Northeastern PennsylvaniaScranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Light rail, bus rapid transit part of Lackawanna/Luzerne long-range transportation plan
Published: May 24, 2011
Quote:
Meeting set on metro transportation plan Comments accepted from public
Light rail passenger service and a rapid transit bus system are part of a regional planning group's vision for meeting transportation needs in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties in the decades ahead.
The public will have an opportunity to comment on the Lackawanna/Luzerne Metropolitan Planning Organization's long-range transportation plan when its technical committee meets Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the state Department of Transportation District 4-0 office in Dunmore.
The plan, which for the first time is integrated into a larger, bi-county comprehensive land-use plan, is intended to help guide and prioritize transportation improvements through 2035, said Nancy Snee, MPO technical committee vice chairwoman and Luzerne County Planning Commission member.
The plan examines the status of the region's transportation network - not just highways and bridges, but also airports, rail and transit - "to see how it is operating now and what needs to be done to improve it over the next 20 years," she said.
The MPO is required to update the long-range plan every four years.
Probably the most ambitious proposal is development of a light rail system to serve the Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys, with three separate lines using mostly existing and abandoned rail. One line would run from Wilkes-Barre to Scranton; another from Scranton to Carbondale, and the third from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to the Forty Fort/Kingston area on the west side of the Susquehanna River.
Ms. Snee said while light rail is clearly a long-range objective, the plan is about preparing for the future. "We know it's not going to happen overnight because it is going to require a lot of money to do," she said. "But we think it's still important to have it in a long-range plan so that, should funding become available, we will already have a plan in place for how we want to go about it."
As a more immediate solution, the plan recommends a bus rapid transit system, or BRT.
BRT service is "more or less an express bus, something that would go, say, from Hazleton to Wilkes-Barre to Scranton to Carbondale with few stops," Ms. Snee said. It could also be used on routes within each county.
The BRT concept, which is becoming popular across the United States, typically uses specialized vehicles that are more comfortable than traditional transit buses and offer amenities such as Wi-Fi. According to the plan, the service is relatively inexpensive, flexible and would take advantage of the region's existing highway network.
The plan also includes a list of nearly 180 high-priority infrastructure projects. Ms. Snee said about two-thirds are bridge replacement or bridge rehabilitation projects; there are few new highway construction proposals."Especially with regard to transportation, there just isn't enough money to even think about building a lot of new roads," she said. "The emphasis on transportation planning now and probably for at least the short-term into the future is on preserving what we have already - maintaining and improving."
All I see is a plan that might never happen because they openly admit there is no funding.
SHOULD FUNDING BECOME AVAILABLE means there is none.. DINGLEBERRY.
Looks like the buses are getting the cash, grow up. THERE IS NO DEMAND and it will never happen in your lifetime. Doubt me, thats fine, but my track record speaks for itself as far as predicting what flys and doesn't around here, maybe when your out of mommies house and paying bills yourself and living in the REAL WORLD you'll understand what priorities are...
The mayor in Scranton said we are a 24hr a day city and people will want to live here........Thast why they are trying to turn upscale downtown housing into a halfway house for criminals. Your clueless.!
Light rail, bus rapid transit part of Lackawanna/Luzerne long-range transportation plan
Published: May 24, 2011
All I see is a plan that might never happen because they openly admit there is no funding.
SHOULD FUNDING BECOME AVAILABLE means there is none.. DINGLEBERRY.
Looks like the buses are getting the cash, grow up. THERE IS NO DEMAND and it will never happen in your lifetime. Doubt me, thats fine, but my track record speaks for itself as far as predicting what flys and doesn't around here, maybe when your out of mommies house and paying bills yourself and living in the REAL WORLD you'll understand what priorities are...
The mayor in Scranton said we are a 24hr a day city and people will want to live here........Thast why they are trying to turn upscale downtown housing into a halfway house for criminals. Your clueless.!
I wonder your age sometimes , You troll all over this forum....and never are punished for it...at least not like some people on this site.
Once the Sterling is gone, they should have a parking lot there. Also, Riverfest needs to ramp up the vendors and entertainment if the organizers want this gathering to catch on. While I would love a trip down the river, having two little ones prohibits that. They should have a few more options for exploring the river area. Also, they need to have expanded hours for their currently offered presentations for things like the fishing event. We went last year and couldn't even find a vendor to buy a water from.
I think Riverfest is a great idea but it needs to be expanded to attract visitors.
I agree Magritt and the issue with vendors in the past was the fear of letting more in and they would have a hard time picking and choosing which ones or would they have to just allow any vendor. There are not really any other options to explore the river area then by kayak unfortunately. Unless they have a people donate their private jet boats its very difficult to navigate the river in a traditional boat during the lower summer water levels.
Nexis I'm old enough to be your father and its not trolling just because I don't agree or support your pipedreams of a railroad utopia in Scranton and the Wyoming Valley...
Like I said there are priorities in this world that family's and city's have to put first and staying afloat and not going bankrupt come LONG BEFORE train pipedreams..
The article above makes it very clear that the light rail hailed by coalcitytrash is just that, a PIPEDREAM with no current or projected funding. Its just an idea of a possible plan that they are working on "SHOULD FUNDING BECOME AVAILABLE".......Which will never happen in this region because there is NO MONEY.
The Laurel Line work, I couldn't even find anything on that.....
This isn't DisneyLand and there is no need for a monorail.....
I know they used to run steamboats on the river. LOL I'm talking like a century ago. But I hadn't thought of lower water levels in the summer. That would be pretty funny seeing steamboats on the ole Susquehanna. I agree with you about lightrails in this area. I used to be a proponent of the idea but it really would just be a huge waste of money.
I know they used to run steamboats on the river. LOL I'm talking like a century ago. But I hadn't thought of lower water levels in the summer. That would be pretty funny seeing steamboats on the ole Susquehanna. I agree with you about lightrails in this area. I used to be a proponent of the idea but it really would just be a huge waste of money.
Mag, there is a boat on the West branch of the Susquehanna at Williamsport. The Hiawatha is a paddle-wheeler that takes you on a 60 minute cruise. If you Google Hiawatha Williamsport there's a web site with all the particulars. Your kids will love it.
Mag, there is a boat on the West branch of the Susquehanna at Williamsport. The Hiawatha is a paddle-wheeler that takes you on a 60 minute cruise. If you Google Hiawatha Williamsport there's a web site with all the particulars. Your kids will love it.
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Location: Polish Hill, Pittsburgh, PA
23,800 posts, read 37,109,229 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Magritte25
Once the Sterling is gone, they should have a parking lot there.
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