County Executive Sara Innamorato announced 10 appointees to five local boards Friday in what will be her biggest move to staff her new administration since she assumed office in January.

The individuals, if approved by a county council vote, will serve on the boards of the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the county Airport Authority, the county Redevelopment Authority, the county Sanitary Authority and the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission.

It is her second slate of board appointments, a key responsibility for the chief executive.

In a prepared statement, Ms. Innamorato said the slate will “bring diverse expertise and perspectives to our County’s vital boards and authorities.”

The former executive director of the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority, Diamonte Walker, was chosen for the board of The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County. The RAAC is responsible for managing economic growth in the region, focusing on real estate and repurposing vacant properties.

The RAAC requested $30 million in state aid last month to bolster their efforts to convert struggling Downtown office buildings into housing.

For the board of the Allegheny Regional Asset District, Ms. Innamorato named Monica Malik, the current area manager of Western Pennsylvania for Citizens Bank, and Jamilah Ducar, who leads University of Pittsburgh’s community affairs, and reappointed Dusty Kirk, a partner at the Pittsburgh branch of the international law firm Reed Smith. The Regional Asset District is responsible for using taxpayer money to invest in public facilities, including libraries, parks, sports and civic facilities, and public transit. It also provides funding directly to the county to support local government operations.

Ms. Innamorato named Dan Connolly, an attorney with a background in government consulting, to the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which is responsible for operating Pittsburgh International Airport. Mr. Connolly’s father, Robert Connolly, was one of 132 people who died in the Sept. 1994 USAir Flight 427 crash in Hopewell Township, Beaver County, in what is still known as the deadliest aviation accident in Pennsylvania’s history.

The Connolly family played a key role in lobbying for the federal Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act that passed two years later. The act codified into law the steps the National Transportation Safety Board must take to support the families of passengers involved in aircraft incidents.

Ms. Innamorato reappointed two current county council representatives. Paul Klein, a Democrat who has represented council district 11 since 2015, will continue to serve on the board of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority. Bob Macey, a Democrat who represents district 9 and chairs the county council Public Works Committee, will continue to serve on the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission.

Ms. Innamorato also reappointed Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council President Darrin Kelly to the Alcosan board.

Jesse DiRenna and Chris Sandvig will join Mr. Macey on the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, a congregation of 10 counties charged with collaborating on transportation and economic development projects in the region. Mr. DiRenna is president of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 66. Mr. Sandvig led efforts to reform transportation legislation and funding at the state level as part of both Goburg and Mobilify.

In her first slate of appointments, Ms. Innamorato picked three citizens for the county’s Jail Oversight Board. The County Council will convene at 5 p.m. next Tuesday to either vote on the appointments or refer them to the council’s appointment review committee.

View the full article at post-gazette.com.

Armstrong County officials were optimistic last week that having one of their own as the chairman for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission can only be a good thing for the county over the next two years.

During their meeting on March 7, Armstrong County Commissioners John Strate, Anthony Shea and Pat Fabian announced that Fabian was recently elected as chairman of the regional planning organization.

Fabian, who has served as the vice chairman of SPC for the past two years, said that the commission oversees how federal and state transportation dollars are spent in the region, which includes 10 counties and the City of Pittsburgh.

Strate said having someone on the SPC board from Armstrong County is a very good thing.

In a press release from the SPC, it was announced that in addition to Fabian serving as chairman, Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites will serve as vice chairman, and Greene County Commissioner Betsy McClure will serve as secretary/treasurer.

“The board’s new officers will shape the commission’s work for the next several years and intend to focus on workforce and economic development, transportation planning, and other initiatives like investments in broadband, water resources, attracting business investments, and expanding pedestrian and bicycle trails throughout the region,” the press release states.

“Together, Commissioners Fabian, Vicites and McClure make a dynamic team, and we are fortunate to have their leadership,” said Rich Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. “Our organization functions as a consensus builder and we work in a collaborative manner in order to support the needs of the entire region. We bring entities from the public and private sectors together to discuss wide-ranging issues that impact our 10 counties. By having Armstrong, Fayette and Greene counties at the helm of our board, I know that the commissioners will elevate the priorities of all of our urban, suburban and rural communities.”

During his time as commissioner since 2016, Fabian has increased the county’s operating reserve fund from $600,000 to $8 million and led efforts to significantly change the county’s pension funds from $60 million to $85 million. Additionally, he has worked to reduce the county’s debt by 20 percent since he was first elected.

Prior to serving as county commissioner, Fabian was a supervisor in Manor Township. Before entering public service, he spent more than 15 years as an outpatient and family therapist at the Family Counseling Center of Armstrong County where he was responsible for providing counseling to patients and creating individualized treatment plans. He has his bachelor’s degree in special education from Gannon University and a master’s degree in community counseling from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“I cannot wait to hit the ground running and serve the board in this leadership role,” Fabian said. “The entire region is well-positioned to work collectively as a team with one voice on major issues like job creation and broadband connectivity. While our approach to challenges may, at times, be different, we all have one goal — and that is to improve the overall quality of life for Southwestern Pennsylvania’s residents. We are able to advocate better for them when we all work together.”

SPC employs 50 individuals that work on behalf of the 10-county region in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As the federally designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO), local development district (LDD), and economic development district (EDA), the organization works to keep the region connected and moving forward. As part of this work, SPC helps counties, cities, municipalities and townships access approximately $39 billion in state and federal transportation and economic development funding that has been allocated to the region through 2045.

In other business at last week’s meeting of the Armstrong County Commissioners, county elections director James Webb gave an update about the rapidly approaching April 23 general election.

He said that April 8 is the last day to register to vote before the primary, and April 18 is the final day to request a mail-in ballot.

Webb said that testing of voting machines will begin soon, and that the county still needs poll workers in various precincts.

In related business, the commissioners approved an agreement between the county and Gabriel Fera PC, a firm representing multiple counties in a lawsuit regarding mail-in ballots.

Responding to a comment from a member of the public who said that “mail-in ballots are a farce” and that she did not want to see her tax dollars used to defend such a lawsuit, Strate stood behind Webb and the county elections department.

“Mail-in ballots are what we do now,” Strate acknowledged, noting that he had confidence in Webb to oversee the election.

Fabian acknowledged that the agreement with Gabriel Fera was only for a retainer, and that the county may not need those legal services as the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania is defending all counties in the case.

Other Business

• Approval was given for a cooperative agreement between the county and the City of Parker for administration of the city’s 2023 Community Development Block Grant funding. The city will receive $300,805 for its North Wayne Street reconstruction project. The county will retain 15 percent ($45,120) for administrative purposes.
• The commissioners approved listing four non-used vehicles from the Sheriff’s Department for sale on Municibid.
• Karen Travis of Apollo and Pam Lash of Freeport were appointed to the county’s Area Agency on Aging Advisory Board for three-year terms.

View the full article at thecourierexpress.com.

Since our 2014 Member’s Meeting, Bike Pittsburgh has been pushing Pittsburgh’s mayors to adopt a policy toward zero traffic deaths. While other policy goals of ours such as a Complete Streets policy and a new bike plan were achieved in 2017 and 2020 respectively, we still lacked the bold policy goal of zero traffic fatalities until this week.

On Monday, March 4, Mayor Gainey answered our call and made a commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries as part of his vision of making Pittsburgh the safest City in the country. This policy commitment, known as Vision Zero, is due to be supported by City Council, with the introduction of Councilperson Warwick’s Vision Zero Resolution.

At the core of Vision Zero is the recognition that these fatalities and serious injuries are, in fact, preventable. All humans make mistakes, so we need to design our streets in a way where the chances that someone will be maimed or killed because of that mistake is reduced. When this engineering is combined with a holistic approach including education, a change in processes and policy, encouragement, evaluation, and public safety, true gains can be made toward eliminating harm.

Additionally, a formal city commitment towards zero traffic fatalities will help open Pittsburgh up to even more Federal safety funds, as the Biden Administration has developed a National Roadway Safety Strategy to address what they refer to as a “national crisis” of the needless loss of more than 40,000 American lives per year.

Councilperson Warwick’s resolution begins with the standard legalese justifying why the bill is necessary with statistics and values.

WHEREAS, traffic deaths and serious injuries occur disproportionately in low-income communities, communities of color, and communities with low car ownership and disproportionately affect individuals with limited mobility, people with disabilities, and people who are unhoused, children, and the elderly

A sample from Councilperson Warwick’s Vision Zero Resolution

After addressing why this is necessary, the resolution gets into “how” the city will achieve this goal. This section sets specific actions that city departments and staff should take, however it still lacks a target date to by which to reach this goal of zero. The resolution is by no means comprehensive, but it outlines the first necessary steps to catalyze action. It will also inform the future Vision Zero Action Plan that the City, County and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission are developing with funds from President Biden’s federal infrastructure bill.

First, the resolution formally adopts the goal “of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries on our roadways and endorses the Vision Zero strategy as a comprehensive and holistic approach to achieving this goal, while maintaining constant evaluation of programs and practices.”

Second, DOMI will create a Vision Zero Task Force comprised of individuals from various City departments “that may be expected to commit resources or take actions toward the objective of Vision Zero.” This is a standard step in making sure that all appropriate departments are collaborating toward the goal in their work through this new lens, as well as adopting new policies and procedures that are missing. We don’t know everything that will come of this, but a focus on the goal may yield some surprising results. For instance, they may determine that a policy banning right turn on reds should be implemented citywide. In another example in New York City, they realized that outfitting large city fleet and contracted vehicles with side-guards will improve safety results. Other cities have lowered speed limits.

The third section gets into how the city will use the newly launched High Injury Network (HIN) map as a guide for where focus street improvements, policy, and education resources, with an eye toward equity. The “Vision Zero Working Group shall create a Vision Zero Memorandum to commit City resources to the goal…while prioritizing the most vulnerable and dependent users of the most dangerous parts of the transportation network.”

The fourth and final step of the resolution directs DOMI to include a Vision Zero component in their biennial Complete Streets Report.

Earlier in the day on Monday, March 4, DOMI presented their first Biennial Complete Streets Report to Council, a requirement of the 2017 Complete Streets Policy, another major policy win that BikePGH campaigned on during the Peduto administration. The report is a snapshot on what the City is currently doing toward road traffic safety, what the City needs to do, and a large dose of statistics on what’s happening on the ground.

Behind the statistics are people – our families, friends, and neighbors. Each crash has a ripple effect that touches countless lives.

DOMI 2023 Complete Streets Biennial Report

Another aspect of the 2017 Complete Streets Policy included the formation of a Complete Streets Advisory Group (CSAG). The group dissolved, along with many things during the pandemic, but in 2023, DOMI and the Mayor resurrected it. The CSAG Engage Page will be the primary public-facing location to keep track of the progress toward Vision Zero. On the page, you can currently find the CSAG Biennial Report, the HIN Map, a list of planning documents, and past meeting minutes.

BikePGH is glad to see the Gainey Administration and City Council make this commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Pittsburgh. Committing to zero deaths is good policy and help ensure that Pittsburgh families cease getting their lives upended by a mistake that could have been prevented in the first place.

Councilperson Warwick’s Vision Zero Resolution will be discussed in Council Chambers during their Standing Committee Meeting on Wednesday, March 13 at 10am. There is an opportunity for public comment at the beginning of the meeting (sign up here) to support the commitment to Vision Zero. If you would like more information about how to talk to Council, please contact us: advocacy@bikepgh.org.

View the full article at bikepgh.org.

Butler County Commissioners hosted the yearly State of The County event at the Atrium yesterday and they say the county in strong condition.

They cite business development, which includes anticipated new manufacturing jobs and plans to expand broadband access across the county.

Chief of Economic Development Officer Mark Gordon says that now demolition is complete at the former Armco/Ak Steel plant, five businesses have signed letters of intent to operate at that location. Gordon says the 250-300 in added jobs will be in manufacturing.

In partnership with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a plan has been released on goals for expand broadband with the county. It aims to bring more access to school districts and underserved municipalities.

The County will be looking to add 2,000 miles of fiber connecting 1,555 units in county.

View the full article at butlerradio.com.

As the executive director of the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corp., Tracey Evans has cultivated a keen eye for deferred maintenance.

In her long-distressed community, Evans notes concrete falling off a railroad trestle that was originally built in 1916 as just one example of infrastructure long in need of an upgrade.

“I do think those kinds of things are overdue. They’re over 100 years old,” she said, adding, “a lot of the infrastructure is aging and needs to be replaced.”

After decades in which infrastructure investment has fallen behind in the U.S., most recently evidenced by the news that the 2022 collapse of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge could have been avoided with proper maintenance, some new jolts of federal funding appear to demonstrate new priority for infrastructure upgrades.

In back-to-back months, federal officials announced the Pittsburgh region is set to receive upwards of $275 million to complete various infrastructure projects.

The first came in early December when the region’s congressional delegation announced $142.3 million for what it called the Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor project, a multipronged plan to bring upgrades to the Parkway East and the companion East Busway. According to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the improvements are expected to add 2,500 jobs and around $255 million to the region’s economy.

Then, in late January, the Pittsburgh area received another funding announcement, this time totaling $132 million dedicated to bridge repairs and renovations. The funding is for three strategically important spans: The Fort Duquesne Bridge (a $60 million allocation), the West End Bridge ($47 million) and the McKees Rocks Bridge ($25 million).

Rich Fitzgerald, the new executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, has a unique perspective on the influx of infrastructure funding.

After serving three terms as Allegheny County executive, managing funding for plenty of infrastructure projects, Fitzgerald now leads the federally designated metropolitan planning organization that works to plan and prioritize state and federal transportation funding in a 10-county region.

He noted the outsized funding established by the federal government through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is expected to allocate $1.2 trillion nationwide over 10 years; the Inflation Reduction Act, with a $891 billion allocation; and the $53 billion CHIPS and Science Act, intended to spur American semiconductor manufacturing. And while this money will be spread out nationwide over many projects and programs, not all infrastructure related, combined the three acts represent a near unprecedented gusher of public investment.

“Those three pieces of legislation have brought in more money than I can remember during my 25-year government career,” Fitzgerald said. “Hopefully, we’ll be a region that’s improved our travel times, improved our access and made our roads and bridges safe. Any time you can improve access, you do improve the economic climate and desirability.”

Such a large influx of funding to be allocated in the years to come will join other infrastructure investment already underway in western Pennsylvania.

That includes a $2 billion-plus Clean Water Plan by Alcosan, establishing a new network of underground tunnels along the three rivers, and the $291 million PRTX Bus Rapid Transit project under construction by Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) from downtown through Uptown and Oakland, along with many other projects in the works throughout the region.

Earlier this year at its annual meeting, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development outlined plans for the year, citing taking full advantage of federal funding as one of its main goals.

Matt Smith, chief growth officer for the Conference, told the Business Times how important such investments can be in helping to grow the economy in the region.

“I think it’s particularly important in the transportation and infrastructure space because of our pursuit of helping companies here in southwestern Pennsylvania,” he said.

He added a “strong transportation and infrastructure system” is typically one of the first subjects the Conference is asked about by companies considering the region or ones deciding whether to grow here.

“Funding from Washington in the transportation and infrastructure space is particularly important,” he added, calling it a multiplier in its economic impact.

He expects the eastern corridor funding in particular will prove to increase the economic prospects of the neighboring communities and improve the quality of life.

Smith said the two recent federal outlays will be followed by others, given the scale and the scope of the three federal bills passed, especially noting the funding opportunities of the Inflation Reduction Act.

“We see future federal opportunities that are going to far outweigh the opportunities we’ve had over the last generation,” he said.

To be sure, the roll out of the funding in terms of projects will take years.

Nicole Haney, a community relations coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which allocates the federal funds, said the three bridge projects are being planned out and will need to be carefully coordinated.

“We will be considering the construction timelines for West End, McKees Rocks and Fort Duquesne as they are all intertwined and will be crucial to maintaining traffic while working on each individual bridge,” she said via email. “At this time, we are several years away from physical construction, but this recent funding ensures we can continue to advance the design of all three bridges.”

For Wilkinsburg, the new east corridor funding is expected to bring nearby improvements to the busway at the same time that the community is working with PRT on a plan to relocate the community’s busway stop.

The early proposal to move the station is one Evans expects can benefit the community’s recently restored train station, which is seeking a tenant or two, and dovetail with plans to develop more than 200 apartments in the vicinity.

Adam Brandolph, spokesman for PRT, said the new federal funding for the east corridor will become part of the PRT’s ongoing list of projects.

“We have a lot of capital projects going on … to ensure what we have today will remain in good condition,” he said.

Offering a sense of the ongoing scale of the need, Brandolph said PRT invests in the range of $100 million in capital projects every year but still has a backlog of $1 billion in budgeted projects.

“The East Busway, despite being 40 years old, is in relatively good shape,” he said. “We do put quite a bit of money into the maintenance of the busway on a fairly regular basis.”

Chris Sandvig, founder and executive director of Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that advocates for less car-dependent transportation choices, said he expects the federal investment will enable big improvements for the East Busway.

“What this money means for transit in the eastern suburbs is there’s not a direct connection from the parkway to the busway,” he said, explaining how the shoulder of the Parkway East will be “reengineered so it’s essentially a bus rapid transit lane.”

“It opens up an opportunity to leverage rapid transit along a corridor that is already congested where the people are,” he added.

Other areas where new infrastructure investment is being targeted are eager for the additional economic support.

Craig Rippole, president of Trinity Commercial Development, expects the invested upgrades in the McKees Rocks Bridge will further improve a vital connection to a growing mass of new logistics and infrastructure development along the riverfront communities it spans over.

“The access that the bridge offers helps to differentiate McKees Rocks and Stowe Township from other communities and is ideal for logistics and transportation,” he said.

Another project where infrastructure funding could make a huge difference to the surrounding communities is at the West End Bridge and on each of its sides along the Ohio River.

Riverlife, the local nonprofit institution that champions the city’s riverfronts, is working to thread in an important infrastructure addition.

Working with $2 million in trail development funding from Allegheny County, Riverlife has hired Kansas City-based design firm El Dorado to devise proposals to build new bike-and-pedestrian ramps on each end of the West End Bridge, which Riverlife President and CEO Matthew Galluzzo points out is set to turn 100 years old in 2032.

“Our move is to move in lock step with Alcosan’s Clean Water Plan and PennDOT’s project,” he said, with Alcosan’s tunneling project set for locations on each side of the bridge.

Daniel Renner, an architect based in the Portland, Oregon, office of El Dorado, provided an overview of the conceptual approaches for the new public amenities the firm is designing on each side of the bridge during a February community Zoom meeting of the Manchester Citizens Corp.

The north side of the bridge is proposed as a spiraling ramp with an overlook, a public plaza and a picnic area. On the other side amid the tangle of highways in and around the West End, the concept proposal calls for a more elongated ramp along with an elevated trail.

“A large part of this project is to really allow closer connection to the river,” Renner said.

Galluzzo noted the West End Bridge represents the biggest gap in the city’s 15-mile riverfront trail loop, a project that hopes to draw in hikers and cyclists with a route expected to offer stunning views of the city.

It’s a project, he noted, that also is seeking to better connect neighborhoods on each side of the bridge that have experienced disinvestment over the years.

“Our job is to leverage those investments to make sure the benefits accrue to the public,” he said.

He added the goal is to have El Dorado’s design and the work of other consultants 90% completed by the end of the year, expecting substantial fundraising will need to take place to be able to build the new ramp structures.

David Heaton, president and CEO of The Buncher Co., owns Gateway View Plaza, one of the biggest properties close to the south end of the West End Bridge.

It’s a property that could benefit from easier access on and off the bridge. Heaton acknowledged considering new plans for the building, which totals more than 400,000 square feet on six acres, blending both industrial warehouse use and office.

“The ground floor is strong, but the upper deck is expensive to maintain and a Class B office that is out of favor,” he said.

He admits the firm has considered converting the office to apartments but didn’t yet find it to be economically feasible. However, greater pedestrian access to the West End Bridge could make a case for re-examining the addition of a residential component.

While still unsure of the best plan, he offers a key asset to the property.

“Once you get up there, the views are incredible,” he said.

Securing funds for bridges, as well as to increase access to busways, is very much a big-picture goal for the region, but Sandvig said big federal budget allocations need to better connect to a more comprehensive approach to the region’s transportation and infrastructure needs.

“The political gravitas of western Pennsylvania in Washington has helped us to be successful for quite some time getting money for these big projects,” he said.

Using the work being done on the Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor, which includes plenty of bridges that will need repairs as well as updates to the East Busway, as an example of progress for the region, Sanvig hopes the projects represent a changing mindset.

“These sorts of projects help us to shine a light on what’s possible with transit in different ways,” he said.

View the full article at bizjournals.com.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission announced $21.3 million in discretionary grants Wednesday that will help fund Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s first micro transit project, improve road safety along three Pittsburgh roadways, nearly double the size of Bike Pittsburgh’s rental program and expand the trail network in southwestern suburbs in Allegheny County.

The commission, which sets priorities for federal transportation projects in a 10-county region, gets money from the federal Department of Transportation every year to fund projects in three categories. This year, the agency awarded funds to seven projects in two categories: two trail projects under the Transportation Alternatives Set Aside Program and the others under the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Program.

All of the grants will be available beginning in 2025.

Here’s a breakdown of the projects that were funded:

Pittsburgh Regional Transit

The agency will receive two grants, $3.9 million to help start its first micro transit service and $7.4 million to help pay for stations between Squirrel Hill and Oakland that were left out of its Bus Rapid Transit project.

Spokesman Adam Brandolph said the agency is “super excited” to get funding for the micro transit project, which is designed to connect unserved local communities with each other and with PRT’s main service corridors. That type of service was one of the key recommendations in the agency’s NEXTransit long-range plan adopted in 2021.

The grant will help to pay for the first step of the project, determining where to try micro transit and how to deliver it. The agency will consider two locations recommended in the long-range plan, the Tarentum-Brackenridge-Harrison area in the Allegheny Valley and the McKeesport-Versailles area in the Monongahela Valley.

During the planning stage, the agency will hold public meetings in both areas to determine the need and types of service residents want. There could be several options, including on-demand service or regular routes using full-size buses or smaller vehicles, possibly zero-emission vehicles.

“The $3.9 million is going to help us go to the communities and help us determine what those plans might look like,” Brandolph said. “There’s still a lot we have to figure out about how it will work.

“One thing is it will certainly connect to existing routes.”

Brandolph stressed that the first program will be a pilot project, but if it is successful the agency plans to try it elsewhere. The overall project is expected to cost $11.5 million.

The grant for BRT will allow the agency to restore the Squirrel Hill wing to its University Line that will connect Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland with exclusive bus lanes to improve reliability. Construction began on the $291 million project in September, but PRT eliminated extensions to Squirrel Hill and Highland Park when federal officials questioned whether it had included enough money to cover unexpected costs during construction.

The grant will allow the agency to build six stations in the 1.6-mile stretch between Bellefield Avenue in Oakland and Forbes and Murray avenues in Squirrel Hill, Brandolph said. The total cost of the project, which won’t begin until the main University Line is finished in 2026, is expected to be about $15 million.

The agency continues to look for funding for the Highland Park branch, Brandolph said.

Pittsburgh road projects

These are the road projects funded in Pittsburgh:

• $3.6 million for improvements to Brownsville Road in the South Hills, including four signalized intersections including Maytide  Street, Biscayne Drive-Becks Run Road and Nobles Lane. The signals will include audible crossing instructions, better nighttime lighting, and highly visible crosswalks, some of which will be raised.
• $1.5 million to improve signal timing on East Ohio Street on the North Side to reduce congestion and improve air quality from Cedar Avenue to Chestnut Street. Other improvements will include raised crosswalks and signals that detect pedestrians and bicyclists.
• $1.5 million to add bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Negley Avenue in East Liberty between Friendship Avenue and Broad Street. The work will include adding a speed table between Friendship and Coral Street to curb speeding near the bike lane crossing, highly visual crosswalks, new traffic signals and a bumpout at Penn Avenue and Negley so pedestrians have a shorter distance to cross the street.
  Bike Pittsburgh

Bike Share Pittsburgh’s $2.1 million grant is part of a larger capital project that will allow the agency to nearly double its network of regular and electric-assist rental bikes and stations and extend the service to new areas, said Executive Director David White.

The agency plans to establish 50 new rental stations and buy another 500 bikes, two-thirds of them electric-assist and the rest pedal bikes. In addition to adding more stations in Larimer, Homewood and Oakland, Bike Pittsburgh will move into new neighborhoods such as Lincoln-Lemington, Belmar, Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Manchester, California Kirkbride, and Highland Park.

White said the agency will conduct community outreach in the neighborhoods to finalize the exact locations of the new stations, some of which could be installed beginning next year.

Trails

A $1 million grant will help Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority extend the Panhandle Trail by 3 miles from Collier to the park-and-ride lot in Carnegie. That is a portion of the inactive Pittsburgh & Ohio Central rail line.

The county completed a feasibility study for the extension in 2022.

The trail currently runs from Walkers Mill Station in Collier through Washington County to the Harmony Creek parking area in West Virginia.

In South Fayette, the township will use its $800,000 grant to help pay for a new trail system through the 190-acre Fairview Park, said Paula Willis, township parks and recreation director.

The trail system in the park will connect with nature trails and other trails outside the park, Willis said. The township now has about 90% of the funding for the project and has started design of the 10-foot-wide multi-modal park trails.

The park was established at the former site of Mayview State Hospital more than 30 years ago.

View the full article at unionprogress.com.

Greene County was awarded $946,083 in grant funding from Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission for sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements as part of phase 2 of the Waynesburg Commons Multimodal Improvement Project.

The roughly $1.5 million project, which aims to make the area safer for students and community residents, includes construction of four new sidewalks in and around the Waynesburg Commons Park. It also will include the installation of five new pedestrian warning signs on the pedestrian routes that cross state Route 19 and on Washington Street, and the installation of new light poles along the new and repaired sidewalks.

“The (project) will enhance the livelihood of students that attend Waynesburg University and local residents that frequent the park,” said Jared Edgreen, chairman of the Greene County Board of Commissioners. “This park is a vital part of our community, and we want to ensure that anyone walking in or near it has safe sidewalks to use.”

SPC recently completed selecting projects for its competitive grants program, which chooses projects in the region to receive federal funding. A selection committee reviewed and scored the grant applications.

The multimodal improvement project qualified for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Set Aside (TASA) program.

The TASA program accepts applications from counties and municipalities for projects that support transportation alternatives, including pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improving access to public transportation, enhanced mobility, recreational trails, safe routes to schools, and environmental mitigation.

“Increasing safety for pedestrians is one of our organization’s priorities, and this funding will directly impact local residents,” said Rich Fitzgerald, executive director of the SPC. “When we create environments that foster mechanisms which protect and keep residents safe during their travels, communities have the opportunity to thrive.”

Phase 1 of the project will cover improvements to Monument Park. The county and Waynesburg University secured a $450,000 grant for those improvements, and work is expected to start in the summer.

The funding for Phase 2 will be programmed into the 2025-28 Transportation Improvement Program.

Commissioner Betsy McClure said she is pleased with the grant.

“These improvements are needed for safety when individuals and families are utilizing the Commons. These improvements, along with the downtown Waynesburg Betterment Project that is currently in progress, will give the county seat a long-overdue facelift,” said McClure.

View the full article at heraldstandard.com.

Greene County was awarded $946,083 in grant funding from Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission for sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements as part of phase 2 of the Waynesburg Commons Multimodal Improvement Project.

The roughly $1.5 million project, which aims to make the area safer for students and community residents, includes construction of four new sidewalks in and around the Waynesburg Commons Park. It also will include the installation of five new pedestrian warning signs on the pedestrian routes that cross state Route 19 and on Washington Street, and the installation of new light poles along the new and repaired sidewalks.

“The (project) will enhance the livelihood of students that attend Waynesburg University and local residents that frequent the park,” said Jared Edgreen, chairman of the Greene County Board of Commissioners. “This park is a vital part of our community, and we want to ensure that anyone walking in or near it has safe sidewalks to use.”

SPC recently completed selecting projects for its competitive grants program, which chooses projects in the region to receive federal funding. A selection committee reviewed and scored the grant applications.

The multimodal improvement project qualified for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Set Aside (TASA) program.

The TASA program accepts applications from counties and municipalities for projects that support transportation alternatives, including pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improving access to public transportation, enhanced mobility, recreational trails, safe routes to schools, and environmental mitigation.

“Increasing safety for pedestrians is one of our organization’s priorities, and this funding will directly impact local residents,” said Rich Fitzgerald, executive director of the SPC. “When we create environments that foster mechanisms which protect and keep residents safe during their travels, communities have the opportunity to thrive.”

Phase 1 of the project will cover improvements to Monument Park. The county and Waynesburg University secured a $450,000 grant for those improvements, and work is expected to start in the summer.

The funding for Phase 2 will be programmed into the 2025-28 Transportation Improvement Program.

Commissioner Betsy McClure said she is pleased with the grant.

“These improvements are needed for safety when individuals and families are utilizing the Commons. These improvements, along with the downtown Waynesburg Betterment Project that is currently in progress, will give the county seat a long-overdue facelift,” said McClure.

View the full article at observer-reporter.com.

A potential Amtrak line that would connect Pittsburgh with St. Louis, Oklahoma City and Dallas/Fort Worth for the first time in more than a generation generated positive interest in the past few days since it was unveiled.

The Federal Railroad Administration said this week that it was in the early stages of studying a handful of possible future Amtrak routes that would need both capital and operating money to become a reality. One would connect Detroit with New Orleans; the other would connect Dallas/Fort Worth with New York and include Pittsburgh along with other cities along the route.

Rich Fitzgerald, executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and former longtime Allegheny County executive, thinks the rail line will have an impact if it becomes a reality.

“There’s no question anything we can do to connect the region to other parts of the country and other parts of the world helps the economic climate,” Fitzgerald said. “It would be pretty positive.”

Western Pennsylvanians for Passenger Rail, a group of passengers who have long advocated for additional Amtrak service in the Pittsburgh region, say they’re interested, too.

“This proposal could restore much of a route previously operated by Amtrak with its National Limited train until 1979,” WPPR told the Business Times in an email. “Additionally, this proposed route has a segment that overlaps another study being conducted by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, which is evaluating the feasibility of a new passenger rail route connecting Chicago with Columbus and Pittsburgh.”

Also interested is VisitPittsburgh.

“News of the potential new Amtrak route presents an exciting opportunity for Pittsburgh’s tourism sector,” said Emily Hatfield, a spokeswoman for the tourism marketing organization. “Allegheny County welcomes 19.5 million visitors each year, and the proposed Dallas train would provide expanded connectivity into our region and allow us to grow our visitor base.”

Fitzgerald said that a long trip on the train from Pittsburgh to Dallas might not appeal to the business traveler when the flight will take about two hours.

“But there will be many stops and many connections along the way,” he said. “It might not be the connection from Pittsburgh to Dallas but to other cities, like Oklahoma City, Columbus, Cincinnati, other places that could be connected by rail,” Fitzgerald said.

The Allegheny Conference on Community Development said that it appreciates the potential federal investment in proposed Amtrak routes and the connectivity and transportation options. A spokesman told the Business Times that at this moment, the Dallas-Pittsburgh route would have a significant impact as an asset of economic development.

“It certainly could be beneficial for tourism as another way to get more people, by rail, to our city and region to experience all it has to offer and spend their leisure travel dollars here,” conference spokesman Phil Cynar said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation would have to be involved in the effort but told the Business Times it is aware of the potential but has limited involvement.

“PennDOT supports the expansion of passenger rail as a mobility option for travelers through Pennsylvania and beyond,” said PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell.

One of the focuses of SPC is in transportation, and Fitzgerald sees not just the mainline connections between New York and Dallas through Pittsburgh as a positive but the potential shorter connections that might come out of it for cities like Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, West Virginia. He said SPC would be active in supporting more rail service for southwestern Pennsylvania.

“If they are going to be appropriating that type of funding to connect these various locations across the country, yes, the SPC will be an important and big player,” Fitzgerald said.

Read the full article at bizjournals.com.

County commissioners from Fayette and Greene counties were elected to the board of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites will serve as the board’s vice chairman, while Greene County COmmissioner Betsy McClure will serve as the secretary-treasurer.

Both terms are for two years.

The SPC is responsible for planning and prioritizing the use of state and federal transportation funding and establishing economic and workforce development priorities for the region. The agency represents 10 counties, including Fayette, Greene, Washington, Westmoreland and Allegheny.

The board’s new officers will focus on workforce and economic development, transportation, planning and initiatives like broadband expansion and expanding pedestrian and bicycle trails in the region, according to an SPC release.

“I am excited to work with my fellow officers and board members on initiatives that will benefit Fayette County residents and the entire region,” said Vicites. “We’ve made a lot of tangible progress in recent years on issues like economic investments and the expansion of trails, but there is still more work to do and we are ready for it.”

McClure also expressed excitement for her new role.

“Whether it is workforce development, increased access to transportation options, or outdoor recreational sites that spur local economies, our entire region is on the precipice of exciting growth,” she said.

Armstrong County Commissioner Pat Fabian was elected the board’s chairman, and will also serve a two-year term.

View the full article at heraldstandard.com.