[PRCo] Re: Fwd: News from Pittsburgh//Jacksonville

Thu May 10 10:34:24 EDT 2012

 That was an observation on a visit two years ago.  We were standing on the elevated structure near Heinz Field and noted that students would have to walk thru an underpass beneath an expressway to get to the college.  Let's see - do you place the last station to serve football fans eight sundays a year or college students 200 days a year?  The politics were to serve the stadium and casino.  > Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 10:22:23 -0400
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fwd: News from Pittsburgh//Jacksonville
> From: shadow at gmail.com
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> 
> On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 10:20 AM, John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >   There's a community college that might be a large trip generator - depending on how PAT runs the service.
> 
> only if you're not so lazy that you won't walk up to the college.
> 
> we'll see.
> 
> >  > From: hrbran at cavtel.net
> >> Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 10:15:31 -0400
> >> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fwd: News from Pittsburgh//Jacksonville
> >> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> >>
> >> You need to take a close look at the "new" Northside. It's not your
> >> "fathers' Northside" any longer. There a lots of new venues, other than
> >> Heinz Field and PNC Park, to cause people to take the new extension.
> >> On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 7:09 AM, Jerry "Matt" Matsick <
> >> jerry.matsick at comcast.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> > Fred - Our Jacksonville "Skyway Express" Monorail system, 3.5 miles is now
> >> > "Free"  Ridership increased 75 percent, people are parking in garages at
> >> > either ends of the system, city now actually starting to see a small
> >> > profit.        The Pittsburgh Northside extension, will boom for Steeler
> >> > games, I know if I lived out in the South Hills area that is how I would
> >> > travel to Heinz Field!    I haven't seen the new Pgh extention, other than
> >> > a ball game what would lead people to
> >> > ride?    Americans do not fathom what the rest of the world is like?  do
> >> > they?
> >> > Jerry M
> >> >
> >> > ----- Original Message -----
> >> > From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
> >> > To: Pittsburgh Railways <pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org>
> >> > Sent: Wed, 09 May 2012 23:51:48 -0000 (UTC)
> >> > Subject: [PRCo] Fwd: News from Pittsburgh
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Begin forwarded message:
> >> >
> >> > > From: Fred Schneider
> >> > > Date: May 9, 2012 5:15:49 PM EDT
> >> > > Bcc: John Swindler , Yonah Freemark , Ed Lybarger , "Bruce C. Bente" ,
> >> > Pittsburgh Railways , Dave Hamley
> >> > > Subject: Fwd: News from Pittsburgh
> >> > >
> >> > > Wonderful!   We just opened the new PAT North Side extension on March
> >> > 23rd and now they admit having  no money to run it.  We cannot raise fares
> >> > or tax our own people to run the system ... we have to demand that the
> >> > state give us more money if we are to haul people.
> >> > >
> >> > > Trippers to the ball game at Forbes Field are a memory from the past.
> >> > >
> >> > > On the other side of the ocean the base fare in London is $8.60 for the
> >> > first two zones ... less than half that if you buy an oyster card.  And if
> >> > you wish to drive instead, then you will pay just about the same amount as
> >> > a congestion tax each day for the privilege of driving your car into London
> >> > and then add the exorbitant parking fees on top of it.   Exorbitant you
> >> > ask?   Parking in central London can run 30 pounds or 52 dollars for a 9
> >> > hour workday, so it still pays to take the tube even if it does cost $6 to
> >> > $8 a day with an oyster card.   By the way, their gasoline is about 5
> >> > pounds 43 a gallon, or $9.33 this week.   Is there something we don't
> >> > understand?
> >> > >
> >> > > Fred Schneider
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> > > Port Authority's Failures Frustrate Fans, Runners
> >> > > Jon Schmitz  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> > > May 09--For many transit riders, Saturday's fireworks show at PNC Park
> >> > was followed by a dud.
> >> > >
> >> > > Port Authority says it can no longer afford to provide extra Light Rail
> >> > Transit service after crowded stadium events. But last weekend, a staffing
> >> > shortage prevented it from meeting even its stripped-down regular schedule.
> >> > >
> >> > > Thousands of fans poured out of the Pirates game and a Marilyn Manson
> >> > concert next door at Stage AE to find packed station platforms and trains
> >> > nowhere in sight. Service is scheduled about every 15 minutes at that hour
> >> > on Saturdays, but some riders said they waited 45 minutes or more.
> >> > >
> >> > > "There's no excuse for it," authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said of the
> >> > dropped trips, which occurred Friday night and all day on Saturday. "We're
> >> > trying to correct it."
> >> > >
> >> > > But he also said the past practice of running extra trains after major
> >> > events is no longer possible. With the authority facing a $64 million
> >> > budget deficit and record-breaking service cuts scheduled for September,
> >> > "it's not within our financial means," he said.
> >> > >
> >> > > Jan Grice of Shadyside and her husband, Don Marinelli, parked at First
> >> > Avenue Garage with the intention of taking the free T ride to and from the
> >> > North Side for the baseball game. They waited 20 to 25 minutes before a
> >> > one-car train arrived and it was packed, she said.
> >> > >
> >> > > After the game, after waiting 20 minutes at North Side Station, they
> >> > gave up and walked back to First Avenue. "More and more people were flowing
> >> > into the station. We realized when this train gets here, it's going to be a
> >> > madhouse," she said.
> >> > >
> >> > > "The thing that just kills you is you had all these people in from out
> >> > of town [for the Pittsburgh Marathon the following day]. We look like a
> >> > second-class city that can't quite get it together," Ms. Grice said. Her
> >> > husband, in a comment on the Post-Gazette's website, called it "a major
> >> > black eye for Port Authority."
> >> > >
> >> > > Mr. Ritchie said the agency's rail division is going through a series of
> >> > staffing changes. That, coupled with higher-than-normal absenteeism because
> >> > of illnesses, injuries and other authorized leaves, left the authority
> >> > without enough operators to meet the schedule. "It became impossible to
> >> > overcome that quickly," he said.
> >> > >
> >> > > Throughout Saturday, 10 vehicles that should have been in service were
> >> > not, including five Red Line units that were out of service after 4 p.m.,
> >> > Mr. Ritchie said.
> >> > >
> >> > > Even meeting the full schedule, which has shrunk in recent years because
> >> > of service cuts brought on by chronic underfunding, the agency is
> >> > hard-pressed to keep up with demand after Saturday night baseball games,
> >> > which typically draw more than 30,000 fans.
> >> > >
> >> > > The current schedule has only three outbound trips serving North Side
> >> > Station between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturdays. About 400 people can
> >> > squeeze into a two-car train, meaning the system can move only about 1,200
> >> > people in the hour after which most games end.
> >> > >
> >> > > If a game runs late or is delayed, the situation gets worse -- only two
> >> > trips are scheduled from 11 p.m. to midnight.
> >> > >
> >> > > The September service cuts would eliminate all weekend service on the
> >> > Blue Line, leaving just two trips from North Side Station between 10 p.m.
> >> > and 11 p.m. and one between 11 and midnight.
> >> > >
> >> > > "It makes the whole expenditure for the T extension seem ridiculous if
> >> > it doesn't function," Ms. Grice said.
> >> > >
> >> > > "Our resources are very limited," Mr. Ritchie said. "What we're seeing
> >> > right now essentially is the gap between the level of service we offer and
> >> > can afford and the demand."
> >> > >
> >> > > As the June 30 expiration of its current union contract approaches, the
> >> > authority is anticipating a wave of retirements by workers who are worried
> >> > they will lose benefits under the new contract. That could create
> >> > additional scheduling problems.
> >> > >
> >> > > The agency also drew complaints over the weekend from marathon
> >> > participants and spectators because it didn't add bus or rail service for
> >> > the event, which attracted 19,000 runners and thousands of onlookers.
> >> > > Alexis Rzewski of Point Breeze said he boarded a P1 East Busway-All
> >> > Stops bus in East Liberty at about 6:20 a.m. By Negley Station it was full,
> >> > leaving an estimated 40 people, many of them runners, to wait for the next
> >> > bus 30 minutes later.
> >> > >
> >> > > He said a collective groan went up when the bus approached the crowded
> >> > station. "We all knew they were not all going to fit in."
> >> > >
> >> > > Bus crowding has been a problem on many routes since service was reduced
> >> > by 15 percent in March 2011. Another 35 percent of service on Sept. 2 will
> >> > eliminate 48 of the remaining 102 routes. Authority officials say the cuts
> >> > can be avoided only if the state moves to provide a more reliable and
> >> > growing funding stream.
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> > >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Herb Brannon
> >> In Cuyahoga Valley National Park
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Derrick
> 
>