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Old 10-11-2017, 08:15 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,969,691 times
Reputation: 17378

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dequindre View Post
Those are just speculative.
If these requirements are true, I don't think Pittsburgh will be in the running. Here is what they want according to the NY Times, which isn't a very good source for much, but maybe they got that right.

It wants a metro area with more than a million residents, and good access to mass transit, an international airport and a major highway. It also is seeking qualified workers, good fiber optic internet connections and a diverse population and recreational opportunities — much like its current Pacific Northwest home.

We really don't have everything they want. I think Pittsburgh could eventually accommodate Amazon, but I don't think they will want to wait. Why would they? I really wish we could grow together. I look at Atlanta, which is a HORRIBLE place IMHO, BUT they are doing great and a lot of that is due to Delta, IMHO. They got the massive hub that allows people to go everywhere fast. PIT? Once we lost USAir, it was down hill. It is what it is, but we just don't have the goods. Sure people will say the airport will grow if Amazon came here, but unless Amazon wants to start getting into the airline business themselves and create its own hub here in Pittsburgh, I don't think we are where they want to be. Damn, I have to be realistic about this and I think we are kidding ourselves really. I think Amazon is the future, so whoever gets them is going to be very lucky. There is no stopping Amazon because they create mindless buying and lazy buying. That is what people want, to be lazy and mindless living in general. Smartphones make people not have to remember anything at all and people want to buy with a click and they want things fast. I hope Pittsburgh gets it, but I now feel we probably aren't being considered. Probably too small and Amazon themselves probably have NO patience, since their platform is all about NOW!
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Old 10-11-2017, 08:42 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
140 posts, read 166,161 times
Reputation: 132
Quote:
Originally Posted by gg View Post
It wants a metro area with more than a million residents, and good access to mass transit, an international airport and a major highway. It also is seeking qualified workers, good fiber optic internet connections and a diverse population and recreational opportunities — much like its current Pacific Northwest home.
Metro area with >1M residents: The Pittsburgh MSA is 2.3M

Good access to mass transit: bus service covers pretty much all of the county (routes can be easily changed to accommodate an amazon hq location), and we have lots of bike lanes.

International airport: Pittsburgh INTERNATIONAL Airport. Though the airport is underutilized for passenger traffic, this provides lots of flexibility with freight traffic. Considering that Amazon is increasingly focusing on logistics (imo, it looks like they are positioning themselves to be their own UPS/USPS/FedEx), I can see this as a great benefit.

Major Highway: 79, 76 are definitely considered major highways..

Qualified workers: Definitely some decent universities within the MSA & many more nearby in surrounding cities.

Fiber optic internet: Pittsburgh has this (albeit with a ****ty company like verizon). Hell, a pretty large portion of the county has it.

Diverse population: Though pittsburgh isn't very diverse, it has been rapidly becoming more diverse.

Diverse Recreational opportunities: Regarding outdoor activities, pittsburgh easily achieves this. Regarding indoor activities, we have a pretty decent art/music/museum/restaurant/etc selection considering our size.
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Old 10-11-2017, 10:30 AM
 
3,291 posts, read 2,770,754 times
Reputation: 3375
Quote:
Originally Posted by gg View Post
I think our airport isn't nearly enough for an Amazon. Our public transportation isn't very good at all. Try getting to the airport via public transportation. Geez! Compare us to Atlanta. Of course their crime rate is MUCH worse than Pittsburgh, so that is a plus for us. Atlanta is finally becoming more diverse with more people of European descent moving in. It was most all black not long ago.
I think the public transportation for Pgh is only topped by 4 cities in the East - NYC, DC, Boston, Philly. All but Philly are very expensive cities.
Pgh does not have the same amount of subway/train coverage as Atlanta, but in addition to the T is also has the busways which functionally are quite similar, and in fact even faster than the T.

One of the busways is used for access to the airport, but I frankly don't get the big concern people have here for trains to the airport these days -- with the prevalence of Uber and Lyft service which is much more convenient. Business travellers are usually a lot less concerned with cost.
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Old 10-11-2017, 11:18 AM
 
8,090 posts, read 6,959,050 times
Reputation: 9226
The only thing that Pittsburgh lax that is specifically outlined by Amazon is direct flights to Seattle. Because Pittsburgh international was built as a hub, it is easily scalable. There may be other cities that Amazon’s needs better than Pittsburgh, but we should definitely be in the running.
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Old 10-11-2017, 02:27 PM
 
4,081 posts, read 3,604,273 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gladhands View Post
The only thing that Pittsburgh lax that is specifically outlined by Amazon is direct flights to Seattle. Because Pittsburgh international was built as a hub, it is easily scalable. There may be other cities that Amazon’s needs better than Pittsburgh, but we should definitely be in the running.
Like you mentioned, I see the underutilized airport as more of an asset than an opportunity. Amazon would have the ability to mold it to what their needs are, unlike some of the airports currently operating at or beyond capacity.

As for the Seattle flight thing, every airline operating out of Pittsburgh International Airport would jump at the chance to add direct Pittsburgh to Seattle flights if Amazon were to choose Pittsburgh. I have no idea why Amazon even included that on the list, but Pittsburgh could definitely fulfill it if need be.
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Old 10-12-2017, 02:32 AM
Yac
 
6,051 posts, read 7,727,132 times
Here again, to spoil your "fun"
Back on topic folks, and whether other members are racist, is not the topic - in case you're confused. Nor is Atlanta.
Yac.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:15 AM
 
994 posts, read 900,926 times
Reputation: 923
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Buster View Post
I think the public transportation for Pgh is only topped by 4 cities in the East - NYC, DC, Boston, Philly. All but Philly are very expensive cities.
Pgh does not have the same amount of subway/train coverage as Atlanta, but in addition to the T is also has the busways which functionally are quite similar, and in fact even faster than the T.

One of the busways is used for access to the airport, but I frankly don't get the big concern people have here for trains to the airport these days -- with the prevalence of Uber and Lyft service which is much more convenient. Business travellers are usually a lot less concerned with cost.
I think you forgot about Baltimore and Miami. I believe that Cleveland has more light rail passengers and the BRT is modeled in part on what they already have. Maybe not east, but Indianapolis has more mas transit ridership. So does Minneapolis. DC, Boston and Philly are in a category by themselves (after Chicago and NYC) when it comes to mass transit. I'd be surprised if it's not one of those three cities.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:33 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,353 posts, read 17,019,980 times
Reputation: 12406
Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainDewGuy View Post
I think you forgot about Baltimore and Miami. I believe that Cleveland has more light rail passengers and the BRT is modeled in part on what they already have. Maybe not east, but Indianapolis has more mas transit ridership. So does Minneapolis. DC, Boston and Philly are in a category by themselves (after Chicago and NYC) when it comes to mass transit. I'd be surprised if it's not one of those three cities.
The percentage of people in the city of Pittsburgh who commute to work via mass transit is higher than Cleveland, Miami, or Minneapolis.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:45 AM
 
994 posts, read 900,926 times
Reputation: 923
Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
The percentage of people in the city of Pittsburgh who commute to work via mass transit is higher than Cleveland, Miami, or Minneapolis.

If you have the numbers, please share. I imagine that it wold be incredibly hard to arrive at a solid conclusion and would need to depend on survey data instead.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:46 AM
 
1,705 posts, read 1,388,780 times
Reputation: 1000
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMan_152 View Post
International airport: Pittsburgh INTERNATIONAL Airport. Though the airport is underutilized for passenger traffic, this provides lots of flexibility with freight traffic. Considering that Amazon is increasingly focusing on logistics (imo, it looks like they are positioning themselves to be their own UPS/USPS/FedEx), I can see this as a great benefit.
I've been wondering if maybe Amazon could make its own passenger airline? Airlines already haul mail etc in their holds, so Amazon could do the same. Be cool if they would re-Hub PIT.

Quote:
Qualified workers: Definitely some decent universities within the MSA & many more nearby in surrounding cities.
Better than decent.

Quote:
Diverse Recreational opportunities: Regarding outdoor activities, pittsburgh easily achieves this. Regarding indoor activities, we have a pretty decent art/music/museum/restaurant/etc selection considering our size.
Legacy of a former big US city has its benefits.
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