Light-rail project gains federal OK

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | Tuesday, March 18, 2003 | Jim Ritchie

[Willie Green]

The federal government has given the Port Authority permission to draft the final design of the $390 million project to extend the subway to the North Side by burrowing beneath the Allegheny River. Approval of the so-called North Shore Connector was delayed slightly by a paperwork glitch.

[Willie Green]

ping

[Petronski]

Must be like Christmas morning for you, Willie. The gubmint is going to fund your hobby.

[kidd]

A light rail system in Pittsburgh will only be truly beneficial when it offers an alternative to the traffic that has to pass through the tunnels leading to the airport and towards Monroeville. Those are both major league snarls.

As a frequent visitor to the Pittsburgh area, I will not have a need to use a system that is entirely in the downtown area.

[Alberta's Child]

From a mobility perspective the LRT extension makes sense. There is plenty of parking around the two sports venues on the North Shore, and these facilities are used as park & ride lots during the week. Extending the LRT out there will make more of the downtown area accessible for people who park out there.

[Willie Green]

A light rail system in Pittsburgh will only be truly beneficial when it offers an alternative to the traffic that has to pass through the tunnels leading to the airport and towards Monroeville. Those are both major league snarls.

Those "major league snarls" will be addressed by the proposed Maglev system.

I will not have a need to use a system that is entirely in the downtown area.

This light rail system benefits all commuters to downtown by making parking on the North Side more readily available and convenient. If you are familiar with Pittsburgh, you'll know that the immediate downtown area is simply too small to accommodate much traffic and/or parking and becomes nightmarishly congested quite quickly.

[learner]

This is but another stupid taxpayer program for baseball and football. The reasons given for this plan are B.S. This is about baseball and football,the former of which will be bankrupt within three years.

[Willie Green]

No, sports fans will (or will not) attend events in the stadiums anyway, based on the teams' performance and regardless of whether the light rail is built.

If anything, this is about downtown commerce.
It will provide sports fans easier access to other downtown entertainment and attractions. In addition, parking available at the sports stadiums becomes more convenient as dual-purpose usage for commuters/shoppers going downtown.

[kidd]

Those "major league snarls" will be addressed by the proposed Maglev system.

In which case, I say "Cool"

[kidd]

Pittsburgh parking is the worst. There is street parking until 4 pm. At 4:01 pm the parking cops are out in full force to fine and tow all cars...everybody gets their parked car off the street well before that.

Nevertheless, the worst nightmare is actually getting in or out of the city. Two mountains and two rivers block 270 degrees of access to the city. Access is through tunnels and bridges; a street bypass is not an option. The one highway that connects it all together is under some serious repairs. If you can't get into the city before 6:30 am (or leave it before 3:00 pm), you can count on adding 90 minutes to your commute due to traffic.