Sep 29, 2005 By Jenny Susa 3 min read

Pictured (from left) are: Dr. Allan Golden, Cal U vice president for administration and finance; Galvie Gardner, mayor of California; Dr. Donald Thompson, Cal U provost and vice president of academic affairs; Dr. Angelo Armenti Jr., Cal U president; Lindsay Logue, member of Cal U Council of Trustees and president of the Student Association Inc.; Nancy Basile, executive director, Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority; Rick Genday, senior vice president, Transportation Division, L. Robert Kimball and Associates; the Rev. Paul Min, First Presbyterian Church; and James Balling, owner and vice president of Fairchance Construction Co. CALIFORNIA – Cal U marked the official beginning of a series of transportation related projects at Thursday’s groundbreaking for a $681,000 Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority (MMVTA) park and ride lot.

Dr. Angelo Armenti, president of California University, said the event “was much more than a groundbreaking,” since this project would lead to a series of projects that would “transform the community,” including a Maglev transit center, a parking garage, and a loop road that will connect the transit center to the university.

MMVTA public relations specialist Marc Rancone said that the new parking lot will be a place where members of the California University community and area residents can park their cars and wait for MMVTA bus service.

The park and ride lot, located across from the Jefferson Apartments at California, will include 72 paved parking spaces, including six handicapped spots, a bus shelter, a crosswalk, an accessible ramp and stairs to Jefferson Apartments, nighttime lighting and a flashing signal to facilitate pedestrians crossing Route 88.

Rancone called the park and ride lot the “first phase of California University transportation projects.”

The MMVTA received funding on behalf of the university for the project through a federal grant with the assistance of U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Johnstown).

Fairchance Construction Co. is building the new lot.

Armenti said that in a few months, the public will be invited to the dedication ceremony for the park and ride lot.

Lindsay Logue, member of the Council of Trustees of California University, and president of the Student Association Inc., said she felt fortunate to have the leadership of MMVTA Executive Director Nancy Basile and others from the MMVTA who helped “another important project come to fruition.”

“We are at the forefront of something truly phenomenal,” said Logue.

Basile said that she was “excited to get the project under way.”

“This project is near to my heart, not only because I grew up in California and I am a California University alumnus,” said Basile. “But for years we have wanted to find an appropriate area to build a parking lot and have a bus for the university and the residents of the area. We were thrilled when this opportunity arose to work in conjunction with the university to construct this much-needed lot.”

Basile said that while the Maglev transit seems like a “futuristic dream,” she knows it will become a reality. She said that when the park and ride project is complete, she hopes that everyone in California will “get caught parking in the Cal U parking lot.”