
Space Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
2018 January 26
Space Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
2018 January 26
Good
morning. I am Glenn Walsh, 633 Royce Avenue, Mt. Lebanon, a regular
Light Rail and bus rider who has chosen not to drive a
motor vehicle since 1985, to help save energy, protect the
environment, and reduce city traffic congestion. I have been an
active transit advocate for 40 years, including 3 terms on the
Allegheny County Transit Council as a Charter Member. My comments
today are my own and do not reflect those of any organization.
First,
I want to welcome Katharine Eagan Kelleman to Pittsburgh and the Port
Authority. Ms. Kelleman, you certainly have your work cut-out for
you!
I
address you today in complete disbelief that the Port Authority would
even consider cutting Mon Valley bus service in half, to implement a
so-called Bus Rapid Transit project. Rapid Transit implies greater
efficiency, which means PAT should be able to afford more bus
service, not less!
Terminating
Mon Valley bus service in Oakland means these buses will not have to
waste time traveling the most congested part of the city: Oakland to
Downtown and back to Oakland. Hence, these buses can turn around and
provide additional bus service in the Mon Valley!
If
PAT cannot afford to, at least, maintain the same level of bus
service in the Mon Valley, then this so-called BRT project should be
canceled!
Thank
you.
gaw
Internet Links to Additional
Information ---
“Frequency Preservation Plan” -
“Bus Rapid Transit Project – Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, East End
– BRT Service Infrastructure Updates, Spring 2018”
Link >>> http://portauthority.org/paac/portals/0/brt/webppt.pdf
Link >>> http://portauthority.org/paac/portals/0/brt/webppt.pdf
Krauss, Margaret J. "Starting from Scratch: BRT Proposal Quells Fears About Service."
WESA-FM 90.5, Pittsburgh 2018 April 13.
Link >>> http://wesa.fm/post/starting-scratch-new-brt-proposal-quells-fears-about-service#stream/0
Clift, Theresa. "Mon Valley bus riders cheer Port Authority decision not to cut routes when BRT is built."
TribLive.com: Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh 2018 April 13.
Link >>> http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13529291-74/mon-valley-bus-riders-cheer-port-authority-decision-not-to-cut-any
Gough, Paul J. "Cover story: New Port Authority CEO taking a community approach."
Pittsburgh Business Times 2018 April 12.
Link >>> https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2018/04/12/cover-storynew-port-authority-ceo-taking-a.html
Clift, Theresa. "New Port Authority CEO open to tweaking Bus Rapid Transit plans for Mon Valley riders."
TribLive.com: Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh 2018 Jan. 26.
Among the public speakers urging the authority to keep the nonstop service were Debra Green, a blind woman who moved to Swissvale because of its bus access to Downtown; Glenn Walsh, who stopped driving in 1985 because of environmental concerns; and Jim Bonner, a Port Authority bus driver on the 61C route.
Link >>> http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13224799-74/new-port-authority-ceo-open-to-tweaking-bus-rapid-transit-plans-for
Walsh, Glenn A. "Monongahela Valley Commuter Rail Service - The PATrain"
History of Pittsburgh Commuter Rail Service 2009 Jan. 7.
Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit/pat/patrain/history.html
Related Blog Posts ---
"Pittsburgh BRT: Testimony Before PAT Board Regarding Need for Public Hearing on Proposed Project."
2017 May 5.
Link >>> http://transportwatchtower.blogspot.com/2017/05/pittsburgh-brt-testimony-before-pat.html
"Pittsburgh BRT: Flawed Public Process of Proposed Public Transit Project."
2017 April 9.
Link >>> http://transportwatchtower.blogspot.com/2017/04/flawed-public-process-of-proposed.html
Source: Glenn A. Walsh, 40- year public transit advocate and a Charter Member of the Port
Authority of Allegheny County's citizens advisory committee (member of Allegheny
County Transit Council: 1984 to 1989).
2018 April 15
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gaw
Glenn A. Walsh, TransportWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
TransportWatchtower Blog: < http://transportwatchtower.blogspot.com >
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Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.
