Notice pf Public Comment and Public Meetings

SPC Supports TFAC Report

May is CommuteInfo Commute Options Awareness Month

SPC's Regional Traffic Signal Program Honored with the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence

April Meeting Schedule

NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT AND PUBLIC MEETINGS

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is seeking input from the public on the following important draft documents that will advance investments in the region's transportation system:

• Draft 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which identifies the priority highway and transit improvements programmed for advancement over the next four years
  
  
• Environmental Justice Benefits and Burdens Assessment for the Draft 2013-2016 TIP
  
  
• Air Quality Conformity Determination for the Draft 2013-2016 TIP
  
  
• Update to the 2040 Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania (2040 Plan) to reflect project phasing and cost information included in Draft 2013-2016 TIP
  
  

Beginning Tuesday, May 15, 2012, these draft documents will be available for public review on the internet at www.spcregion.org, and at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, at the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, at County Planning Departments, and at many public libraries in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

SPC's Public Participation Panels encourage you to attend a public meeting to learn more about the draft documents. Meetings will be open house in format with an informational presentation approximately 30 minutes after starting time. There will be opportunities to look at maps, talk to representatives from SPC, PennDOT, transit operators, and planning departments, ask questions, and submit your comments.

Please note the time and location of your county meeting.  Individuals wishing to offer testimony should sign in upon arrival.

• May 15, 6:00 p.m., Lawrence County Government Center, Commissioners Meeting Room, 430 Court Street, New Castle
• May 16, 6:00 p.m., Butler County Government Center, 1st Floor, Public Meeting Room, 124 West Diamond Street, Butler
• May 17, 6:00 p.m., Westmoreland County Courthouse, Commissioners' Meeting Room, 2 North Main Street, Greensburg
• May 22, 6:00 p.m., Greene County, Waynesburg University, Third Floor, Stover Hall, Waynesburg
• May 24, 6:00 p.m., Allegheny County/City of Pittsburgh, Trust Arts Education Center, Peirce Room, 805 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh
• May 30, 6:00 p.m., Armstrong County Commissioners Conference Room, 450 Market Street, Kittanning
• May 31, 5:00 p.m., Washington County, Room 104, Courthouse Square, 100 West Beau Street, Washington
• June 5, 5:00 p.m., Beaver County Courthouse, Commissioners Meeting Room, 810 Third Street, Beaver
• June 6, 6:00 p.m., CareerLink of Indiana County, Conference Room, 300 Indian Springs Road, Indiana
• June 7, 5:00 p.m., Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, 65 West Main Street, Uniontown

Verbal and written comments will be taken by SPC representatives at each of these meetings. Written comments can also be submitted online at www.spcregion.org; by mail to SPC Comments, 425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 2500, Pittsburgh, PA 15219; by fax to 412-391-9160; or by email to comments@spcregion.org.

All comments must be received by 4:00 p.m. Monday, June 18, 2012.

SPC is committed to compliance with the non-discrimination requirements of applicable civil rights statutes, Executive Orders, regulations and policies. Each meeting facility is accessible by persons with disabilities. Accommodations may be provided for those with special needs related to language, sight or hearing with 72 hours advance notice. If you have a request for special accommodations or desire additional information, please contact Matt Pavlosky at (412) 391-5590, Ext. 361, or mpavlosky@spcregion.org.

TRANSIT SERVICE INFORMATION
For information regarding transit services in Allegheny County, please call Port Authority Customer Service at 412-442-2000.  For transit information in other counties, please visit: www.commuteinfo.org/comm_trans.shtml or call 1-888-819-6110.

SPC Supports TFAC Report
Emphasizes Need for a Comprehensive, Lasting Transportation Funding Solution

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) passed a resolution at its meeting today to support a transportation funding solution at the state level that ensures an adequate, dedicated, predictable and growing source of funding of $2.5 billion in additional annual funding proposed by Pennsylvania’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission (TFAC).

“A multimodal and intermodal transportation network that safely and efficiently moves people and goods into, out of and through the region is a key component of the region’s economic competitiveness and overall quality of life,” said Jim Hassinger, SPC Executive Director. “The TFAC report emphasizes the need to put transportation funding on track for a comprehensive, lasting solution.”

The TFAC report also promotes the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania, and failure to address the transportation funding issue will likely result in thousands of lost jobs for Pennsylvanians. A solution to the transportation funding issue is necessary to enhance the safety and economic competitiveness of our transportation system that is needed to get people to work, children to school, and products to the marketplace.

If no additional transportation funding is provided the backlog of deficient highways and bridges will continue to grow, vehicle repair costs will be higher, highway safety will be compromised, economic competitiveness will decline, and costs to maintain and repair the transportation system will grow.

SPC commends the report for starting the important dialogue about transportation funding solutions.

For more information about the TFAC Report, please click here.

May is CommuteInfo Commute Options Awareness Month

SPC is encouraging all commuters in Southwestern Pennsylvania to learn more about the commuting options available to them.  To focus attention on available commuting alternatives SPC, at its meeting on April 30th, proclaimed May to be CommuteInfo Commute Options Awareness Month.  During May, SPC’s CommuteInfo program is promoting the benefits of alternatives to driving alone.  The goal of SPC’s CommuteInfo program is for commuters in Southwestern Pennsylvania to choose ridesharing at least twice a week.

Over 75% of the workers in the SPC region drive alone to work.  If fewer commuters drove alone, there would be less traffic congestion and the air would be cleaner. And commuters would save a lot of money.  Alternatives to driving alone, like vanpooling, carpooling, using public transit or biking to work, are just a few of the ways to lower the cost of commuting.  Over 660 commuters already ride to work daily in CommuteInfo’s 53 registered vanpools.  The 241 registered carpools carry an additional 525 commuters a day. 

In 2011, CommuteInfo’s vanpool and carpool participants kept nearly 800 cars off the road each workday.  For a typical 30-mile round trip to work and a vehicle that averages about 25 miles per gallon, each day that vehicle is left at home and the commuter rides in a CommuteInfo vanpool or carpool instead, the commuter can save over a gallon of gasoline.  At the current price of almost $4 per gallon, that adds up to over $1,000 in savings per year. 

Visit www.commuteinfo.org and take advantage of the CommuteInfo Commute Cost Calculator to estimate how much you could be saving!

For more information about CommuteInfo and commuter alternatives, please visit www.commuteinfo.org, or call toll free 1-888-819-6110.

SPC’s Regional Traffic Signal Program Honored with the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence

SPC’s Regional Traffic Signal Program inaugural cycle of projects was honored with the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence from the Department of Environmental Protection on April 18, 2012 in Harrisburg, PA.  Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer presented the award to SPC staff. The Regional Traffic Signal Program was touted as an excellent, cost effective example of using the latest technology and approaches, along with inter-governmental cooperation at the local, county, regional, and state levels, to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the Commonwealth. Retiming the signals along these corridors, along with targeted equipment upgrades, allowed SPC, PennDOT, and the municipalities to use existing infrastructure to its fullest potential, realizing significant reductions in emissions, fuel use, and delay. The overall benefits of the program can be summarized in the benefit:cost ratio of 91:1 in the program’s first year of implementation; for every $1 of public money invested in the program, the traveling public and surrounding communities realize $91 of benefits in reduced fuel usage, delay, and emissions.
Overall Reduction in Delays: 3,900,614 fewer vehicle hours/year

• Overall Reduction in Number of Stops: 104,431,337 fewer stops/year
• During the most congested periods of the day, the average improvement in travel time along all 21 corridors was 27%, and the average improvement in the number of stops across all 21 corridors was 53%

Reduction of three types of emissions were calculated: Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrous Oxide (NO), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) - total reduction = 388 tons per year

• CO reduction: 276 tons/year (250,078 kg), an 9% reduction resulting in savings of $137,543
• NO reduction: 51 tons/year (46,276 kg), an 9% reduction resulting in savings of $254,980
• VOC reduction: 61 tons/year (55,392 kg), an 9% reduction resulting in savings of $122,417

Fuel Consumption: 16% reduction

• 6,211,620 gallons/year saved, a 16% reduction (at $3.66/gallon, equivalent to $22,734,527)
• Equivalent of removing 10,828 vehicles from road

Energy & Maintenance Savings: $102,009 per year
For the 10 corridors (in 21 municipalities) that implemented LED light bulb upgrades:

• Energy: 515,143 kilowatt hours (kWh) saved due to more efficient bulbs using less energy, resulting in savings of $46,759/year
• Maintenance: $55,520/year (cost of bulbs & labor to install replacements)

For more information on SPC’s Regional Traffic Signal Program, please contact Domenic A. D'Andrea at (412) 391-5590 ext. 341 or ddandrea@spcregion.org, or on SPC’s website at http://www.spcregion.org/trans_ops_traff.shtml.