The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt life in the region; overall, residents of Allegheny County are still traveling less compared to 2019. However, bike miles have gone up.

“We pretty much had our best May ever,” said David White, executive director of Healthy Ride, Pittsburgh’s bikeshare system.

The nonprofit’s ridership increased 43 percent from 2019 to 2020. Much of the growth stemmed from Healthy Ride’s partnership with Port Authority: anyone with a Connect Card can take unlimited 15-minute trips. However, beginning May 1 of this year, average trip length increased by 60 percent.

After more than eight months of research, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission wants to hear from residents in the 10-county region about where they want to go and how public transit could help them get there.

The agency is conducting an online survey through September as part of a study that will recommend a series of intermodal hubs or corridors to help transit agencies work together better. Dave Totten, a transportation planner for the commission, said it wants to hear from residents regardless of whether they currently use public transit.

Distribution of a Public Survey Tool to Inform a Vision for Multimodal Transportation in Southwestern Pennsylvania 

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) has launched an online survey to collect opinions about public transit in the region. This survey is part of the project SmartMoves Connections: A Regional Vision for Public Transit, which is planning for future Multimodal Hubs and Multimodal Corridors.

The survey is primarily map-based and includes a process that will guide the survey taker through a series of questions that correspond with choices and locations shown on the map. SPC worked with the Pittsburgh-based firm, CivicMapper, to create the brief survey, which includes questions about mobility choices and priorities.

Through a multiple-stop tour Friday, Butler County officials welcomed Vincent Valdes, the new executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

According to a county news release Friday, Butler County officials, including the county commissioners, ushered Valdes and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, through stops including construction work improving the Route 228 corridor and the UPMC Sports Complex, the Pittsburgh Penguins practice site, in Cranberry Township.

“We’re in such an expansion mode,” said Kelly about the growth of the county.

Mark Gordon, Butler County chief of economic development and planning, said the tour was to welcome Valdes to the region and showcase the county’s economic development.

“We wanted to show the diversity of the county,” Gordon said.

Greensburg is planning a $389,000 project to improve the Five Star Trail, making the popular running and biking destination more accessible to city residents.

“We’re basically trying to improve the connections between the neighborhoods that are adjacent to the Five Star Trail,” said Jeff Richards, Westmoreland County parks planning coordinator and vice president of the Five Star Trail chapter of the Regional Trail Corporation.

NEXTransit is a community-driven long-range plan for a transit-oriented Pittsburgh area that values equity, accessibility, economic and social mobility, safety, resiliency, and accountability.

Through this planning process, there is the opportunity and the responsibility to engage with communities in an equitable and meaningful way, lead the region on sustainability, and improve on the metrics transit riders value most.

Uniontown, PA – William L. Kovach, P.E., has been appointed the District Executive for District 12, which covers Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

William (Bill) Kovach’s career began with the Department of Transportation in 1986 as a Civil Engineer 2 in District 12-0. He was promoted to Senior Civil Engineer in 1988. Bill became the acting Structure Control Engineer in 1997 and an Assistant Construction Engineer in 1998. In 2005, he became the Construction Support Services Engineer and then the Maintenance Support Services Engineer the same year. In addition to his years at PennDOT, Bill worked in private industry giving him over 38 years of experience in transportation.

The SPC Water Resource Center is now offering our educational workshops as webinars. Several webinars are already scheduled for 2020, covering the topics of Act 167 planning, achieving co-benefits with MS4 projects, infrastructure banks, asset management/capital improvement plans. For more information see the WRC’s events page.

As worksites across the country begin to reopen, we know that many commuters may be rethinking how they will get to their worksites and have valid concerns about the health and safety of various transportation modes.

Survey answers will be collected with others from across the country to help employers, transportation providers, and policymakers plan for how best to ensure your commute to work is safe and reliable no matter the mode you choose. This Survey is being conducted by the Association for Commuter Transportation.