[PRCo] Pittsburgh Transit Topics (April 8, 2014)
Edward H. Lybarger
trams2 at comcast.net
Wed Apr 9 08:30:08 EDT 2014
I think it would work as an Excel document, or even Word, formatted
landscape.
-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounces at mailman.dementix.org] On Behalf Of DF
Cramer
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2014 7:08 AM
To: Western PA Trolley discussion
Subject: Re: [PRCo] Pittsburgh Transit Topics (April 8, 2014)
I was afraid the format would be changed.
Population by decades for region
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Allegheny 1,374,410 1,411,539 1,515,237 1,629,821 1,605,133 1,450,195
1,336,449 1,281,666 1,223,348 Armstrong 79,298 81,087 80,842 79,524 75,590
77,768 73,478 72,392 68,941 Beaver 160,030 167,657 186,836 218,258 218,172
213,644 194,137 189,368 177,828 Butler 80,480 87,590 97,320 114,639 127,941
147,912 152,013 174,083 183,862 Fayette 198,542 200,999 189,899 169,340
154,667 159,417 145,351 148,644 136,606 Greene 41,767 44,671 45,394 39,424
36,090 40,476 39,550 40,672 38,686 Indiana 75,395 79,854 77,106 75,366
79,451 92,281 89,994 89,605 88,880 Washington 205,372 211,741 210,518
217,985 211,535 217,613 205,027 203,312 208,203 Westmoreland 288,855 303,576
313,333 352,769 377,030 392,294 370,411 370,024 365,230 Region 2,602,762
2,687,017 2,822,906 3,011,194 2,994,086 2,899,545 2,703,506 2,665,141
2,583,324
Dennis F. Cramer
http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/
> From: alto_trombone at hotmail.com
> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
> Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2014 07:02:55 -0400
> Subject: Re: [PRCo] Pittsburgh Transit Topics (April 8, 2014)
>
> Cheap cars & cheap gas. If gasoline was 30 cents a gallon, probably a
little high for then, in 1949, the CPI (Consumer Price Index) puts that at
$2.96 today. Not bad.
>
> You could buy a completely redesigned 1949 Ford coupe for between
> $1500 & $2000. ($14,780-$19,700) The suburbs and new highways were yet to
come. My brother was born in 1950 and the family lived in a row-home in
Versailles. With growing family, they bought a brand new home in a new
development in Liberty Boro, built over top of a slag dump. I came along 3
years later. It is hard to put a finger on when it all went down hill for
many of our bigger cities, but the population drain on Pittsburgh was
significant through the 70's and 80's.
> Many areas of the Commonwealth have still never recovered from those
years. We were graduating about 230 seniors a year when I began at Ford City
High in the late 70's and both PPG (once the largest plate glass factory in
the world) and Eljer were still operating even though PPG had moved most of
the workers to Illinois and Carlisle. The local workers were given an
opportunity to have a new production system installed at FC, but the
old-timers passed on it. By the time I retired in 2008, the land were they
both stood was, and still is vacant. We were graduating about 90 students a
year.
> Even though Fred left in the 40's it took a while for the changes to
> take hold
> Pittsburgh1920-588,343 ranked 9th nationally1930-669,8171940-671,659
> 1950-676,806 1960-604,332 1970-520,089 1980-423,959 1990-369,879
2000-334,563 2010-305,704 ranked 59th nationally City numbers do not tell
the whole story. The metropolitan area has stayed relatively stable over the
past 80 years though I would be wiling to bet that population has aged
slightly. Butler County has seen the largest increases. Lower taxes and no
tunnels on the commute help suburbia.
> County Name 1930 1940 1950 1960
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Allegheny
1,374,410 1,411,539 1,515,237 1,629,821 1,605,133 1,450,195
1,336,449 1,281,666 1,223,348Armstrong 79,298 81,087
80,842 79,524 75,590 77,768 73,478
72,392 68,941Beaver 160,030 167,657 186,836
218,258 218,172 213,644 194,137 189,368
177,828Butler 80,480 87,590 97,320
114,639 127,941 147,912 152,013 174,083
183,862Fayette 198,542 200,999 189,899 169,340
154,667 159,417 145,351 148,644 136,606Greene
41,767 44,671 45,394 39,424 36,090
40,476 39,550 40,672 38,686Indiana
75,395 79,854 77,106 75,366 79,451
92,281 89,994 89,605 88,880Lawrence
98,613 98,303 106,421 114,068 108,477 107,945
97,096 95,375 91,740Washington 205,372 211,741
210,518 217,985 211,535 217,613 205,027 203,312
208,203Westmoreland 288,855 303,576 313,333 352,769
377,030 392,294 370,411 370,024 365,230SPC Region
2,602,762 2,687,017 2,822,906 3,011,194 2,994,086 2,899,545
2,703,506 2,665,141 2,583,324
> Dennis F. Cramer
> http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/
>
> > From: fwschneider at comcast.net
> > Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2014 20:00:06 -0400
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
> > Subject: Re: [PRCo] Pittsburgh Transit Topics (April 8, 2014)
> >
> > Now tell me how, Herb, we can get the people to come back? Changing
the names of the streets isn't going to do it. There was an item last
September where Macy's closed the last downtown department store in St.
Louis . the old Famous Barr store. The people from the cities now have to
take bus to the 'burbs to shop.
> >
> > My memories are a Sunday school in East Liberty Presbyterian Church .
the church was full of people. About two blocks west of the church on
Penn Avenue was a model railroad store where my Strombecker kits came from.
On a north-south side street a block from the church was a barber shop . dad
called the barber Charlie. I think there were half a dozen movie theaters
in S'Liberty back then. If dad needed a box of nails, Sears Roebuck was
several blocks up Highland. A nice place to spend an afternoon was the zoo
in Highland Park but I never saw the prairie dogs come out. But on a
weekend, the 5200s were always sunning themselves at Bunkerhill Car House.
> >
> > In the time we lived there, I never saw a 1700 but I remember the night
Dad passed the advertising supplement of the Pittsburgh Press across the
dinner table to me . the one where all the companies that supplied parts to
the 1700 advertised their products. But by the time they were delivered, we
had moved out of town.
> >
> > Oh yes, in my era living there, there were no malls or suburban shopping
centers. There was an A&P store on Frankstown Road at Rosedale (where the
78 Oakmont car crossed until 1938 or thereabouts). There was nothing on
Rodi Road where all those stores are now . some houses. Ola (never
advertised his last name) had a Gulf station where Laketon Road and
Frankstown Road joined and about 1948 he added a restaurant behind it.
There was a frame family-owned, convenience grocery store across from the
Penn Township (now Penn Hills) municipal building .. probably the only store
in miles.
> >
> > And Monroeville? No malls. No Miracle Mill. No motels. But you
went there to buy a quart of milk from a farmer on Sunday if you ran out and
baby sister was crying.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Apr 8, 2014, at 6:21 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
> >
> > > I forgot number 4.
> > >
> > > *4. East Liberty Street Names Return To Former Names*
> > >
> > > The Penn Circle street name is vanishing from East Liberty, as
> > > part of a long effort to reverse the *urban renewal disaster of
> > > the 1960s.*
> > >
> > > East Liberty Development Inc. announced that street signs have
> > > begun to be changed and the conversion will continue throughout the
week.
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > > A map of the new designations can be viewed on East Liberty
> > > Development's website
<http://www.eastliberty.org/post/penn-circle-name-changes>.
> > >
> > > Read more:
> > > http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/04/08/Penn-Circle-stre
> > > et-name-vanishing-in-East-Liberty/stories/201404080149#ixzz2yKtCqH
> > > 00
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Apr 8, 2014 at 5:03 PM, Herb Brannon <hrbran at cavtel.net>
wrote:
> > >
> > >> Following are Pgh Post Gazette stories from today concerning
> > >> PATransit and other transportation topics.
> > >>
> > >> *1. PATransit Service Cuts Problems*
> > >>
> > >> A couple years ago, when Gloria Jefferson of McKeesport wanted to
> > >> go somewhere, she walked to a bus stop near her house.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> Inconvenient and expensive
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "You have to rob Peter to pay Paul," she said. "Buy less
> > >> groceries, you know."
> > >>
> > >> Now that the bus is back, she's relieved. "It's a big
> > >> difference," she said.
> > >>
> > >> Read more:
> > >> http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/06/Cuts-i
> > >> n-suburban-bus-routes-changed-lives/stories/201404060065#ixzz2yKV
> > >> y6lpC
> > >>
> > >> *2. Trolley Delays Today*
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> Read more:
> > >> http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2014/04/08/Port-A
> > >> uthority-T-riders-can-expect-delays-of-up-to-40-minutes-this-afte
> > >> rnoon/stories/201404080185#ixzz2yKX3e5cx
> > >>
> > >> *3. Morning Landslide Stops Duquense Heights Incline & NS
> > >> Railroad*
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority checked water and sewer
> > >> lines along Grandview Avenue above the slide and found no damage, Mr.
Costa said.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> "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."
> > >>
> > >> 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.
> > >>
> > >> Read more:
> > >> http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/04/08/Landslide-block
> > >> s-railroad-tracks-closes-Duquesne-Incline/stories/201404080148#ix
> > >> zz2yKXlFCmo
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> Herb Brannon
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> * In Pittsburgh.............................A City And.........A
> > >> State of Mind * Let's Go Pens Let's Go Bucs
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Herb Brannon
> > >
> > >
> > > *In Pittsburgh.............................A City And.........A
> > > State of Mind * Let's Go Pens Let's Go Bucs
> > >
> > >
> > >
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