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. 

Western Pennsylvania’s eastern corridor is set to get a massive investment in two of its most important pieces of transportation infrastructure, the Parkway East and the East Busway.

The offices of U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) along with U.S. Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-14) and Chris DeLuzio (D-PA-17) announced $142.3 million in federal infrastructure funding dedicated to the Parkway East and East Busway.

The funding derives from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and was allocated by the federal Department of Transportation to make way for a long list of improvements and generate 2,500 jobs and add a total value of $254.9 million to the region’s economy, according to the announcement.

DJ Ryan, director of strategic initiatives and policy at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the agency that oversees transportation investment in the region, boiled down the comprehensive impact of the investment in a prepared statement: “Once completed, the Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor Project will directly benefit the lives of many individuals—streamlining travel routes, enhancing safety, and increasing access for those that live in our region’s eastern communities.”

The funding is expected to both help with needed upgrades to the physical infrastructure as well as implement a host of new modernization efforts to make transportation in the corridor safer, faster and smoother.

The announcement quotes from a 2019 study noted the Parkway East, so often slowed by the Squirrel Hill tunnel, was ranked as the fifth most congested highway in the United States.

The huge grant includes funding to rehabilitate 10 bridges as well as to build a new flood wall along the stretch of the Parkway East that runs near downtown that is nicknamed “the bathtub” due to its inability to keep out too much water during major rains.

The funding will also support implementing new technology to ease traffic from Monroeville to downtown.

According to a summary of the grant allocation by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the strategy is to implement what it calls Active Arterial Management from the PennDOT Traffic Management Center at certain sections of the corridor.

For the busway, the funding allocation calls for adding a new inbound bus lane along the Parkway East from Churchill to a new busway off-ramp at Edgewood.

The SPC summary also references the investment in electric buses as well.

Funding is also expected to be used to stabilize hills prone to landslides, improve sidewalk safety and improve other bus infrastructure, with upgrades also in the works for South Braddock Avenue and the junction of Route 30, Lincoln Highway and Ardmore Boulevard near Wilkinsburg and Forest Hills.

Senator Casey called it a “generational investment” that he and his colleagues in the Pennsylvania delegation fought for so that ” two of Allegheny County’s most heavily-traveled roadways will become safer and easier to navigate.”

Fetterman, who was outspoken in his opposition to a major highway project in the Mon-Fayette Expressway when he was mayor of Braddock, expects the new funding will prove to be a “game-changing investment” that will help resolve flooding issues, expand transit options and “allow our region’s infrastructure to adapt to the climate crisis.”

Lee, whose district includes many of the communities along the Parkway East, highlighted the jobs to come from the projects funded and how it will “help to right the wrongs of disinvestment and disconnection in left behind communities.”

Matt Smith, chief growth officer at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, called the funding a “huge win for the Pittsburgh region” that he expects will “benefit the community and all who live and work in the region.”

View the full story at bizjournals.com.

Twenty-five road and bridge projects have been identified by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC)  as being under construction or in the planning and design stages in Lawrence County.

Those projects are expected to be underway or finished between this year and 2022.

Members of the 10-county regional agency, based in Pittsburgh, hosted a public open house Wednesday at the Lawrence County Government Center. Attendance was sparse at the session that featured maps and lists of projects — current and proposed — that have been divided into three categories. Those that are funded and will take place within 25 years, those currently under way or in design, and those that have no funding commitment yet.

One of the presenters, Andy Waple, director of transportation planning, explained that the SPC coordinates all of the transportation planning in southwestern Pennsylvania, working with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, county planning departments and transit authorities in each county. The agency lays out a mission, goals and policies of how state and federal transportation money will be used in the next 25 years, he said. 

Read the full article at New Castle News

DCED’s Multimodal Transportation Fund application period is open and projects may be submitted up until July 31, 2021. Funds may be used for the development, rehabilitation and enhancement of transportation assets to existing communities, streetscape, lighting, sidewalk enhancement, pedestrian safety, connectivity of transportation assets and transit-oriented development.

For more information visit: https://dced.pa.gov/programs/multimodal-transportation-fund

As of Monday June 28^th, the 2021 SPC
Transportation Alternatives Funding Program is open to qualified applicants. The Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TA) Program
provides funding for programs and projects defined as transportation
alternatives, including on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities;
infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public
transportation and enhanced mobility; environmental mitigation; recreational
trail program projects; and, safe routes to school projects. The SPC region
receives a yearly sub-allocation of approximately $1.8 million to award to
eligible projects.

Prospective project
sponsors should submit a short pre-application by August 16, 2021. The full
application will be due on October 15, 2021. The SPC TA program
pre-application, application, and program guidance (which includes submission
instructions) is available on the SPC website at https://www.spcregion.org/funding-programs/
. The site also includes a link to the concurrent but separate PennDOT
administered statewide TA program. Any questions can be directed to Lillian
Gabreski at lgabreski@spcregion.org.

Residents in Washington County will have an opportunity next week to learn more about long-range transportation and infrastructure plans that will impact generations to come, whether it’s building new roads and bridges or installing high-speed broadband internet.

The Southwest Pennsylvania Commission is holding a two-hour town hall meeting at 3 p.m. Monday in the first-floor gathering room of the county’s Courthouse Square office building in Washington that will include a discussion of the region’s 25-year plan, along with a question-and-answer session with the public.

The meetings are being held this spring across the SPC’s 10-county region, and the discussion here will focus solely on Washington County and seek input from local residents.

“We are going to present specific projects that are in our plan for Washington County,” said Domenic D’Andrea, director of transportation planning for SPC. “And I think (the public will) be interested in how we put the plan together, along with the goals, the vision and the strategy in the plan.”

Many projects included in the long-range plan will be discussed during the meeting, which include various roads, bridges and other transit improvements, along with broadband installation in rural areas. The last long-range plan was revealed in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, so this version will offer a vision that shows the need for all people to have access to high-speed internet that became an integral part of daily life, whether it involved virtual learning, remote working or telemedicine for seniors.

“It’s about connecting people to opportunity,” D’Andrea said.

That has been an especially important point of emphasis in Washington County, with officials pushing broadband expansion since early 2022 with the help of federal stimulus money.

“I don’t think you can have a conversation about infrastructure without including broadband,” Washington County Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan said.

Representatives with the state Department of Transportation, along with local and county leaders like Irey Vaughan, will also be attending the town hall to offer their thoughts and listen to feedback from the community.

“This is an opportunity for our residents to come together and detail their vision for the county to see if we can include some of their wishes into planning by the regional Southwest Pennsylvania Commission,” she said.

While the long-range plan is constantly evolving with updates every five years, this one has also been assisted by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure bill passed in 2021 that is infusing more than a trillion dollars into various projects across the country. The five-year spending plan within the infrastructure bill has had a ripple effect on current projects and future plans.

“There are bridges on this long-range plan that would not have been funded without the (infrastructure bill),” said Ryan Gordon, manager of transportation program development at SPC.

The long-range plan can be found on the SPC’s website at www.spcregion.org, and there is a 30-day public comment period open from now until June 9. Information on how to submit comments can be found on the SPC’s website under the “Get Involved!” tab.

“I think it’s an excellent opportunity to see how tax dollars at both the federal and state level are being planned for and being allocated and programmed to future projects,” Gordon said. “Those projects will help the region, they’ll help Washington County and they might be in your backyard.”

Similar meetings will be held in Fayette County at 5:30 p.m. May 31 at the former Gallatin Bank building at 2 W. Main St. in Uniontown, and then later in Greene County at 5 p.m. June 1 at the Greene County Career & Technology Center.

View the full article at observer-reporter.com

Two major interstate rehabilitation projects are planned in the coming years within Lawrence County.

Members of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, county officials and representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation convened for a public meeting Monday to review the proposed, long-range transportation planning needs for the region.

The SPC officials, who hosted the meeting for public input, detailed long-range plans for Lawrence County’s roads, bridges and multimodal transportation. Municipal and agency officials also attended the session at the Hutchison Community Center in Neshannock Township.

According to information presented, $12.6 million has been committed to upgrade the entire stretch of Interstate 79 in Lawrence County, from the Butler County line to the Mercer County line.

The 16-mile section of Interstate 376, from Route 224 in Union Township to the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Beaver Borough, also will be upgraded at a total cost of $7.6 million.

Dominick D’Andrea, SPC’s director of transportation, explained that the Transportation Improvement Plan is a four-year plan that is updated every two years. The long-range transportation plan looks ahead for 25 years and is upgraded every four years, he said.

“Public involvement is a key aspect” to the process, which focuses on investing and asset management with safety as the key, he said.

The current regional transportation improvement plan includes $1.9 billion in funding; the long-range funding is $10.78 billion through 2050, D’Andrea said.

The future investments in transportation planned in Lawrence County total $265 million, including highway, bridge and transit projects, he said.

These Lawrence County projects are on the list for the transportation improvement plan:

• Route 18 over an abandoned plant access road
• Route 18 in the city of New Castle, road preservation
• Route 65/East Washington Street
• Route 422 in Pulaski Township
• Frew Mill Road Bridge replacement
• East Washington Street Bridge replacement
• Route 18 upgrade from Liberty Street to Jefferson Street
• South Main Street Bridge replacement
• Union Township sidewalk upgrades

Projects listed on the long-range plan are:

• Replacement of the Mahoning Avenue Viaduct
• Replacement of the Route 422 bridge over the Shenango River
• Road preservation on Route 422 from the Ohio Line to Interstate 376
• Route 422 East, from new Butler Road to Route 16, road preservation
• Route 19, road preservation
• Route 18, resurfacing from the Beaver County line to the Mahoning River
• Route 18, reconstruction on Jefferson Street and Wilmington Road
• Route 18, reconstruction of the Columbus Inner Belt.

New Castle Area Transit Authority projects also are listed for upgrades, according to the SPC officials.

They are:

• Expanding and upgrading the bus garage, at $5.5 million
• Upgrades to the bus shelter, $,250,000
• Route 422 park and ride lot upgrades, $2.75 million.

Any member of the public who was unable to attend the meeting in-person, but would still like to provide input into the matters, is invited to submit their comments during the public comment period, through June 9. They can submit comments by email comments@spcregion.org, complete an online form, by fax at (412) 391-9160, or mail comments to Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s address at PO Box 101429, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

D’Andrea said the plans are to be adopted at the commission’s meeting in late June.

View the full article at ncnewsonline.com

As part of the region’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) that the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) manages, the organization is hosting a public meeting Thursday, Nov. 2, for Westmoreland County residents.

The meeting is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. in the board of commissioners meeting room inside the Westmoreland County Courthouse, 2 N. Main St., Greensburg. SPC staff members, county officials, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) officials and area stakeholders will be in attendance.

According to information provided Tuesday by the SPC, residents attending the meeting will learn about the TIP and have the opportunity to share their thoughts on any local transportation and infrastructure projects they want addressed. The TIP for years 2025-2028 is currently being developed. This meeting serves as an introduction/status update on the TIP before a draft plan is made available for the public’s review/comment period in late spring 2024.

SPC is hosting this meeting in Westmoreland County, and will host other meetings throughout southwestern Pennsylvania in the weeks ahead.

If a member of the public is not able to attend this meeting in-person, but would like to learn more about the TIP (or has questions about transportation planning activities), they are encouraged to:

• send an email to comments@spcregion.org
• mail questions/comments to Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s address at 42 21st St., Suite 101, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
• call SPC at 412-391-5590
• visit the Get Involved page on the SPC’s website at www.spcregion.org/get-involved/.

View the full article at latrobebulletinnews.com

People gathered to hear the proposed transportation projects in Butler County.

State, regional, and local officials got together Wednesday night to discuss the future of transportation projects in Butler County.

Representatives of PennDOT and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission joined Butler County Commissioners, municipal administrators and the Butler County Public Participation Panel for information about the Transportation Improvement Program that is being developed for 2025-2028.

The initiative outlines specific transportation projects and infrastructure planning across a 10 county region that includes Butler County. The SPC seeks funding from the state as well as nationwide competitive grant programs but construction costs remain high so projects have to be prioritized carefully.

Another meeting will be held somewhere in the county sometime in May as part of a formal comment period on the draft of the plan before a vote for approval in June of 2024.

View the full article at butlerradio.com.

A 30-day comment period has begun for a proposed 2025-28 Transportation Improvement Plan unveiled in the first of a series of county meetings Wednesday at PACareerLink in White Township.

”Smart Moves for a Changing Region” arrived as scheduled in the second year of the current 2023-26 TIP for the region including Indiana, Armstrong, Westmoreland, Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence and Washington counties, and the City of Pittsburgh.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission develops Long-Range Transportation Plans as part of its role as the area’s designated Metropolitan Planning Organization. Its latest plan for 2025-28 can be found at spcregion.org.

SPC staffers, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials, and local stakeholders joined the commission’s executive director, Rich Fitzgerald, for a 90-minute session, the first of 10 scheduled across the region in the month to come.

“We have to start collaborating as 10 counties,” said Indiana County Commissioner Robin A. Gorman. “We really have to start working together.”

Each TIP is meant to be a step toward investments over the next 25 years in the region.

The 2023-26 TIP foresees spending more than $2.1 billion on public transit, more than $1.5 billion on road and bridge projects, and an additional $2 billion in other federal, state and private funding going toward interstates, railways and other major projects in the region.

“We really want public participation,” said Mark Hilliard, president of the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce. He’s co-chair, with Indiana County Office of Planning & Development Executive Director Byron G. Stauffer Jr., of the county’s Public Participation Panel, consisting of private citizens, public officials and others with a handle on transportation needs in Indiana County.

Hilliard, Stauffer and Gorman, in turn, are part of the county’s contingent on the SPC board of directors with county Commissioners R. Michael Keith and Sherene Hess, with Hess also representing the county on the SPC Executive Board.

According to the plan, $860 million would be invested in bridges. SPC officials said some notable examples of major bridge rehabilitation to begin work over the next four years include the U.S. Route 119 bridge over Two Lick Creek in Center Township, Indiana County, and the Judge J. Frank Graff Bridge carrying U.S. Route 422 over the Allegheny River between Manor and North Buffalo townships in Armstrong County.

Additionally, Fitzgerald said, “there are other pots of money that aren’t on the TIP.”

And it is a diverse discussion going on. An Environmental Justice Report and an Air Quality Conformity Report also are part of the proposed TIP.

Also, some of the concern isn’t about speeding around from one place to another, but also, as Indiana Borough Councilman Peter Broad put it, a need in some places for traffic calming.

“There is a disconnect when it comes to working inside urbanized municipalities,” said Broad, a longtime public official in Indiana County’s second-largest municipality, who also has expressed concern about Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s interest in a “campus front door” from the IUP Indiana campus to downtown Indiana.

Since Wednesday, the commission also has held public meetings in Beaver County and in Pittsburgh, with the next meetings after that being on Monday at 1 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room of the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg and on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Kittanning Township Volunteer Fire Department, 13126 U.S. Route 422, Kittanning, for Armstrong County.

Additionally, between now and June 7 at 5 p.m., comments about the proposed TIP can be submitted via email at comments@spcregion.org, or utilizing an online input form at surveymonkey.com/r/SPC_Public_Input or by mail to Att: Ronda Craig, Southwestern PA Commission, 42 21st Street, Suite 101, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

View the full article at indianagazette.com.