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.

“Instead of linking the last mile or first mile of their transit trip with bikeshare, people are just taking the whole trip on a bike now,” said White.

National, county, and city data reflect an increased appetite for bikes. According to analytics company Streetlight Data, bike miles in the Pittsburgh region saw up to a 19 percent increase in May 2020. The region’s trails recorded jumps of more than 30 percent on some segments, according to data collected by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. Year over year, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership recorded a daily average increase of nearly 50 percent at its counting sites during the months of March, April and May.

Read the full article at WESA.fm

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.

“We want to hear from everyone about where they want to go so we can look at how we can get them there,” Mr. Totten said. “What we’re trying to focus on is where all these [transit systems] can connect. All 10 counties have possibilities.”

The ultimate goal would be for a commuter in an outlying county to pay one fare and follow one schedule to travel to Pittsburgh or some other central location even if they have to transfer several times to reach their destination.

“We want to hear from everyone about where they want to go so we can look at how we can get them there,” Mr. Totten said. “What we’re trying to focus on is where all these [transit systems] can connect. All 10 counties have possibilities.”

Read the full article at post-gazette.com

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.

The survey will be open through September, 2020. The results will be incorporated into the SmartMoves Connections study where it will help project planners to identify and prioritize multimodal projects and policies to improve connections within and across the counties.

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.

The tour began with a presentation in the Cranberry Township municipal building.

“I think it’s remarkable what I’ve seen here,” Valdes said. “I’m taken by the vision.”

The commission secures funding for projects such as the Gateway 228 Project. Valdes stressed the importance of local governments to execute the planning, which includes providing matching funding needed to move projects forward. He praised the work done by the county and municipalities.

“I can see a fruitful partnership with the SPC,” Valdes said.

Read the full article at the Butler Eagle

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.

The work will be funded with a $324,500 federal smart transportation grant administered through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, with an additional $64,900 paid by the City of Greensburg.

Read the full article at TribLIVE.

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.

The NEXTransit plan will be made up of a series of documents, with input from the public.

Learn more at submit your input at https://nextransit.network/

Meeting Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/230365651279670/

#NEXTransit | @NEXTransit

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.

Bill became the
Assistant District Executive (ADE) for Construction for District 12-0 in 2007,
which is the most recent role held, and served a brief period as the ADE for
Design in 2010.

Bill earned a
Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at West Virginia University and is a
member of American Society of Highway Engineers, Southwest Pa. Chapter. Bill is
a Registered Professional Engineer and an ISO 9001 Internal Examiner.

Bill has been a resident of District 12
nearly his entire life residing in Greensboro, Greene County with his wife
Susan. Bill and Susan have four sons who all live nearby.

When not working, Bill enjoys helping his
sons with remodeling projects on their homes, going to dinner with family and
friends, and outdoor activities such as hunting the woods of Greene County. He
also enjoys golfing, which he admits he does not seem to find enough time for.

PennDOT welcomes Bill’s experience and
expertise that has well prepared him to provide leadership to the Department of
Transportation.

We’ve updated the SPC Regional Data Center “Visualize: SPC Tableau” with the recently-released Annual County Population Estimates. Our interactive Tableau dashboard now includes Demographic Characteristics in the SPC Region by Age, Sex, and Race. The dashboard can display a variety of indicators and data comparisons by municipality, county, and region, based on user selections.

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.

If you are interested in having additional topics covered, please e-mail Erin Kepple Adams, Water Resource Manager at ekepple@spcregion.org.  

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.

Click below to access the survey:

Visit www.commuteinfo.org to learn more about Commuting Options.