What pieces of the puzzle does Pittsburgh lack to be a great city? (Philadelphia: property taxes, professionals)

[that412]

Is there a published proposal/plan for the AVRR floating around somewhere?

[pman]

Originally Posted by that412

Is there a published proposal/plan for the AVRR floating around somewhere?

I think that is their holdings and trackage rights
here is one of their proposals though no downtown routing has been decided AFAIK

kind of an interesting site
Plan Envisages Reusing Pittsburgh’s Industrial Past to Bring The City Closer Together | ArchDaily though a single track would be problematic
I haven't found one, the last news I saw on it is they were still working on an environmental assessment

The cost of the 22-mile commuter train line is about $415 million, Ardolino said.
The cost of the 18-mile North Hills T extension has been estimated at about $1.4 billion.

If I'm not mistaken, private interests are willing to foot the bill for part of the $415 million...it's a great opportunity for a TIF to help fund transit. for the price of light rail in the quote you could have AVRR, commuter rail to latrobe, AND subway surface rail to oakland
Read more: Rail lines would coexist, not compete, consultant says | TribLIVE
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[zman63]

I don't see any extension of light rail. Maybe an express bus lane or two. The port authority is what it is and Pittsburgh is a small city.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by zman63

I don't see any extension of light rail. Maybe an express bus lane or two. The port authority is what it is and Pittsburgh is a small city.

I don't even believe that will happen. The best this provincial backwater town can hope for is an old mule.




Apologies to those who understand that I am kidding....I cannot help myself when I see doom and gloom I just want to pile it on....

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I don't even believe that will happen. The best this provincial backwater town can hope for is an old mule.




Apologies to those who understand that I am kidding....I cannot help myself when I see doom and gloom I just want to pile it on....

I hear the invention of the wheel is coming soon

[Sealtite]

In my opinion, the "puzzle piece" that Pittsburgh is lacking is a real beltway system. As Pittsburgh continues to grow, the traffic situation is only going to get worse. The Parkway east is an absolute joke, as is route 28. The Parkway west isn't much better. 51 is hell to travel on during most hours of the day and,....I could go on, but I don't need to.

[ferraris]

I just don't buy that Pittsburgh is too small for light rail. Maybe we can't justify funding a subway, but just laying down some tracks and electrical cables? If we can fund roads we can fund that.

The bigger issue is political; as the funding would have to be taken from something else, or come in the form of a new tax. If an "expand the T" levy is ever on the ballot, I would probably not only vote for it, but campaign for it.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I don't even believe that will happen. The best this provincial backwater town can hope for is an old mule.




Apologies to those who understand that I am kidding....I cannot help myself when I see doom and gloom I just want to pile it on....

What have they done the last 30 years to improve public transportation in this city/county/region that gives you any hope they are going to do a dramatic overhaul to make it a better system? It takes them years to do bridge repair or replacement projects.

I am not being doom and gloom, but rather realistic. We all may be 100 years old by the time they add another mile of track to the T.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by zman63

I don't see any extension of light rail. Maybe an express bus lane or two. The port authority is what it is and Pittsburgh is a small city.

Pittsburgh is a fairly large city, its certainly not an LA or Dallas, but its sufficiently big to have a lot of things.

But the problem in Pittsburgh and rail is that there are really only a few places in town that are sufficient dense to justify the cost in infrastructure for such a plan.

And since the majority of the city residents, much less the county or state residents, never go from Oakland to town, they can't see spending that kind of moolah for a taj mahal subway between the locations when that same money could be used for several larger projects in other areas.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Pittsburgh is a fairly large city, its certainly not an LA or Dallas, but its sufficiently big to have a lot of things.

But the problem in Pittsburgh and rail is that there are really only a few places in town that are sufficient dense to justify the cost in infrastructure for such a plan.

And since the majority of the city residents, much less the county or state residents, never go from Oakland to town, they can't see spending that kind of moolah for a taj mahal subway between the locations when that same money could be used for several larger projects in other areas.

It is hard enough to get funding to fix our crumbling bridges. I like the idea of a better public transportation system, but it would take a miracle for that to happen in our lifetime.