Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce

Breakfast Briefing

MEETING MINUTES  

Date/Time:      September 6, 2002 / 7:30 AM

Projects:                    

�         2020 Visioning

�         Airport Multimodal Corridor Study

�         The Pennsylvania Maglev Project

�         The Urban Land Institute 

Purpose:         Multi Study Update

Place:              Crowne Plaza Hotel, Moon Township, PA

Memo by:       Glenda Murphy

Presentation 

• Henry Nutbrown opened the presentations with an update on the 2020 Visioning Study and its groundwork to a regional transportation vision.
• Dwight Schock presented the outcomes of the Airport Multimodal Corridor Study, including the Parkway West Widening with the West Busway Extension and an Airport Connector light rail project.
• Fred Gurney provided background on Maglev, and Lou Rocchini reviewed the recommended alignments as well as DEIS timing.
• Dewitt Peart gave an introduction and timetable for the ULI study which will explore industrial development sites throughout western Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, and Washington Counties

Discussion

Question:         What happens to the Fort Pitt Bridge if you add two additional tunnel lanes?

Schock:             There are presently four lanes across the Bridge.  We would match access with the appropriate lanes.  For example, if you consider the inbound direction, the additional tunnel on the right would feed 376 east and the existing left two lanes would lead to 279 North and Route 28.  It is still in preliminary planning.  We are looking at Banksville Road and how to handle its traffic flow.  Dealing with the West End and Carson Street ramps is a challenge.

Question:         What is the local share of funding if we do win the Maglev project?

Gurney: This is a 54-mile project at a cost of a little over $3.0 billion.  $1 billion would come from federal sources.  Potential sources of the remaining $2 billion would be Pennsylvania ($500 million) and bonds and loans ($1.5 billion).

Question:         What gives us the edge over Baltimore in the Maglev competition?

Gurney: Pittsburgh meets all the criteria the best.  We have rugged terrain, which is a good test area and we have the best team.  Baltimore has a larger population but they also have three super highways, light rail, commuter and heavy rail.

Question:         Why doesn�t Maglev connect with Oakland?

Gurney: It is not designed to be a transit system, but rather a transportation option, with few local stops.  We will look for transit solutions to connect Oakland to the Steel Plaza station.

Schock:             There is an additional study, the Eastern Corridor Transit Study, that is working with the Airport Multimodal Study to create connections with Maglev.

Question:         Is there any local opposition to plans for industrial development?

Peart:               We have attempted to match sites with municipal plans.  We have not heard of a lot of resistance at this point.

Question:         What are the plans for the missing ramps between I-79 and the Parkway West?

Schock:             The missing ramps are currently in design.  Their completion is assumed within the Airport Multimodal Corridor Study baseline model.

Peart:               Please support the missing ramps and do whatever you can to speed up the project.

Haas:                Write your legislators and make your opinion known.