Allegheny River Week

It's 55 degrees in February, and Spring is in the air in Pittsburgh. The final stage of the Great Allegheny Passage has received funding for its last segment along the Monongahela river and will be finished by January 2012. It's only natural that the-powers-that-be should move along to the amenities along the Allegheny River.

Allegheny Riverfront Vision Plan

This $350,000 study paid for by the city of Pittsburgh and the URA outlines how to improve and capitalize on this under-utilized riverfront. The ambitious 20-year plan involves property from the Strip District all the way through Lawrenceville. Features like a commuter rail, circulator trolley, and a bike-walk green boulevard make this plan exciting. But forcing the wholesale distributors that are the heart and soul of the Strip district move up to 62nd Street definitely makes me cringe.

Active Allegheny

Not to be out-done, the Allegheny County also published its $300,000 study this week with the goal of making county residents more active and safe. Highlights of this study include the areas with the most pedestrian and bicycle accidents. Penn Ave which parallels the Allegheny River features prominently in the study with that thoroughfare ranking top on the list of priorities for infrastructure improvements and tops in terms of accidents. Hopefully, the city and the county can work together to accomplish some of their shared goals in less than 20 years!

Biking Bonus
Port Authority announced a timeline for equipping its entire bus fleet with bicycle racks thanks to a grant the authority received last year. By July, you won't have to fret about whether the next bus arriving will have a bike rack. Though with a 200% increase in Pittsburgh bike ridership in the last decade, you may have to worry about whether the bike rack is already filled.

Happy Biking!

Step Trek 10

Pittsburgh Steps, originally uploaded by cjette.

This Sunday, head on down to the South Side Slopes for some stair walking good times. With multiple routes around the South Side Slopes, you'll get some exercise, sneak peaks into some gorgeous churches, and fantastic views of the city. This is the 10th Anniversary of Step Trek and promises to be the best one yet. For more information, see the official Step Trek website!

Do You Know Where the Homeless People Sleep?

This weekend I participated in the "Reclaim and Revitalize South Side Park" event. Lots of trash was collected and many trees were saved from the grasp of strangling vines. In addition to neighborhood members, we were lucky enough to have about 100 volunteers from Carnegie Mellon University helping out in the park crusade.

At the wrap-up, the students volunteered what they learned from the experience of getting out into the city park. One young woman popped up this doozie: "From cleaning up blankets and mattresses, I learned where homeless people actually sleep."

I personally view it as a failure of her upbringing that this was the first time she was exposed to some of America's underbelly, our unfortunate members of society who are too often swept under the rug and ignored.

However, maybe I had a harsh upbringing. Do you know where the homeless people sleep in your neighborhood? If you open your eyes, you see signs of homelessness throughout Pittsburgh (and most cities in the country) from the beggars in the streets to the blankets and newspapers hidden in various cubbyholes and parks. That knowledge is just as valuable as any class you can take at Carnegie Mellon.

If you want a first-hand experience of how homeless people sleep, check out the annual "Sleep-in For the Homeless" where dozens of people camp out on the steps of the City-County Building downtown with nothing but a sleeping bag to raise awareness of and funds for Allegheny County's homeless population. As of January 2009, Allegheny County counted 1,418 homeless "residents." 17% of them had been in the military service. 14% were victims of domestic violence. 18% of them reported serious mental illnesses. 23% of them were children.

Raising awareness and funds is the only way these numbers will decrease.

Hello World

I'd be remiss in not shouting from the rooftops that:

Pittsburgh is hosting the G-20 Summit!

The city appears to have been picked because Obama likes the Steelers of our great economic recovery since the Steel collapse. One of the highlights is that the meeting is taking place in the largest green convention center in the country. Let's have some true green initiatives in place by the time the summiteers reach here. How about a green triangle? Or strict LEED-certified building codes? Or LED streetlights rolling out throughout the city? The world will be looking at Pittsburgh. Let's get serious.

Gas-Powered Rocket Science

Gas prices go up, we drive less. Gas prices go down, we drive more. Gas is averaging $1.50 less per gallon than last year and like clockwork, we Americans will be hitting the road and guzzling it up - though maybe with slightly older cars and slightly less SUVs.

At the same time, Rendell and company are beginning the fight for raising the gas tax and more tolls - as well as more standardized public transportation and roadwork funding. The gas tax hasn't been raised in 25 years and the 7,000 earmarks scheduled for this summer's transportation bill make Pittsburgh's repaving schedule look like a transparent, well-oiled machine. Clearly, this system of rewarding SUV drivers at the expense of bus-riders is broken. Finally, someone in power is seriously trying to fix it.

In the meantime, I implore you to continue thinking about the ramifications every time you fill up your car at the gas station, every time you drive to the nearby convenience store instead of walking or taking a bike, every time you're sitting in your car alone during rush hour. And maybe if you all can't be inspired to change your ways by retoric, some well-placed gas taxes will clearly help to deter your bad habits. Through education and taxes, cigarette smoking has sharply declined in this country over the past 50 years. Let's do the same with the vice of oil consumption.

Thank You to the Candidates

Congratulations to the winners of the Pittsburgh Democratic primaries.

To Mayor Ravenstahl: You have earned this victory through rampant spending and incumbency, but also through showing that you can work with Council over the last few months. I was very happy to see you parternering with Peduto and helping to institute some reform changes. Please continue to work with council. I'm sure that last night while you were at Hofbrauhaus, you made some flowery speech about the future of Pittsburgh. If you succeed in the general election this Fall, then I expect that in 4 years, we will have LED street lights, mandatory green building codes, the first tracks laid for a line between Oakland and Downtown, a manageable pension system, and real transparency in city contracting, city maintenance, and campaign donations. Please don't disappoint the constituents that have decided you are worthy of the Democratic nomination.

But most importantly, thank you to all that ran in this election. You make our election process respectable and responsible. Even if you didn't win, you are still contributing to the city by bringing new ideas to the forefront. I am glad that Dowd still has a position in the city as councilman. I hope that he keeps up hammering Ravenstahl when he disagrees with him. I also hope that he can work with Ravenstahl to make this city a better place. It is unfortunate that Carmen Robinson does not have a fall-back position in the city. I greatly admire her motivation and determination to become mayor of this city. I sincerely hope that Ravenstahl (or someone else in a position to do so) sees her connections with the community and initiative and can find her a position someplace in our city government. If not, Carmen Robinson, you must run for another position as soon as you are able.

Green Roof Request

A follow-up to yesterday's blog post. I mentioned Onorato's great new plan to have a green roof on the County building downtown. In a city that pride's itself on its skyline views, green roofs are the way to go. They improve views, help the environment, and lower operating costs all at the same time.

And where do we need a green roof the most? The South Side Giant Eagle. From above it is a giant bland box in the midst of old Victorian homes. My disdain for the Giant Eagle plaza on the South Side is large. It was planned before the age of pedestrian-friendly complexes and rivals Robinson Town Center for pedestrian unfriendliness. The crosswalks that do exist are inconvenient and where one wants to walk is where the cars have right of way. However, it's difficult to retrofit a shopping plaza. What is relatively easy to retrofit? The roof.

To be frank, Giant Eagle South Side ruins the view from my house and every other house on the South Side Slopes, so this is a partially selfish plea. But Giant Eagle has shown that they are willing to install green roofs in Shadyside. Let's see a green roof in an area where people will actually see it, and it will improve the lives of city residents. That's a lot more doable than windmills on Mt Washington and a lot more effective than one solar panel at a firehouse in a city known for cloudy skies.

What else is ruining views in the city?

Turning Over A New Leaf?

County Executive Onorato has been barking up the right tree lately. (Sorry, I couldn't resist the lame green metaphors. Maybe it has something to do with my recent visit to the Amazon.)

Onorato is moving forward with a Green Roof on the County Building while Ravenstahl is dragging his heals on plans to make the city-county building more energy efficient.

He is also touting the CCAC Green Institute - Preparing our workers to be "Green Collar" as well as educating county residents on making their homes more energy efficient are keys to continuing to succeed as a region.

And most importantly, Onorato is putting a renewed focus on transit projects for the region - especially Downtown-Oakland which could be a vital connector.

Good Day For Mass Transit

So I spend yesterday lambasting Onorato for creating schisms between county and city and today he goes and proves me wrong. Onorato wrote a letter requesting money for transit links between Downtown, Oakland and the airport. In fact the headline for the Post-Gazette article is:

Onorato eyes rail links to airport, Oakland

Of course, I have to look closer.

The "fine print" for this letter breaks down Onorato's requests as such:
$7 Million for downtown mass transit system design
$10.5 Million for commuter rail system design
------
Total: $17.5 Million

$25 Million for a road in Robinson
$32 Million for a road in Upper St Clair and Scott
$35 Million for the Mansfield Bridge which connects Dravosburg, Glassport and McKeesport.
$12 Million for a flyover ramp in Rankin and Swissvale
$4.5 Million for road improvements in Marshall
$2.5 Million for road construction in Monroeville
$7 Million for traffic improvements in Brackenridge near a steel plant
------
Total: $118 Million

So $17.5 Million out of a total $135.5 Million (about 13%) of his requests are for mass transit.

I understand that the elephant in the room here is the dreaded North Shore connector which is gobbling up a lot of funding right now.

I also understand that these transit projects will cost ultimately cost billions of dollars but they're only in the design phases right now and there's a limit to how much money you can request for design.

However, I seriously question the short-term vision of our local government who only finds these projects worth pursuing when they are in national favor. Imagine if someone a few years ago had the gumption and follow-through to initiate these studies and if we were ready to go on a spineline between Oakland and Downtown instead of working on a half-assed North Shore connector which no one is truly happy about. What happens in 4 years if Obama is no longer in power and our pathetic local leaders still are (and perhaps Onorato has his governor prize)? Will we then be left with yet more money being spent on highways and interchanges and more transit plans being curtailed and swept under the rug? Will we end up with a new tunnel to the South Side as a booby prize?

But in the meantime, I am very excited to see mass-transit plan being seriously considered even if it's local leaders jumping on the bandwagon. I like this bandwagon. I'd just appreciate some serious long-term regional commitment to spending time and effort on improving our transit systems because right now I feel like it could all disappear at the drop of a hat.

Earth Life

Last summer, oil prices were sky-rocketing and we were all thinking about downgrading our cars and taking more public transportation.

Last month, we had "Earth Hour" where everybody was supposed to shut off their lights on Sunday night. Let's be honest, none of us is willing to live without electricity. But it is useful to reflect on how many items you have plugged in around your house.

Today, it's Earth Day. What are you doing to celebrate?

As normal, "Politics and Place" is focusing on public transportation and recent train stories in the paper. Will we have commuter rail? Will we have more efficient buses? Maybe Luke-y will announce a new initiative today at his Market Square event?

"Green is Good" proclaims itself the green news of Pittsburgh and is my favorite blog to read for local green news. At the world-wide level, treehugger is the end-all-be-all. Any others?

Lastly, there's the new "Carbon Caps = Hard Hats" agenda being endorsed by US Steel. Yes, US Steel is advertising for carbon caps. Why? Because they (and many others) are starting to realize that taking care of our earth can be friendly to our wallets as well.

If there's one thing I've learned about environmentalism in the last 10 years, it's that it has to be profitable to be accepted by the mainstream public. You will always have hippies out there buying hybrid vehicles and biking to work 5 miles uphill each way, but for the rest of us, there needs to be an incentive to put in the extra effort - from corporations to families. For too long the incentives at the federal level have been for buying a bigger house or having more kids or buying a gas-guzzling vehicle. With Obama at the helm of the nation, the incentives appear to be drifting towards train travel and energy-efficient windows.

Personally, I've given up driving a car this month. Not because I'm sacrificing but because I'm in Peru and it's easier (and a lot cheaper) to not have a car. It's been oddly very liberating walking or taking public transportation everywhere I need to go, but that's because the cities of Peru make it stupid simple. There are cabs everywhere, frequent buses, and most of the shopping and nightlife is centered in a small area. Maybe because they've never had government incentives for sprawl? Can we turn back time in the USA? Can we progress towards a country of train-travel and central business districts and responsible utilities usage? And will Peru ever adopt serious emissions standards so their plentiful taxis aren't choking me to death? Today is the day to dream about it.

Bright Lights, Big City

So the North Shore casino is looking for jumbotrons? And the city has an obnoxious legal battle with Lamar over electronic billboards?

I know I'm not the only one to think that some zoning compromise could come out of this if the right people sat down at a table together. Otherwise, the city is just asking for trouble (from Lamar) if it approves the jumbotrons on the North Shore.

Personally, it all sounds rather garish to me, but we are talking about a casino - a casino which stands to save taxpayers loads of money on property taxes if we're to believe Rendell and the Meadows hype.

According to the Rivers Casino website:

"Whether you prefer the exciting atmosphere of our gaming floor or the tranquil surroundings along our riverfront esplanade, our facility will be a premier destination for residents and visitors alike."

Their rendering of the casino is clearly of the tranquil side. They forgot to mention the light and noise pollution of traffic arriving at all hours and flashing electronic billboards. Who is that designed to appeal to? The greedy business owners who can't get enough?

Pittsburgh Cooling

Since November, US Steel and their contemporaries have been idling workers and plants around the region. Then, at the beginning of April, US Steel announced that they were putting the brakes on remodeling their Clairton coke plant. Bad news for area construction jobs and just as importantly bad news for the environment.

While it's widely acknowledged that Pittsburgh has drastically improved its air quality since the 50s, we still struggle with bad air quality reports. In 2006, 2007, and 2008, Pittsburgh ranked at the bottom of cities, especially for short-term particle pollution. The improvements at Clairton (one of the worst offenders in the area) were intended to take a big bite out of our low ranking.

However, there is a bright side in all this idling. Without these plants running, and thousands of workers driving to them every day, Pittsburgh's air quality is improving. So, get outside. Walk to the unemployment office or your free classes at CCAC and breathe a little easier today. You may not be employed but at least you'll live longer.

Less Waste in a Bad Economy?

After recent glowing reviews from the New York Times to Cleveland, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette appears to be picking up the happy Pittsburgh glow.

Latest breaking news? We ranked 14th least wasteful city. Of course, this ranking is out of 25 cities, which puts us (barely) in the bottom half of cities, or 12th most wasteful city. To put that into perspective, Detroit comes in at number 13.

Clearly, we'll never beat New York City in terms of public transportation usage, but there are a few things we should improve on to crack the top ten.

1) More library usage. We have a great resource in the Carnegie libraries and some of them rival Barnes & Noble for atmosphere, yet somehow Pittsburgh ranked 18th in library usage. Save some money, and visit your local library the next time you want something to read or watch. If you do this, and you realize, you're saving oodles of cash while feeling better about the environment, take Brian O'Neill's advice and give a little back to your library.

2) Less driving. We ranked 25th out of 25 in terms of driving instead of walking when you're going less than 2 miles. Spring has arrived, so get out of your car and put your walking shoes on. If you start walking more, you might even find you look better in a bathing suit this summer.

3) More energy efficient light bulbs. As a city, we came in at a fairly respectable number 15 in this category, but it's a joke to switch over to LED street lights, while we don't even change the lights in our home. Manufacturers are practically giving these bulbs away now. With their new styles and wattage options, there's no excuse for you to not have energy efficient light bulbs in every room of your house. Here in Peru, every light bulb is energy efficient. They're not doing it to save the environment. They're doing it save money. So stop whining about your electric bill and change your bulbs. I literally cut my electric bill in half last year when I switched out most of my bulbs.

Kudos to the Post-Gazette for a positive headline. Try it again the next time unemployment rates re-surface. At 6.5% for February, Allegheny County is well under the state unemployment rate (7.5%) and the national rate (8.1%). The 7-county region falls in at 6.9%. Yet the latest headline for the Post-Gazette regarding unemployment? "Local jobless rate increases at fastest pace since '80s"

In summary, don't get too happy about our environmental progress, and keep those jobless rates in perspective.

Why Can't We Be Friends?

The latest in Pittsburgh politics rivals the plot of Gossip Girl. Mayor Ravenstahl and Councilman Peduto are both requesting bids on revamping our street lights in Pittsburgh. Both are noble causes (because they're the same.) I've previously stated that I think revamping the streetlights is a great idea. But how much effort is being wasted in this duplicity? Yes, Peduto was stepping on the toes of the Mayor's new sustainability coordinator, but Peduto did act on the idea first. Council and the Mayor's office need to compromise on a plan going forward and stop wasting our time and money.

These antics tell me that neither the existing Mayor or anyone on the existing Council deserves my vote come next election. I wish someone would rise above acting like a high school girl and actually lead this city. Carmen? I don't know anything about her and she already sounds better than the ninnies currently pretending to govern our city.

Do You Want a Pepsi With That?

Forget those funky bike racks that litter the city of Pittsburgh pretending to be works of art. Instead, Councilman Peduto says we should have ads on our bike racks. That's how you know that biking has hit the mainstream.

Next, we'll have McDonald's billboards on our bike-ways.

And then we'll have the Consol Energy state park with ads on the trail markers.

When does the commodification stop?

Seriously, though, if the city can get "free" bike racks attached to its parking meters. I guess that's cool. Though I have to wonder about a plan that's intended to bring more advertising money into the Parking Authority just in time to lease the parking authority and meters. And are we just one step away from metered bike parking?

Even In Cloudy Pittsburgh

When I drove through the countryside of cloudy Germany this summer, I was amazed to see that almost every barn was littered with solar panels.

Imagine looking up to the slopes from the South Side flats and seeing every other rooftop lined with solar panels. It's almost as iconic as a windmill atop Mt Washington - and probably easier to get the permits. (Of course, you wouldn't see the panels because they would have to be south-facing, but it's still a nice image.)

The only way this happens here or there is through tax breaks and subsidies. Can the city of Pittsburgh afford those tax breaks? Don't be ridiculous.

In reality, though, thanks to a Federal grant, Pittsburgh will have a solar water heater being installed in a firehouse by next fall. We do have a solar cell manufacturer in our backyard. And we do have a workforce that needs a break from being re-educated to draw blood. However, we will need to push Obama to keep up with solar tax credits and more if my dream is to ever become a reality.

Disappointed?

Are you disappointed with the mayor's wish list for the city?

I understand your disappointment. There are no public transit initiatives on the list. And there are very few green initiatives. There ARE some crucial water and sewer improvements on the list.

In terms of public transit, it's important to keep some things in mind though.
Controversial as it is, we ARE currently working on the North Shore connector. There is a LOT of federal money contributing to that project. We are also working on Point State Park - which will be a major boon to the city when it's finished. I'm psyched about all the connecting parks that are in progress.

My question is why isn't Maglev to the airport on the list?? That is totally shovel-ready. A lot of money and time have been spent on this project already. I understand it's another controversial project, but it would clearly be a positive addition to the area (I refuse to comment on whether it's worth the money.)

In terms of becoming a city with nationally respectable public transportation, though, we need to connect Oakland and Downtown with something other than buses and cars. Light rail seems like the best option, but I don't know for sure. I'd be happy with a monorail if necessary. Unfortunately though as far as I know there are NO solid plans for this connection.

Also, there is a TON of resistance to the Oakland-Downtown line for some reason. I don't know why... It's disappointing to me to realize that that project is NOT shovel-ready.

Long Term Thinking

Most of us at home have at least debated switching to energy efficient lightbulbs. Now, the city is thinking about it on a grand scale. I applaud it. Personally, I've seen my electricity bill plummet after switching over to energy efficient bulbs. It's an investment that's good for the environment and good for your wallet as a taxpayer and as head-of-household.

Cheers to Councilman Peduto for making the grand gesture to switch all of the city street lights to long lasting LED lights.

For more info check out the full plan.

What next?

Green boats, green cars, what will they think of next? Green airplanes and trains? How about a light rail to the airport or an express train to Harrisburg??

Surely, we live in interesting times. Hopefully, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County can capitalize on them.

In other news, how's Port Authority's budget doing now? Just one bus, the 33X had an increase in ridership of 80% in June. The way I see it, that's a $60,000 (an extra $2 per ride at 1450 riders per week-day) bonus for June. If the lines for the buses downtown at rush hour are any indication of ridership, I believe that statistic. Hopefully, we can turn around and use this impetus to get some solid planning in for the future benefit of Port Authority. Speaking of which, everybody (all 1 of you), should visit and contribute to the pghwiki.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08227/904188-53.stm)