More Partisan Garbage

You don't think that the Port Authority's North Shore Connector was worth the $500 or so million? Join the rest of Allegheny County.

But seriously, these assholes and their bullshit report are so far off base with this it's not even funny.

Here's the article.

Let me get this straight. Because $62 million of stimulus money had to be used to complete this project, Obama's stimulus or if you want to be naughty "bailout" is a pork filled failure?

Ok thought so...

Well, I see one glaring hole in your analysis which is oozing partisan bullshit*. You see, the original $435 million used to start the project, well that came from G Dubs administration way back in 2003-2004.

Oh snap, that's right. If the "fiscally responsible" Republican controlled Federal Government hadn't provided these funds, then they wouldn't have had to be bailed out to begin with.

Sounds like another Republican turd from the turn of the 21st century that the Obama administration has been left to polish.

So really, unless we wanted two unused tunnels under the river that would be incurring regular maintenance fees, we had no choice but to seek funding. That funding was able to keep the project going and keep those construction workers employed (it's all about jobs right???)

All this partisanship is getting out of control. You can't take anything at face value from any political party. Americans unfortunately need to verify anything that comes out of a politicians mouth. What's even more unfortunate, is that we don't. They spoon feed us horse shit and we ask for more.

*Yea I know I'm oozing with partisan bullshit too...we all are, but at least I'm not attempting to present figures misleadingly to influence people's opinion.

Fluff

A lot’s been said about Pittsburgh’s new hotel: The Fairmont. The Radical Middle Covered this a while ago, but the other day I saw another post on the kick ass blog "PGH is a City". Nothing against PGH is a City, I enjoy reading it (hence why it's filed under good ass links), but it reminded me how the hotel has been electronically shoved down our collective throats, and made me think:

That’s great, I am happy we got a nice new hotel, but seriously. It’s fluff. Who gives a rat’s ass in the grand scheme of things? Is the Fairmont going to stop the population loss within the city? Is the Fairmont going to solve the pension crisis? Is the Fairmont gonna be able to figure out how to fund the Port Authority? Is the Fairmont even gonna last?

Sure, it makes everyone feel all warm and fuzzy about the city because there is a new swanky, “green” hotel. I am not by any means saying that we should not have it. I am saying that it doesn’t merit the attention it’s getting, and people should be directing the energy devoted to covering this new hotel to something really meaningful (see above).

I'm Holding My Breath

For the record, I think commuter rail service would be great in Pittsburgh. I would use it whenever I had the opportunity. Here’s the problem. I think this commuter rail plan is about as likely to happen as completion of the Spine Line.

To give a little background; here’s a roughshod timeline on Pittsburgh’s past with commuter rail. Check out the full history here.

1960’s-Pennsylvania discontinues commuter rail service in Pittsburgh

1975-PAT begins commuter operation from a station at Grant Street (Where the jail and courthouse currently stand) to Versailles.

1981-PAT begins operation to Greensburg during Parkway East Construction project. Service was discontinued after about a year.

1985-Pittsburgh and Lake Erie discontinues commuter rail service on a line which ran from Beaver Falls to what is now known as Station Square.

1989-PAT discontinues service through the Mon-Valley, leaving no commuter rail service in Pittsburgh

2000- A new commuter rail operation pushed, this time from New Kensington to Pittsburgh. This includes a feasibility study.

2004-A special train called a “DMU” or Diesel Multiple Unit tours the line from Oakmont to New Kensington. This is meant to be a potential demonstration train for the type that could be used on the proposed commuter route between New Kensington and Pittsburgh.

2008- A feasibility study is conducted concerning the line from New Kensington to Pittsburgh, along with another Route from Greensburg or Latrobe to Pittsburgh.

2009-Study says that service is feasible.

2009-Councilman Bill Peduto proposes a heavy rail commuter shuttle between Hazelwood and Lawrenceville or Downtown.

2009-Major re-construction of Route 28 begins.

2009-Owner of property in the Strip challenges Allegheny Valley Railroad’s right of way ownership. This would prevent building of proposed commuter station in the Strip. Case has been taken to STB in Washington, but no word on ruling, or subsequent appeals.

What’s my point? Pittsburgh has a wishy washy history with Commuter Rail to begin with. The current incarnation of commuter rail has been around, 10 or so years. Route 28 is in the midst of a huge reconstruction project. Given the amount of time that this version of the project has been around, now would be an optimal time for implementation of this service. Ten years of planning time, synchronized perfectly with the start of major construction on 28 would create a great service with optimal ridership. However, little has changed since 2000. At this rate, I see one of two things happening.

#1 Nothing (Most likely in my book)
#2 By the time they get this thing in place, 28 will be done, and they will have missed out on a TON of potential riders.

Too bad there is no way to harness the current support for the operation to help speed it up.

Wouldn't it be Nice?

I hate driving, and anyone who reads this will soon find out, if they haven’t already. I am forced to go to Cleveland this weekend (I know, I know), and the only thing worse than going to Cleveland, is DRIVING to Cleveland. I oft get jealous of Harrisburg and Philadelphia. You can hop on about one of 100 trains per day and get there in no time, and not have to worry about your blood pressure causing that little vein above your eyebrow to pulse painfully. (Just a second, who the hell wants to go to Harrisburg any more than Cleveland? I know, there were good reasons they upgraded train travel between the two cities, but honestly…Have you ever been to Harrisburg, it sucks, it’s got all the bullshit of a city, without any of the awesomeness.)

Anyway, I don’t want a connection to Harrisburg, but a connection to Cleveland and points west that DOESN’T leave at midnight sure would be pretty damn sweet. Instead of getting potentially violent road-rage on the way to a place I don’t want to go, I could sit in a nice comfy seat, sip on an ice-cold tasty beverage and day-dream about leaving Cleveland once again on the soonest eastbound train.

However, given that the State of Pennsylvania can’t fund transportation so as it is, I am not going to hold my breath.

Maglev is Dumb

All this crap about the Maglev is pointless. It’s been dormant for years, it’s insanely expensive, and perhaps most importantly, the current round of funding from the government is for standard High Speed Rail using steel wheels on steel rails. It’s NOT for maglev. It is a separate project within the Federal Railroad Administration. Irregardless (my favorite non-word) I’d rather take a 1 in 10 shot at getting to Cleveland and beyond on a really fast train than a 1 in 100 (I’m being generous) shot of eventually getting to Philadelphia on a really really really fast Maglev.