<div dir="ltr"><div>I forgot number 4.<br><br></div><b>4. East Liberty Street Names Return To Former Names</b><br><br><p>The Penn Circle street name is vanishing from East Liberty, as part
of a long effort to reverse the <b>urban renewal disaster of the 1960s.</b></p>
<p>East Liberty Development Inc. announced that street signs have begun
to be changed and the conversion will continue throughout the week.</p>
<p>Street names that were changed to Penn Circle will revert to their
previous designations: Penn Circle South and Penn Circle East become
Centre Avenue, as does Collins Street between Station Street and East
Liberty Boulevard; Penn Circle West becomes Euclid Avenue; and Penn
Circle North becomes Station Street.</p>
<p>A map of the new designations can be viewed on <a href="http://www.eastliberty.org/post/penn-circle-name-changes" target="_blank">East Liberty Development's website</a>.</p>
<div style="overflow:hidden;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:left;text-decoration:none;border:medium none"><br>Read more: <a style="color:rgb(0,51,153)" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/04/08/Penn-Circle-street-name-vanishing-in-East-Liberty/stories/201404080149#ixzz2yKtCqH00">http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/04/08/Penn-Circle-street-name-vanishing-in-East-Liberty/stories/201404080149#ixzz2yKtCqH00</a><br>
</div><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Apr 8, 2014 at 5:03 PM, Herb Brannon <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hrbran@cavtel.net" target="_blank">hrbran@cavtel.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Following are Pgh Post Gazette stories from today concerning PATransit and other transportation topics.<br>
<br></div><b>1. PATransit Service Cuts Problems</b><br><br><p>A couple years ago, when Gloria Jefferson of McKeesport wanted to go somewhere, she walked to a bus stop near her house.</p>
<p>Then, in 2011, her commute became much less convenient. During a
round of cuts to fix a budget deficit, the Port Authority canceled her
route, which ran through the middle of McKeesport. Now, Ms. Jefferson,
who is 80, has to walk a mile downhill to another stop.</p>
<p>The walk is tough for her, especially when she's carrying grocery
bags. Sometimes, she pays for a ride there or avoids going places. She
wonders whether she'll still be able to make the walk when she gets
older.</p>
<p>"Right now, I feel good. How long it's going to last, I don't know,"
she said. "I keep on praying that one day they'll turn it around and
bring the bus back up the hill."</p>
<p>Ms. Jefferson is among thousands of commuters whose lives were
changed when the Port Authority nixed 29 routes and scaled back dozens
of others in March 2011. The authority cut the routes to make up for a
$47 million budget deficit caused by rising cost of benefits for its
employees and a $27 million shortfall in state funding.</p>
<p>Last year, the state government passed Act 89, a transportation bill
that restores funding to the Port Authority. But the authority isn't
considering expanding its routes right now, communications director Jim
Ritchie said.</p>
<p>Instead, the authority plans to repair its infrastructure and improve
the experience of riders. After years of declining ridership due to
cutbacks, it hopes to draw riders back. Also, Act 89 requires that much
of the new funding to be used for maintenance, Mr. Ritchie said.</p>
<p>"The goal of the state was not to give money to expand, but to
stabilize," he said. "Of course, we will be looking at the bigger
picture down the road."</p>
<p>In the three years since the cuts, commuters have dealt with the lost
routes by paying for rides, walking long distances, or by simply going
fewer places. The transit cuts made it harder for many to get to work,
apply for jobs, run errands, visit the doctor and attend classes at
community colleges, commuters and community advocates say.</p>
<p>The poor economy and rising cost of gas have made the problem worse,
said John Lydon, CEO of Auberle, a McKeesport nonprofit that provides
shelter and other services for families in the area. Fewer people can
afford to buy a car and pay for gas and insurance, he said.</p>
<p>"These people are sort of caught between a rock and a hard place,
where the cost of a vehicle is increasing and the availability of public
transportation is decreasing," he said.</p>
<p>In addition to limiting commuters' movement, the cuts have led to big
wastes of time. Since 2011, Wayne Gray of Glassport has spent a larger
portion of his days waiting for and sitting on buses. Often, he spends
five or six hours a day traveling to construction sites where he
finishes hardwood. He sometimes waits 45 minutes for buses, causing him
to be late for work.</p>
<p>"It's boring, frustrating," said Mr. Gray, who passes the time by
checking Facebook on his phone, listening to music, staring out the
window and chatting with other passengers. "Hard-working people, we
can't get back and forth to work if there aren't any buses."</p>
<p>The effect of the cuts on him goes beyond work, though. His
girlfriend is pregnant, and the lack of buses makes it hard for them to
make it to her appointments with her doctor.</p>
<p>Inconvenient and expensive</p>
<p>The cancellation of bus routes has also put strains on the finances
of many commuters. Mr. Gray, like others, sometimes pays friends to give
him rides to places he used to reach by bus. For him, the rides cost
$10 or $20. Ms. Jefferson pays friends $5 to drive her to the bus stop
on Lysle Boulevard when it's cold or she's too tired to make the walk.</p>
<p>The bus schedule is usually convenient for Monica Henderson, with the
11 Fineview route stopping outside her house in Perry South. On
weekends, though, the bus doesn't come early enough to take her to her
job as a referral coordinator at UPMC Presbyterian because its hours
were shortened in the 2011 cuts. She usually pays someone $7 for a ride
to the nearest operating bus stop, the 16B Brighton.</p>
<p>Those extra payments strain the passengers' budgets. To make up for
the cost, Ms. Jefferson has delayed buying medicine and groceries, and
Ms. Henderson works overtime.</p>
<p>"You're paying $90 for a monthly bus pass, but when you're working
weekends that's another $14," Ms. Henderson said. "That's a bit too
much."</p>
<p>Mr. Lydon said he's met people through his work who have lost their
jobs because of a lack of public transit. Sometimes, the long bus rides
make it impossible for them to have several jobs, which they need to pay
the bills, he said.</p>
<p>The lack of bus routes also limits shopping options for low-income
people in McKeesport, he said. It limits them to the few stores within
walking distance, preventing them from looking around for good deals.</p>
<p>"The people who need to have savings the most are the most unable to
do that," Mr. Lydon said. "It's like the company stores of years past."</p>
<p>Apart from the 2011 cuts, the Port Authority has fought off budget
deficits several times in the past decade by cutting service, raising
fares and laying off employees. But Act 89 will give the authority
enough money to ward off deficits for the next several years, Mr.
Ritchie said.</p>
<p>Now that its budget is secure, the authority will concentrate on
repairing its infrastructure, he said. Busways need to be paved, and
bridges need to be fixed. It also plans to buy new buses to replace
aging ones that will go out of service.</p>
<p>The Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit that advises cities on land
use, development and other urban issues, will hold a weeklong panel
discussion in May in Pittsburgh at which local organizations will
discuss how they want the Port Authority to change. Taking the
discussion into account, the institute will evaluate the authority's
finances and recommend changes.</p>
<p>While restoring routes is not on the horizon, Mr. Ritchie said, a
priority for the authority is improving the experience of commuters to
increase ridership, which has been in decline since the cuts. For
example, the authority might ease overcrowding on buses by adjusting the
frequency of routes, making buses stop more often during peak rush hour
times.</p>
<p>"If we start to improve the service that's on the street today, and
people start to realize, 'I won't always be sandwiched on the bus,' then
we'll start to grab those people back," Mr. Ritchie said.</p>
<p>Of the 29 routes cut in 2011, one has been restored: the 55
Glassport, which runs through North Versailles, McKeesport, Glassport,
Clairton and Jefferson Hills. The authority decided to bring it back
after Heritage Community Services, a nonprofit based in Braddock, cut
back its Worklink bus line in response to a reduction in federal
funding. The authority revived the route to avoid a devastating impact
on the area, Mr. Ritchie said.</p>
<p>That was good news to Patricia Richardson of Clairton. When the bus
was gone, she had trouble getting around, especially with her arthritis
and back problems, which sometimes make it hard for her to walk. She had
to pay for jitneys, which took a toll on her finances.</p>
<p>"You have to rob Peter to pay Paul," she said. "Buy less groceries, you know."</p>
<p>Now that the bus is back, she's relieved. "It's a big difference," she said.</p><div style="text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;border:medium none">
<br>Read more: <a style="color:rgb(0,51,153)" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/06/Cuts-in-suburban-bus-routes-changed-lives/stories/201404060065#ixzz2yKVy6lpC" target="_blank">http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/06/Cuts-in-suburban-bus-routes-changed-lives/stories/201404060065#ixzz2yKVy6lpC</a><br>
</div> <br></div><b>2. Trolley Delays Today</b><br><br><p>Light rail riders should expect possible delays of up to 40 minutes
this afternoon because of a power issue, the Port Authority of Allegheny
County said.</p>
<p>T riders could see "significant delays" on all light rail service,
according to the alert posted on the Authority's website at 3:15 p.m.</p><div style="text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;border:medium none"><br>Read more: <a style="color:rgb(0,51,153)" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/08/Port-Authority-T-riders-can-expect-delays-of-up-to-40-minutes-this-afternoon/stories/201404080185#ixzz2yKX3e5cx" target="_blank">http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/08/Port-Authority-T-riders-can-expect-delays-of-up-to-40-minutes-this-afternoon/stories/201404080185#ixzz2yKX3e5cx</a><br>
<br></div><div style="text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;border:medium none"><b>3. Morning Landslide Stops Duquense Heights Incline & NS Railroad</b><br>
<br><p>A swath the size of a football field tore loose from the face of
Mount Washington this morning, sending a torrent of mud and trees across
railroad tracks along West Carson Street and briefly closing the
Duquesne Incline.</p>
<p>City officials also ordered a precautionary closure of LeMont
restaurant above the slide zone, but an engineer said a visual
inspection found no signs of instability around that structure.</p>
<p>No one was injured and the main impact of the slide was disruption of
freight train traffic along the Norfolk Southern Railway line. Railroad
crews were working to clear the tracks, a section of which shifted as
the hillside tumbled across it.</p>
<div>
</div>
<p>At a briefing this afternoon, city Public Safety Director Michael
Huss said the ground was still moving in the area. Railroad engineers
were to determine when it is safe to resume service on what Mr. Huss
described as "a very busy rail line with significant commerce."</p>
<p>As for LeMont, it will remain closed until engineers from the city
and those hired by the restaurant determine it is safe. "We're erring on
the side of caution," Mr. Huss.</p>
<p>The city Bureau of Building Inspection will meet Wednesday morning
with CEC Inc. -- civil engineers for the LeMont -- to determine whether
the restaurant can reopen Thursday, Public Safety Department spokeswoman
Sonya Toler said.</p>
<p>The slide was reported shortly after 4 a.m. by the engineer of a
passing train. The slide area was about 100 yards long and it left a
debris field about 10 feet deep and 30 feet back toward the hillside,
city Operations Director Guy Costa said.</p>
<p>Norfolk Southern spokesman Dave Pidgeon said this morning that the
company's freight trains were being rerouted but wouldn't elaborate,
saying the company doesn't provide details about train routing because
of safety and security concerns. By early afternoon, westbound trains
were seen moving slowly through the slide area.</p>
<p>The Duquesne Incline was closed for a time but reopened when
officials determined it was not threatened by the slide. The structure
is equipped with sensors that are designed to detect earth movement, Mr.
Huss said.</p>
<p>Conductor Lucille Gabler said one of her co-workers on night shift
heard a "funny noise" before closing, but the incline was running
normally today until shortly before 7 a.m., when someone from the
mayor's office told her they'd have to close. The incline reopened
around 9:15 a.m.</p>
<p>The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority checked water and sewer
lines along Grandview Avenue above the slide and found no damage, Mr.
Costa said.</p>
<p>The slide was typical in that it involved a failure of weak claystone
called "red beds" that were saturated with moisture from recent
rainfall, said Bruce Roth, a geotechnical engineer with GAI Consultants,
the company brought in by the city to inspect the scene. "That is a
common occurrence in Western Pennsylvania," he said.</p>
<p>In addition to visual inspection, the company will examine the
history of the scene and drill to collect soil samples that will be
analyzed in a lab, a process that could take about a month. It will then
offer the city a variety of options for correcting the problem.</p>
<p>"If they run across something that needs to be immediately addressed,
we'll have to address it," Mr. Costa said. "It could be fine, all the
loose stone and shale came down and we don't have to do anything."</p>
<p>Debris from the slide was on railroad property. County property
records show that the city owns the hillside between the restaurant's
property line and the railroad right-of-way.</p><div style="text-align:left;overflow:hidden;text-decoration:none;border:medium none"><br>Read more: <a style="color:rgb(0,51,153)" href="http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/04/08/Landslide-blocks-railroad-tracks-closes-Duquesne-Incline/stories/201404080148#ixzz2yKXlFCmo" target="_blank">http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/04/08/Landslide-blocks-railroad-tracks-closes-Duquesne-Incline/stories/201404080148#ixzz2yKXlFCmo</a><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
</font></span></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br></font></span></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br clear="all"><div><div><div><div><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div>Herb Brannon<b><font color="#888888"><div>
In Pittsburgh............<br></div><div>.................A City And<br>.........A State of Mind</div>
</font></b></div></div>Let's Go Pens<br></div>Let's Go Bucs<br><div><br></div></div>
</div></div></div></div></font></span></div>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div>Herb Brannon<b><font color="#888888"><div>In Pittsburgh............<br></div><div>.................A City And<br>.........A State of Mind</div>
</font></b></div></div>Let's Go Pens<br></div>Let's Go Bucs<br><div><br></div></div>
</div>