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Transit link through Junction Hollow for ALMONO

The idea of a transit-only link between ALMONO and Oakland came up at meetings, and has been discussed in other threads here. Now the skeptical reaction to the proposal from residents of The Run and Panther Hollow neighborhood is getting press: Brian O'Neill: Residents fear impact of a techie transit link http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/brian-oneill/2015/10/11/Brian-O-Neill-Residents-fear-impact-of-a-techie-transit-link/stories/201510110120#
paulheckbert
2015-10-11 06:38:36
I do hope more details are released on this soon. I'm really interested in the impacts to the run and connectivity for the bike network as well. Could this be a chance to improve connectivity to hazelwood, the junction hollow trail, and the Eliza Furnace Trail too?
benzo
2015-10-12 08:30:39
Via email list for OPDC's Green Team bike/ped/etc committee:
There is a meeting regarding the potential transit connector from ALMONO site through Junction Hollow. It is at 6:30 pm, Monday, Dec 7, at the operating engineers union building in lower Greenfield, 300 Saline Street. Please come to learn and ask questions about the proposed connector.
epanastrophe
2015-12-03 13:56:21
Good opportunity at tonight's meeting in The Run to make the case for a bike passage over the railroad tracks from Panther Hollow Lake to the Junction Hollow trail.
chrisz
2015-12-07 10:58:49
Monday’s meeting ran for three hours! About 100 people attended, most of them probably residents of Four Mile Run (the area around Big Jim’s) or Panther Hollow (the neighborhood at the north end of Junction Hollow). The meeting became fairly confrontational, with two main sides, which I’ll simplify: The city said (city councilman Corey O’Connor; Ray Gastile, director of Planning for Pittsburgh, and design consultants hired by him): We propose to build a transit link (vans or small buses) running several times per hour between Hazelwood, Almono, Technology Center, thru Junction Hollow to Oakland. We anticipate demand for such transit once Almono is built. The vehicles would be clean, carbon-neutral. Rubber tires on a 12’ wide road (maybe 2 lanes for 24’ total). Not on rails. We’d probably use gates to keep cars off this road, but it would be available for emergency vehicles. We have two preliminary routes. Route A (minimal construction) connects the two dead ends of Boundary St, and would run close to the bike trail for much of its length. Route B (minimal disruption to residents by shuttle traffic) would extend the new road from Joncaire St to beyond Big Jim’s, would run close to the RR tracks much of the way, and would relocate the bike trail similarly. We would “daylight” (bring to the surface) the stream through the hollow. The residents said (a number of them spoke up): * We’re angry because Four Mile Run (aka “The Run”) flooded in 2009 with five feet of sewage and little has been done about it and now the city is proposing to spend millions of dollars on a shuttle! * We’re angry because the connector trail to Panther Hollow Lake and Schenley Park is closed. We like to walk there. [None of the residents mentioned Allegheny Valley Railroad or CSX by name, I don’t think, but one of them suspected a conspiracy by the city to close that crossing - weird paranoia!]. * We’re angry because we don’t want more suburban commuters using our neighborhoods as park-and-ride lots to catch this shuttle. Many of us don’t have garages. * We’re worried about traffic disrupting our quiet communities and endangering our kids, who like to play in the parks. * We don’t want gentrification. * Our roads have potholes and they’re not getting fixed. * You guys did all this planning without consulting us. We learned about it in the newspaper [they’re probably referring to the 2015/8/29 PG story http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2015/08/29/Pittsburgh-seeking-money-to-build-transit-link-between-Oakland-Almono-site/stories/201508290058 ]. This is a done deal, isn’t it? [O’Connor said: no, that’s why we’re having this meeting.] * This is the city giving public land to private universities. [some residents are thinking of this shuttle as if it were entirely for the benefit of, and perhaps owned by Pitt and CMU. The city said public/private partnership.] * You’ve been deceptive to me. Haven’t answered my emails. [the worst bitching and fearmongering came from Carlino Giampolo] I said: I attended a public ALMONO meeting in October 2014 where the shuttle idea was discussed [see http://localhost/mb/topic/hazelwood-trail-input-session-10162014/#post-303353 where I wrote “there was talk (speculative at this point) of shuttle buses between Hazelwood and Oakland, perhaps directly up Junction Hollow, perhaps autonomously-driven!” - if these people kept up with the bikepgh messageboards, they’d be better-informed! And then there was a second meeting http://localhost/mb/topic/encouraging-almono-to-think-big-on-active-transport/#post-308912 where it was discussed a little more] Almono redevelopment is going to happen. I like this transit idea. If this transit shuttle is not built, what will be the effect of the additional cars on Hazelwood, Bates St, Swinburne St, etc? We should think about all the neighborhoods, not just the two in the hollow. Not present at the meeting: representative of CSX or Allegheny Valley Railroad (or if present, they were silent). Never mentioned at the meeting: Mon-Fayette Expressway. I was surprised at all the anger toward the city and all the fear of shuttle buses. Don't they know that transit is our friend, and cars are the enemy? If I were a resident of the hollow, I'd be angrier at the railroad than anybody else.
paulheckbert
2015-12-08 01:33:00
Sorry, that was a long summary.
paulheckbert
2015-12-08 01:39:02
I enjoyed reading the comments on the PG report. Most present their arguments and manage to state a clear position. I rarely feel that way about comments I read in the PG.
swalfoort
2015-12-08 10:12:19
A few pictures from the meeting. Proposed bus route would connect Hazelwood, Oakland, and Technology Center, plus neighborhoods inbetween. Route scenario A involves putting buses (red) on the current trail, and relocating trail (green) closer to the RR tracks. Note that shuttles would run on Boundary at both ends. Stream gets daylighted. Route scenario B uses the same bike route as A, but gets buses off Boundary St between Joncaire and Saline to reduce traffic impact on the neighborhoods.
paulheckbert
2015-12-08 14:51:59
What's the green line in both bottom photos running up and along the left side of the lake? It looks like a trail that crosses the railroad tracks.
jonawebb
2015-12-08 15:09:22
That's exactly what it is. Consultant said feasibility study---and that's as far as they've gotten yet, an initial feasibility study---included putting a bridge over the tracks to connect the trail with PH Lake. I forget his name, but the man from Junction Hollow who got to make one of the three presentations and spent his time yelling into the microphone about lies and deception claims that the bridge has already been taken off the table.
epanastrophe
2015-12-08 15:49:17
  trigger alert: agenda!   I'm interested in the assumptions behind the notion that it's not preferable for PAT to operate the public transit and the outcomes that flow from that. I mean, core competencies n'at. What does Pitt-CMU know about running a public shuttle? Do these buses get their own police force, too? I think (as a supporter of public transit) I'm opposed to mercenary one-shot bus services, even if it comes wrapped in a PPP. How does a lower-income worker from the OutSide connect to this proprietary system? Pay a duplicate fare instead of a transfer? Does the City of Two Pittsburghs (one Places Rated, the other Diverse-Unfriendly) start to operate two transit systems? Because that's worked so very well in SFO. And another thing: howzcome when cyclists get killed and we ask for change, the response is: Can't doing anything until at least 2017 and BRT. But when they want to change things, they just contract out the bus service on the quick-and-dirty?
vannever
2015-12-08 20:24:23
The guy with the microphone-yelling skills was Carlino Giampolo. To answer Vannevar's howzcome question, I'd guess that some reasons are: the ALMONO foundations have money and influence, new projects are fun and relatively easy while redesign is contentious and difficult, and this project is mostly on city land and does not involve negotiating with PennDOT.
paulheckbert
2015-12-08 21:07:36
I wasn't at the meeting so I don't know what transpired, but I think the people who live in these two affected neighborhoods should be allowed to vent their feelings about this and how it was marginally publicized. If their council person is PO'ed about how this is transpiring, i think their concerns might have some merit. And while it is easy for some of us to keep an open mind about this project, I seem to remember quite a few on this board complaining about changes to illegally crossing the tracks in the same neighborhood. And Paul, since you seem to call out one resident by name, I think you should know that he has lived in the same block for 70+ years, and is responsible for clearing the two feet of dirt off of the sidewalk on Joncaire, cutting the grass and keeping the picnic tables and benches in good shape. I'm not sure if I agree with him or not on this project (again, I wasn't present), but the man deserves more respect than you seem to be giving him. I have talked with Carlino many many times and he is passionate about his unique neighborhood & volunteers his time to keep it someplace pleasant to visit. http://www.pantherhollow.us http://www.savepantherhollow.com/2015/09/
marko82
2015-12-08 22:29:11
I applaud Giampolo's sidewalk-clearing, but his fearmongering and conspiracy theorizing (Pitt and CMU are out to get us...) at Monday's meeting was not constructive. The woman who challenged him and Tommy D’Andrea (the other highly vocal resident) to move beyond whining and state their priorities had it right.
paulheckbert
2015-12-09 10:36:36
I worked at Pitt with a Pitt alumni who lived in a distant suburb and never once in their life rode a PAT bus. I think Pitt, CMU, and UPMC shuttles pander to this. I think there are implications about having to share space with the "kind of person" that rides a city bus.
mick
2015-12-11 02:45:20
PG article revisits the Junction Hollow transit issue: "Brian O'Neill: What can 21st Century transit do for The Run?" O'Neill wishes "1) this transit corridor is built 2) in a way that the residents of Panther Hollow benefit and 3) that The Run’s residents do, too." http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/brian-oneill/2016/05/08/What-can-21st-Century-transit-do-for-The-Run/stories/201605080112 and there was a followup letter-to-the-editor by Giampolo. He concludes "leave us alone". http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/letters/2016/05/15/My-Panther-Hollow-prayer-is-that-forces-promoting-transit-corridor-stay-out/stories/201605150132
paulheckbert
2016-05-15 01:15:32
oof. If your street name has "run" it in it'll flood.  That's what happens when you get rid of drainage routes or cover them up and/or neglect them. Nine Mile Run did a nice job un-culverting their Run, but luckily a lot of it ran through a park.  they were extremely well funded too and the woman who ran it did a very nice job (I forgot her name). some of these other runs are way too built up to do anything like this at this point.  One that isn't in Negley Run.  They could (expensively) reconstruct it, or unculvert it, or do something, and then help it run down the hillside and not flood the area. This is a side effect of so much development on top of the hill in Shadyside, East Liberty, etc.  Rainwater has no where to go but down.
edronline
2016-09-06 11:11:17