Unreasonable request
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has gone out of its way to appease naysayers of the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Allegheny County. They spent the past six months analyzing an alternative plan presented by PennFuture and are ready to present it to the public on March 12. But that isn’t enough for the folks at PennFuture. They want the meeting cancelled, public input silenced and an “independent” consultant hired to study their plan. Their plan, readers might remember, calls for upgrades to existing arteries feeding from the south into Pittsburgh through the creation of urban boulevards. This is fancy talk for more of the same. More traffic lights. More congestion. All for about double the cost of finishing the final leg of the expressway from Route 51 to downtown Pittsburgh.
PennFuture has taken a parochial view of a project that is supposed to help the entire southwestern Pennsylvania region. The same folks who cry about jobs migrating out of downtown fail to recognize that few people want to work in Pittsburgh when it means twice a day sitting in traffic for more than an hour.
The entire Mon-Fayette Expressway is needed to alleviate congestion and to encourage economic development along its path from the West Virginia border to Pittsburgh. But each of the four projects – the Mason-Dixon Link, Uniontown to Brownsville, Interstate 70 to Route 51 and Route 51 to Pittsburgh – can stand alone in solving local transportation needs.
The turnpike for the last decade has studied alternatives for each of the segments, including no-build options. It has worked hand-in-hand with environmental and regulatory agencies every step of the way, gaining approval. It has hosted numerous public meetings and hearings and has worked closely with affected property owners and municipalities in mitigating impacts.
PennFuture stepped in at the last minute, as the turnpike released its findings in a draft environmental impact statement on the Route 51 to Pittsburgh project, asking for road upgrades and mass transit, most of it light rail. What PennFuture wants will disrupt more businesses and homes than the turnpike plan. And it will cost twice as much. If PennFuture prevails, the turnpike – charged with the task of expanding the tollroad system – will no longer be in the picture. Nor will any identified sources of funding. If PennFuture wins, the region will suffer.