Two interregional highway projects I'd like to see (Pittsburgh, Altoona: neighborhood, purchasing)

[captainmidnight]

Hopefully in 2013, Pennsylvania's transportation budget underfunding will be addressed and fixed and important infrastructure projects will happen.

Two things need to happen around here:

- Fix our existing infrastructure. Tons of roads around here are in terrible shape. In a perfect world, the Parkway and East can be transformed into a similar setup as the Parkway North, but that would never happen in a million years.
- Fund public transit. Get the Port Authority ship righted i.e restore/grow service, financial stability, get the ConnectCard project finished and have it make it a big impact, etc

[BrianTH]

I agree with the sentiments above about 22/99 being a very different case because it is the most direct route to not just Central PA but also everything from NYC to NEPA to New England and so forth.

[Mr. Mon]

Originally Posted by bmantz65

Hopefully in 2013, Pennsylvania's transportation budget underfunding will be addressed and fixed and important infrastructure projects will happen.

Two things need to happen around here:

- Fix our existing infrastructure. Tons of roads around here are in terrible shape. In a perfect world, the Parkway and East can be transformed into a similar setup as the Parkway North, but that would never happen in a million years.
- Fund public transit. Get the Port Authority ship righted i.e restore/grow service, financial stability, get the ConnectCard project finished and have it make it a big impact, etc

Amen. PA needs to put a full stop on ANY new road construction and focus on the maintenance and improvement of current infrastructure.

As for the other mentioned projects:

From an economic development standpoint, it does make sense to tie Uniontown to Morgantown. But what a waste of money to build a limited access highway that bypasses all of the towns you're trying to "save" and make a route that is redundant to I-79, especially with the Pittsburgh portion of the road.

The Route 22 improvements have been awesome.

We don't need a beltway. All that does is make suburban development in Washington County easier at
taxpayers expense.

28 around Blawnox and the Fox Chapel exit south bound doesn't make bit of sense and creates an unnecessary pinch-point.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

I would have, at one point, agreed regarding 28. But I now find the new and improved 22/99 to be a fine alternative to accessing NEPA.

But that's of no value to the Allegheny Valley.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mon

We don't need a beltway. All that does is make suburban development in Washington County easier at taxpayers expense.

But so much traffic is funneled through downtown. What fosters development doesn't bother me if that is where people want to live.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mon

We don't need a beltway. All that does is make suburban development in Washington County easier at
taxpayers expense.

Maybe not a beltway, but there really could be a way for people to get from East of the city to get west of the city without driving straight through the center of downtown. Think about it--most of the people in that downtown traffic don't want to be there in the first place. They want to be somewhere else. It's as if all of the traffic within three counties all converges in a few square miles by the Golden Triangle. Get some of those people out of there, you'd alleviate Parkway East and West too (at least somewhat).

It might make it easier to develop the burbs, but it would make it easier to get downtown too.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

But that's of no value to the Allegheny Valley.

If you are interested in helping the existing communities in the Allegheny Valley, I would start with the AVRR commuter rail plan.

[ctoocheck]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

Maybe not a beltway, but there really could be a way for people to get from East of the city to get west of the city without driving straight through the center of downtown.

People from the east go to the west? Across rivers and through tunnels?

If this is true, perhaps Pittsburgh is progressing far more quickly than we had thought

[ctoocheck]

Also, I wish we could implement some congestion charging (anywhere in the country at all)
Jonas Eliasson: How to solve traffic jams | Video on TED.com

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

If you are interested in helping the existing communities in the Allegheny Valley, I would start with the AVRR commuter rail plan.

I don't see any real value in commuter rail in terms of the Allegheny Valley economy. Roads can be economic engines, commuter rail isn't. Commuter rail won't even provide what a road will. I think commuter rail will be all talk, no action, and even if it does come about, it'll probably fail after a few years.