illusionofjoy | Vote for mayor, get a new transit system

Judging by the press coverage, the hot topic in the race for mayor of the city of Pittsburgh is none other than...mass transit. Never mind that the city is still a distressed bankrupt mess that can't really afford mass transit upgrades (unfortunately), each candidate has their own ideas for getting people out of their cars and onto the bus, trolley, et cetera. Bob O' Connor thinks that it would be nifty to run streetcars through the Hill District into Oakland in order to spur development. Bill Peduto wants to see a regional transit system which includes commuter rail lines. Finally, Michael Lamb is putting himself behind Maglev, the North Shore Connector and commuter rail lines.

Although not running for mayor of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato has his own ideas about transit expansion in Western Pennsylvania. Excerpted from the article in today's Post-Gazette, here is his proposal:

Create a regional transportation authority, centered around the Port Authority, to coordinate and improve the delivery of public transit services and establish a regional transit infrastructure in 10 counties. Consolidation is already being discussed by county commissioners from neighboring counties. Onorato said, "From what I've seen, there's general support."
Develop an elevated rapid transit line along the Second Avenue corridor, where there is plenty of room, with the Downtown end linked to the First Avenue T station and the parking garage next door. The line would pass the Pittsburgh Technology Center en route to Oakland, with provisions for future links to the old LTV mill site in Hazelwood and Carrie Furnace in Rankin.
Utilize existing tracks to establish rush-hour commuter rail service from Pittsburgh up the Allegheny Valley and Route 8 corridors, west to Carnegie and Bridgeville, and east to Greensburg. Onorato said modern passenger equipment could share the tracks with freight trains on coordinated schedules that minimize interference.
Permit cab companies, airport limousines and commercial carriers like FedEx and UPS to use the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, West Busway and South Busway for a fee. The carriers would save time and money bypassing congestion on the Parkway East and Parkway West. The Port Authority already shares the exclusive rights of way with buses from Beaver and Westmoreland counties and Mid-Mon Valley Transit Authority, and with emergency vehicles.
Promote development at the Port Authority's largest park-n-ride lots and major stations along the South Hills light-rail line in conjunction with the county Economic Development Department. The authority has been trying to capitalize on its transit property assets for years, with limited success.
Develop "aerial" or elevated rapid transit between Downtown and Pittsburgh International Airport. The plan states that "existing studies will be analyzed to aid in this endeavor," including high-speed magnetic levitation trains proposed as a federally funded national demonstration project.

All plans are admirable in their ambition. However, most of them are way too ambitious to be realistic. The main problem is that proverbial roadblock which keeps most great projects from happening: money. The most likely idea out of all of them to actually happen is Dan Onorato's regional transit consolidation plan. Still, should Pittsburgh receive a sudden windfall, I have my own ideas for a transit line linking downtown with Oakland.

The main flaw in every plan put forth for linking the two districts is that they defeat their main purpose - encouraging development - by running overland, which requires use of imminent domain in order to procure the land required for construction of the line. Bob O' Connor's proposal goes one step further, adding a system that is incompatible with the current light rail system. If one wishes to spur further development, one should take pains not to disrupt what is currently built up in an area. My solution: go underground.

Ideally, a subway line connected to the existing light rail line would be idea for linking downtown with Oakland. A satellite view of the Strip District shows the terminus for the Port Authority's Penn Park light rail line, right next to the cliff that Bigelow Boulevard rests upon. My theory is that a line could be extended from that point, boring into the cliff and going under the Hill District and east to Oakland. Stations along the way could take up a minimal amount of surface area, if they were to be patterned after the Gateway Center station and platforms were located between inbound and outbound tracks.

Advantages to this idea include the aforementioned conservation of land and leaving current development undisturbed. Doing this would also make it so a relatively unused strip of rail would become useful. Currently, the Penn Park line is a spur which runs two trips daily to Penn Station with a connection to the Busway. While the convention centre is within walking distance, two trips does not a beaten path to the centre make. Were this line extended all the way to Oakland, with regular trips, people would actually use it. Such a line would enable conventioneers easy access to Oakland. Meanwhile, a link between Oakland, the Hill District and the Strip District could only benefit all three areas. It's an idea, anyhow.