The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) hosted the first of its kind, Regional Broadband & Connectivity Summit, bringing together regional stakeholders, industry and non-profit experts, and local, state and federal governments and agencies to address equitable and affordable access to high-speed broadband internet in southwestern Pennsylvania.

“The goal of this summit was to identify the region’s state of broadband access and affordability, discuss challenges and opportunities at the regional, state and federal level, and understand how local government, providers, and community institutions will need to work together to achieve digital equity and maximize broadband investments here in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche, who also chairs SPC.

In 2019, SPC identified broadband connectivity as a high priority for southwestern Pennsylvania’s long-range plan. To that end, SPC worked with a coalition of stakeholders to develop the Regional Connectivity Roadmap, which identifies and guides the deployment of high-speed connectivity programs and projects throughout the region. “It only makes sense that SPC, the agency that coordinates transportation & economic development investments, should coordinate broadband and accessibility investments also,” Osche said.

The summit included five sessions, during which panelists addressed the State of the Region, Legislative updates, federal and state funding programs, Digital Equity and Affordability, and Pennsylvania’s Statewide Implementation Plan. The State of the Region session began with an update from, Andy Waple, Deputy Executive Director for Programs for SPC, who told the audience “Within SPC, we have created a connectivity resource center to provide on-call technical services to our constituents and our members. Implementation, technical assistance, public engagement, media outreach: we are poised and ready to assist our members and constituents with whatever their broadband planning needs may be, and to help fund those activities over the coming years. We see connectivity as a form of transportation and that’s been so evident since the pandemic. An increasing amount of regional planning organizations around the country are taking similar approaches.” Commissioner Mike Belding of Greene County spoke about his county’s broadband development efforts, saying “this is a big problem with local solutions. As we say in Greene County, we’re rural but reachable.”

During the Internet for All Funding Panel, an attendee asked the panel if smaller boroughs that neighbor rural communities would be encouraged to partner together and take a regional approach to broadband development. Brandon Carson, Executive Director of PA DCED, PA Broadband Development Authority (PBDA), responded “Absolutely! We have $279 million available through the American Rescue Plan dollars allocated to the Commonwealth. We’re in the process of developing guidelines for three new programs. One of those is geared towards funding regional solutions.”

SPC was honored to have Anna Read, of The Pew Charitable Trusts, as their Keynote Speaker. Ms. Read, leads Pew’s efforts to examine how states and the federal government are working to connect millions of Americans to affordable, high-speed, reliable internet as part of the Trust’s broadband access initiative.

Armstrong County Commissioner and SPC Vice Chairman Pat Fabian closed out the Regional Broadband & Connectivity Summit by saying “at SPC, we believe that by working together with private and public partners and across local, regional, state and federal levels, we can lead the effort to make our vision of affordable, equitable broadband access a reality in every part of southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Further details, program slides and a recording of the day’s presentations can be found on SPC’s Connected website under the Resources tab.

Summit sponsors include Armstrong, AT&T, Comcast, DQE Communications, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Michael Baker International, Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney, First Light, Kimley Horn, Crown Castle and Butler County Chamber of Commerce.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) Connected initiative today announced the launch of the Connectivity Roadmap, a guidance tool, to support the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), county leadership, and regional stakeholders in the 10-county region and the City of Pittsburgh to develop and prioritize connectivity projects and associated programs to secure funding.

The Connectivity Roadmap was developed in collaboration with representatives of the 10 counties, state and local governments, and industry experts, and through public engagement in the communities most impacted by the lack of reliable or affordable internet. Southwestern Pennsylvania is now positioned to secure federal and state broadband funding through the roadmap’s implementation guide and tools.

“We are incredibly grateful to our partners and residents who helped us in the development of this roadmap,” said SPC Executive Director Vincent Valdes. “We’ll be working in earnest with our partners to identify the projects, programs, and funding needed to help the communities in our region that need it most. Our goal is to support our region in building the infrastructure to connect our residents and businesses to the internet and resources they need to thrive.”

Rather than identify a comprehensive set of future projects that may quickly become obsolete, the Connectivity Roadmap provides several tools to guide the selection of projects as priorities shift, including a Project Identification Decision Tree and Measures of Effectiveness. In addition, the roadmap includes 12 regional goals and over 70 strategies as well as recommendations and next steps for the SPC, county and city leadership, and other partners to improve broadband infrastructure, tools, and skills across southwestern Pennsylvania.

“The Connectivity Roadmap is a wonderful example of what we have been striving for, not only from a regional level but from a statewide perspective”, said State Representative Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette. “Initiatives like this are exactly what the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority aims to highlight and encourage as collaboration and partnership between government, public and private parties is essential to advancing connectivity in our communities.”

Rep. Snyder serves as one of the 11-members of the PBDA board of directors, which is tasked with administering federal and state funds to support broadband expansion in unserved and underserved areas of the state.

“During this project, we had the opportunity to meet with residents through community conversations across the region to incorporate the real challenges faced in daily lives as part of the roadmap solution,” stated Jamie Baxter, executive director at Allies for Children. “Many of the personal stories we heard reinforced the mission of this initiative – that the internet is essential for our communities to connect and learn, it’s expensive and unreliable for many residents, and rural communities feel left behind.” The Allies for Children Community Conversation Report is also available online.

The Connectivity Roadmap was developed through public engagement including a public survey and internet speed test data that was received from more than 3,400 respondents, a series of five virtual stakeholder workshops, 17 in-person community conversations, and more than 25 phone interviews with industry leaders, internet service providers, and county planning directors. Data dashboards visualizing the access, adoption, and affordability across the region were used to create the Connectivity Opportunities Areas in each of the 10 counties.

“The Connectivity Roadmap provides us the tools we need to truly work together to prioritize projects to improve broadband and to reframe it as a public necessity,” said CMU’s Karen Lightman, director of Metro21: Smart Cities Institute. “It also provides the information and resources our communities need to better understand what the internet can offer.”

As part of the Connectivity Roadmap, materials have been developed to help residents educate themselves on internet terminology and find digital literacy courses to enhance their comfort. In addition, community meeting materials are available to assist local governments or communities in project planning and outreach.

To learn more about the SWPA Connected initiative and the Connectivity Roadmap, visit www.spcregion.org/connected/.

In recognition of
his outstanding service to TRB and advancement of innovations in public
transportation partnerships, Vincent Valdes is the 2021 recipient of the W.N.
Carey, Jr., Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Valdes is the is the Executive
Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), the designated
Metropolitan Planning Organization for a ten-county region including the City
of Pittsburgh, where he leads a
team of planners, program managers, transportation specialists and engineers
working to create a common regional vision and transportation implementation
program for the communities of southwestern Pennsylvania.  The Carey Award—named in honor of W.N. Carey,
Jr., TRB’s Executive Director from 1967 to 1980—recognizes individuals who have
given leadership and distinguished service to TRB.

The award will be presented on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, during the Chair’s Plenary Session portion of the TRB Annual Meeting, January 9-13, 2022, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Valdes has
been engaged with TRB for more than 20 years. 
During that period, he has been a constant fixture and participant at
TRB’s Annual Meeting. As the Associate Administrator for the Office of
Research, Demonstration and Innovation with the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) from 2008 to 2020, he was an invited presenter at every TRB Annual
Meeting as well as numerous specialty conferences. As FTA’s liaison on the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
Oversight and Project Selection Committee and on the American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Committee on Research and
Innovation, he helped to program hundreds of TCRP and National Cooperative
Highway Research Program (NCHRP) projects. In addition to his roles with TCRP
and NCHRP programs, he is a strong advocate for TRB’s Technical Activities
Division as a premier source of ideas, knowledge, and information exchange; and
its role on attracting and mentoring the next generation of transportation
professionals.

During his time as FTA’s Associate
Administrator, he advanced innovative public transportation partnerships,
especially public-private partnerships. In January 2020, before he left FTA,
his office announced the Integrated Mobility Innovation Program, a competitive
program that will encourage agencies to initiate service such as Mobility as a
Service and integration of private providers with more traditional public
transportation services. A previous successful initiative was the Mobility on
Demand Sandbox, which like the Integrated Mobility Initiative, encouraged
agencies to experiment, especially with last mile solutions. Prior to that, he
led the development of the Rides to Wellness initiative, which tackled the role
of transportation in providing health care, especially to seniors, low-income
people, and those with disabilities.

In addition to serving in previous
roles with the FTA, Valdes was a lead planner with the District of Columbia
Office of Planning, and worked for organizations including Inter-American
Foundation, The World Bank, ICF Incorporated, and General Dynamics, Northrop,
and Pratt & Whitney.

Mr. Valdes holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Boston University.

–XXX—

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the region’s forum for collaboration, planning and public decision-making. As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the ten-county region including the City of Pittsburgh and the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland, SPC is responsible for planning and prioritizing the use of state and federal transportation funds allocated to the region. As the Local Development District (LDD) and Economic Development District for Southwestern Pennsylvania (as designated by the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce), SPC establishes regional economic development priorities and provides a wide range of public services to the region.

CommuteInfo is excited to announce that its vanpooling fleet now offers SUVs and minivans for use in the vanpooling program!

Based on pooler input, and a review of pooling opportunities nationally, CommuteInfo, in cooperation with its pooling partner, Commute with Enterprise, is now making both minivans and SUVs available along with the full-size vans for the use of pooling groups. These new additions to the fleet will allow for groups of 5-7 participants to take advantage of pooling and contribute to the positive outcomes vanpooling provides to our region. These include reduced transportation costs, reduced carbon emissions, reduced traffic congestion, reduced wear and tear on our roadways and bridges, and reduced transportation anxieties and frustrations.

Under the direction of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, the CommuteInfo program is the regional customer-focused full service commuting options resource center, running the region’s vanpool, carpool and bikepool programs, and facilitating the forum for coordinating regional ridesharing efforts. To support the regional carpool and vanpool program, CommuteInfo offers ridematching and emergency ride home services; provides information for commuters and employers about the benefits of ridesharing, transit, biking, and walking options; and, publishes the regional park-n-ride inventory on its website: www.CommuteInfo.org. 

SPC Announces Vincent Valdes as New Executive Director & President/CEO

Pittsburgh, PA—The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) Board has selected Vincent Valdes, an engineer and planner, as the new President & CEO of the organization.

“We
are very excited for Vince to begin leading our regional planning and
transportation organization,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Chair of
the SPC Board. “His experience, enthusiasm, knowledge and background are
exactly what we need as we enter into a new era of transportation and economic
growth for the region.”

The search committee, chaired by Commissioner Larry Maggi, former SPC Chair and Washington County Commissioner, led this process with the help of search firm Krauthamer & Associates. The committee sought a dynamic and innovative leader who could manage a complex planning organization and who would be willing to roll up his or her sleeves to build, inspire and develop a regional plan to support this region’s growth.

“We
are extremely happy with our new choice for SPC. The SPC executive board did an
exhaustive application and interview process and unanimously agreed upon Mr.
Valdes,” said Maggi. “He has demonstrated from his experiences that he is very
capable to handle the current and new challenges that SPC faces. I believe our
organization will be in a good place with Mr. Valdes’ leadership.”

Since
April 2008, Valdes has served as the Associate Administrator for the Office of
Research, Demonstration and Innovation with the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. In addition
to serving in previous roles with the FTA, Valdes was a lead planner with the
District of Columbia Office of Planning, and worked for organizations including
Inter-American Foundation, The World Bank, ICF Incorporated, and General
Dynamics, Northrop, and Pratt & Whitney. He holds a master’s degree in
Urban Planning from Columbia University and earned his bachelor’s degree in
aerospace engineering from Boston University.

“I
am immensely delighted to be joining the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
at this pivotal moment in the region’s history,” said Valdes. “I look forward
to working with the board and each community to spur economic development
through collaborative planning and innovative investments in infrastructure and
transportation.”

SPC
acts as a cooperative forum for collaboration, planning and public
decision-making. SPC develops public investment plans and programs, ensures
that federal and state transportation requirements are being met and operates
with other local partners with the support and trust of the public.
Additionally, SPC serves as the Local Development District and Economic
Development District for southwestern Pennsylvania. In that role, SPC
establishes and puts forth the regional economic development priorities and
provides a wide range of local government assistance programs and public
services to the region.

The
board voted on Valdes’ hiring at its March 30, 2020 meeting. He is expected to
assume the new position on June 15, 2020.

# # #

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC)
is the region’s forum for collaboration, planning and public decision-making.
As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the ten-county
region including the City of Pittsburgh and the counties of Allegheny,
Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and
Westmoreland, SPC is responsible for planning and prioritizing the use of state
and federal transportation funds allocated to the region. As the Local
Development District (LDD) and Economic Development District for Southwestern
Pennsylvania (as designated by the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission and the
U.S. Department of Commerce), SPC establishes regional economic development
priorities and provides a wide range of public services to the region.

SPC Completes 3rd Cycle of Regional Traffic Signal Program

Nearly $4 Million in Upgrades to 148 Intersections

Pittsburgh, PA- The Southwestern Pennsylvania
Commission’s (SPC) award-winning Regional Traffic Signal Program is committed
to implementing projects with their federal, state, and local planning partners
that demonstrate innovation, coordination, and measurable results. Since 2008,
this program and its projects embody the implementation of safe and efficient
traffic operations, providing outstanding cost-savings, environmental, and
quality-of-life benefits to the communities and residents throughout the
10-county Southwestern Pennsylvania region. SPC, in cooperation with the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation (PennDOT), its planning partners, and local municipalities
across the region, has completed its third cycle of projects under the Regional
Traffic Signal Program.

Nationwide, these types of signal projects, on average, have yielded $20 to $40 of public benefit for every $1 invested—in part by making the most efficient use of the transportation infrastructure already in place.

Projects completed in the
third cycle of the program are listed below. In addition to traffic signal
retiming, improvements on some of the corridors included new energy efficient
LED signal indications, new communications equipment and new controlling
equipment to facilitate signal coordination. All third cycle projects were
substantially completed in 2019.

Projects completed in the third cycle included major
corridors such as US Route 19 and State Route 228 in the Cranberry area, State
Route 121 (Greentree Road) and US Route 30 in North Huntingdon.

Based on before and after studies conducted by the
program, the annual benefits derived from the completion of the third cycle of
projects include:

• Reduced vehicle hours of travel:  over 1.3 million
• Reduced fuel consumption: over 976,000 gallons
• Reduced total pollutant emissions: over 118 tons (Carbon
  Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, and Volatile Organic Compounds)
• Reduced number of vehicular stops: 18 million

Cumulatively, the third
cycle of projects provided $23 of public benefit for each $1 invested.
During the most congested periods of the day, the average reduction in
vehicular delay across all third cycle projects is 23%.

Municipalities
have also been appreciative of the results of the Regional Traffic Signal
Program. “The SINC-UP project that we did with SPC was a huge success for North
Huntingdon,” said Mike Turley, North Huntingdon Township Assistant Manager.
“With economic growth continuing along the US Route 30 corridor, we need to
make sure that our traffic signals are working efficiently and we are able to
do so with this program. Also, we were able to add an emergency preemption
system with this program that helps to reduce emergency response times.”

With the completion of three cycles of this program, SPC and its partners have invested nearly $11 million to improve 649 signalized intersections across 77 municipalities and every county in our region. Through the first three cycles of this program, results have yielded a $51 of public benefit for every $1 spent in terms of reduced delay, reduced vehicular stops, and reduced fuel consumption and emissions.

–XXX—

The
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the region’s forum for
collaboration, planning and public decision-making. As the designated
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the ten-county region including
the City of Pittsburgh and the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver,
Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland, SPC
is responsible for planning and prioritizing the use of state and federal
transportation funds allocated to the region. As the Local Development District
(LDD) and Economic Development District for Southwestern Pennsylvania (as
designated by the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Department
of Commerce), SPC establishes regional economic development priorities and
provides a wide range of public services to the region.

The
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is announcing the launch of a new
project website and online mapping survey aimed at providing project
information and gathering the public’s input related to the Route 28 corridor
from Kittanning to Interstate 80 (I-80). 

SPC, in
partnership with the Northwest Pennsylvania Commission; North Central
Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission; Armstrong, Clarion
and Jefferson Counties; and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Engineering District 10-0, initiated the study in December to identify
potential improvements along the approximately 40 mile stretch of Route 28
located in Armstrong, Clarion and Jefferson Counties.

The mapping survey is intended to gather information related to all modes of travel, potential improvement areas and detailed interests and concerns within the study area.  Survey participants will drop pins on the mapping and comment to indicate their areas of interest.  The survey will be active until March 6, 2020.  Results of the survey will be shared on the website. 

SPC and its partners have initiated this study to explore transportation improvement concepts that will improve safety and mobility between Interstate 80 and Kittanning, PA.  The study will include an extensive data collection effort to gather existing roadway, traffic, and safety data; future growth and traffic information; and public and stakeholder input.  With the results of the survey and technical data, the study team in coordination with the study’s Steering Committee, will identify improvement concepts that will vary in complexity and location throughout the corridor.  The study team will also place an emphasis on identifying potential funding available to implement the proposed improvement concepts.

The study website
will continue to keep the community informed and provide the overall study
goals, development process/schedule, and all draft and final reports. The
public is encouraged to sign up on the website to receive study updates as they
occur.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Caitlin O’Connor, Director of Public Relations and Communication Initiatives, 412.391.5590 or coconnor@spcregion.org

Ryan Gordon,
SPC Project Manager, 412.391.5590 or rgordon@spcregion.org.

John Petulla,
Consultant Project Manager, 412.922.6880 or jlpetulla@mccormicktaylor.com

Rich Fitzgerald, Tony Amadio and Leslie Osche
Elected Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer

Pittsburgh—The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) Board has elected Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald as its new Chairman, Beaver County Commissioner Tony Amadio as Vice Chairman, and Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche as Secretary-Treasurer. The team will play integral roles in coordinating economic development and transportation infrastructure investment decisions in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“County Executive Fitzgerald, Commissioner Amadio and Commissioner Osche will be a strong team for the challenges ahead. SPC is the place to make real progress and this team knows the value of coming together at the regional table,” said Jim Hassinger, SPC Executive Director.

SPC’s new Chairman, Mr. Fitzgerald, is in his third and final term as Allegheny County Executive. Widely recognized for his work ethic, Rich is also well known for bringing together people and organizations on regional issues.

“The region has a diverse economy which relies heavily upon the transportation infrastructure,” Fitzgerald said. “Working together through the SPC and other unique partnerships, we will continue to advocate for transportation funding at the federal and state levels and lobby the state for other revenue options for our counties to provide investments in their own infrastructure to meet our local goals.”

In addition to serving as Chair of the SPC, County Executive Fitzgerald also holds a number of statutory board appointments and memberships, is a member of the board of the County Executives of America and the Remake Learning Council and is part of the National Association of County Officials (NACo) Large Urban County Caucus.

Beaver County Commissioner Tony Amadio has been elected as SPC’s Vice Chairman. Tony Amadio took office for his first term as a Beaver County Commissioner on January 4, 2008 and was honored to be selected as Chairman of the Board of the Beaver County Commissioners at that time. A career public servant, Mr. Amadio brings over three decades of experience as a teacher and twenty-four years of experience as a township supervisor to the Beaver County Courthouse.

Commissioner Amadio helped successfully negotiate the building of a multi-billion dollar petrochemical complex in Beaver County, which in turn prompted additional development. This helped bring thousands of construction jobs to the county. In addition, he worked closely with PennDOT and other officials to ensure the completion of Crow’s Run Road, a more efficient route from Beaver County to Cranberry Township.

Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche has been elected as SPC’s Secretary-Treasurer. Commissioner Osche is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the County of Butler. Her career spans 30 years in non-profit leadership serving in executive roles with United Way of Butler County, Butler County Chamber of Commerce, St. Barnabas Health System, Lifesteps, Inc. and the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Butler High School and Duquesne University with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Honors English.

As Commissioner, she also serves on the Executive Board of the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board. She is a member of the Board of Fellows for the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics. She represents the Board of Commissioners on the Area Agency on Aging Committee; Parks and Recreation Committee; Children and Youth Advisory Board and the Emergency Communications Council. She and her fellow Commissioners were recently awarded the inaugural “Moe Coleman Let’s Work Together” Award, along with County Executive Fitzgerald, for demonstration of civil discourse and non-partisan cooperation.

–XXX–

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the region’s forum for collaboration, planning and public decision-making. As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the ten-county region including the City of Pittsburgh and the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland, SPC is responsible for planning and prioritizing the use of state and federal transportation funds allocated to the region. As the Local Development District (LDD) and Economic Development District for Southwestern Pennsylvania (as designated by the U.S. Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce), SPC establishes regional economic development priorities and provides a wide range of public services to the region.

Full Official Release