West Carson Street and Beyond

West Carson Street has been in the news a lot lately. Last week, community groups were protesting the site of a proposed Strip Club on West Carson Street. They object to its location directly adjacent to the Onala Club, an alcohol and drug recovery center.

Early Tuesday morning, a mere 0.3 miles away along Carson Street, a warehouse suspicously caught fire.

Arson investigators were trying to determine the fire's cause, terming it "suspicious," but unsafe conditions kept them from examining where it started. Fire officials said interior floors collapsed. The building, thought to be empty for 20 years, had no electricity.

Anyone else wonder if protesters got the wrong address? That would certainly send a stern message to developers from a potential renegade community group. The more likely scenario?

The Forza Group which bought the company as an investment decided to expedite the demolition process of their property. (Or as the Angry Drunk Bureaucrat suspects another renegade community group decided to expedite the process for them.) According to Greg Erosenko, a spokesman for the Forza Group, "The company is considering building a hotel there someday."

This of course brings to mind dozens of other abandoned warehouses and houses in the Pittsburgh area that are owned as "investment" opportunities. In the meantime, they are dangerous eyesores for the rest of us. They are dangerous because desperate people like to squat in abandoned buildings increasing area crime, and kids like to play in these very same areas.

My request to the city? Let's stop letting developers leave these dangerous eyesores speckled throughout the city in the hopes of profiting off of these properties when yet another Pittsburgh neighborhood "reawakens."

Regularly, send your building inspectors to these sites and fine the hell out of them for being out-of-code, having unkempt landscaping, lack of proper snow removal, and anything else that's legal. This West Carson Street warehouse should have been demolished (or remodeled) long ago. The only people that pay the price for this developer dragging-of-the-heels are Pittsburgh residents. If we hassle the developers, they'll either do something with the property or pass it on to someone who will.

Priorities in the Face of G20

My street is on the paving list for this summer, but unless some hotshot is blindly following their GPS on the way to the South Side for a Primanti Brother's sandwich photo-op, no one of any political importance is going to drive down it this September. Does that mean my street is going to get pushed to the bottom of the paving heap? Should it?

"Mr. Ravenstahl said the city will plant trees throughout Downtown, and Public Works Director Guy Costa said sections of streets including 10th Street, Oliver Avenue, William Penn Place, Sixth Avenue, Forbes Avenue and Market Street will be repaved. Railroad underpasses on Penn and Liberty avenues will also be cleaned."

If these items were on a priority list already, I'm all for them. But let's try not to "reddup" Downtown at the expense of everybody who actually lives in the city. I understand that people want to get gussied-up and show off our fair city to the G20 officials that are stopping by. But Pittsburgh was picked for the G20 for its positives and its negatives, for its tumultuous history. Nobody expects to see an immaculate Disney World. Get an army of volunteers to clean up litter and paint over graffiti if you want, but leave the Department of Public Works to do their job. It's far more positive to stick to a sensible, fair plan of paving streets, fixing potholes, and painting sign posts, than to allow line-jumping for a one-weekend event. And it serves the residents of the city the most.

PennDOT Hates Drivers

I understand that road construction is a complicated beast which is exorbitantly expensive and can take many years. But when you have millions of dollars lined up, and a plan in place, why does PennDOT repeatedly and obnoxiously step in the way, slow things down, and make the lives of Pittsburgh residents miserable?

Instead of looking into commuter rail options on Rte 28 years ago, PennDOT is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on adjusting the lanes. PennDOT is currently negatively impacting retail and everyone on East Carson Street to add turning lanes. The city was ready to go ahead with rehabilitating a decrepit McArdle bridge, but:

...it has taken longer than anticipated to get PennDOT to review and certify the plan.

Maybe they were too busy designing signs to spend stimulus money on? No delays there.

Stimulus Watch - Pittsburgh Style

When the stimulus money was released nation-wide, there were big promises that all the money spent would be publicized online in the intent to make us feel better about the billions that are being spent. Of course, you only actually feel better if someone actually looks up those websites.

So here we are: Stimulus money in Pittsburgh.

It's broken out into 6 categories, and I'll give an overview of each category.

1. Infrastructure & Economic Development
What's happening? This is by far the biggest piece of the pie. This breaks down into general infrastructure improvements, i.e. bridges and street-paving ($5 Million), Housing Authority money ($27 Million), demolishing vacant buildings ($4 Million), and money for sewer improvements ($17.8 Million).
Total: $53.8 Million
My Opinion: The general infrastructure improvements are clearly the bread and butter of the stimulus package. But general infrastructure improvements only make up 7% of the money here. I have to seriously question the huge allocation for the Housing Authority, especially given its recent pathetic audit performance.

2. Public Safety & Criminal Justice
What's happening? Technology, Equipment, Vehicles, Police Academy for the Pittsburgh Police
Total: $2.1 Million
My Opinion: Sounds to me like we're filling in normal budget shortfalls here, and the project notes are pretty minimal.

3. Energy Efficiency & Natural Resources
What's happening? Updating the City-County building for energy efficiency.
Total: $3.4 Million
My Opinion: I'm a little disappointed in this slice of the pie. This will affect one building in the city, but it will undoubtedly generate jobs and make that one building much better.

4. Workforce Development & Education
What's happening? Summer youth jobs, adult workforce development and adult training
Total: $3 Million
My Opinion: Creating jobs and helping put more people directly to work. I saw lots of signs around town recruiting for the summer youth jobs and they had a standard method for awarding those jobs fairly. This is a great example of stimulus spending.

5. Health & Social Services Safety Net
What's happening? Homelessness Prevention
Total: $6.8 Million
My Opinion: That's a lot of money for a broad description and no project notes. I think this one needs a closer watch. Seems like you could give an awful lot of people houses for $6.8 million. How many homeless people do we have in Pittsburgh?

6. Tax Credits & Fiscal Assistance
What's happening? NOTHING
Total: $0
My Opinion: Are we wasting potential money here?

Overall
What's happening? Clearly a lot.
Total: $69.1 Million
My Opinion: There definitely seems to be a combination of shooting low (tax credits, energy efficiency, general infrastructure), taking advantage of the system (housing authority) and band-aids for bad budgeting (police, sewers). A lot of good will come out of this for Pittsburgh. Plus, I give the city a bit of a break because there wasn't much time for planning on this. There's a clear lack of funding for public transportation options at this point, but I'm going to assume that falls at the county level. I also don't see anything to help out our ailing schools. Of course, not all of the stimulus money has been released yet. I'll keep watching.

North Vs South

Here's a story of two amphitheatres.

North

• Millions of dollars of subsidies
• Delayed time and again since 1997
  
• Cost:$12 Million
  
• Causes outrage in community
• Broke rules set out by planning authority
  

South

• $0 subsidies
• Re-opened in less than 3 months after being forced to close due to casino issues
• Cost: $50,000
  
• Listened to community concerns ending concerts by 11PM
  
• Followed proper planning processes

Which do you support? The one which is now adding to city tax dollars? Or the one which may open next year and will continue costing the city and the community for years to come?

Don't even get me started on the concession riverfront amphitheater that the casino is offering up. Maybe we should encourage people to build something other than amphitheaters in Pittsburgh?

Breaking News: Duplication in City Services

Yet another audit has emerged by my favorite controller, Michael Lamb. He says that there's waste in the Housing Authority and the city would save money by such measures as:

"The authority could use the city's computer backbone, purchase utilities jointly with the city and county, better collaborate with the city on public works and senior and youth services, and join the city's recycling program."

Seriously, the housing authority doesn't participate in the city's recycling program??? What novel ideas.

Why do I feel like every time Mr Lamb does an audit, he says a lot of the same things? Do all the authorities think they're unique? That it's okay for them to waste taxpayer money? These are basic tenets and every single authority in the city should be merging these basics. The city needs one tech support team, one billing department, and one account with utility companies.

There have been a lot of audits over the past year and I'd really like to start to see some results. I have a feeling that if all these audits were promptly responded to that the Act 47 problems would diminish.

Bus Changes Coming

Did you head downtown yesterday to voice your concerns about and enthusiasm for the upcoming Port Authority changes? Neither did I. But you still have at least one more chance to let your voice be heard - Monday night in Oakland.

Among the proposed changes:

1.) Eliminating some of the 15,000 stops. Currently, the bus stops are way too clustered. The new plan: "On some routes, the proposed changes call for stops a quarter-mile apart -- a 15-minute walk at a moderate pace." (I know they're accounting for Pittsburgh-level fitness and terrain here but a "moderate" pace makes you walk a 20-minute mile - or about 5 minutes for a quarter mile - a very reasonable time to be expected to walk for public transportation.)

2) Reducing the ridiculous and confusing route variations. "For instance, the 46G Elizabeth route, which currently has 36 variations, would have just two."

3) Making the 28X an actual airport express by eliminating the time-consuming detour through Robinson. This one deserves the most mention because it could make the service a lot more appealing to every level of airport rider. I'll happily pay extra (it's only $2.60 right now to get to the airport) for more added convenience.

To see how you could personally be effected, check out: Concept 1 & Concept 2

Personally, I'm a big fan of Concept 2 which puts a highlights on our existing light rail services and increases the frequency of existing light rail service. We barely have any light-rail in our city, and as it stands now we're barely using it. Let's maximize what we have, integrate the new North Shore Connector into existing routes, and keep building.

If all goes well, these changes could be voted on as soon as September.

See you Monday!

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.

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?

Here Comes the Money

The federal stimulus money has begun its influx into this region. So far, we have new money for biking and walking paths, airport runways, and potholes. Not so glamorous. High on the mayor's original wish list was money for the equally-unglamorous PWSA, which Dowd has been attempting to pin down as of late. Hopefully, when more stimulus money flows in, the current complex issues surrounding the PWSA bonds (which most of us will never understand), that money won't sweep these issues under the rug. Maybe we can spend some of the money on a consultant to actually figure out all these bond shenanigans?

On the flip side of the coin, as null space points out, construction prices have continued to rise in the region in spite of nationwide drops in fuel prices and construction materials. If we have a hope of spending all this shiny new stimulus money, we need more construction workers in this region. The best way to do that? Offer competitive salaries. Wouldn't it be nice if Allegheny County had the highest paying construction jobs in the nation?

In the meantime, if you can hold off on re-roofing your house, you might want to.

Squeaky Wheels

In Pittsburgh city government (and perhaps everywhere), there is no truer adage than "The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease." If you whine to the right people, you can accomplish anything. Similarly, if you have '311' on re-dial (and request a ticket number), you can fix the city of Pittsburgh one pothole and streetlight at a time.

Paving for McArdle Roadway (that scenic pothole-filled byway up to one of the best skyline views in the country) was literally passed over until this blog entry and some accompanying begging. 2 weeks later, the Post-Gazette informs us that McArdle will be paved post-haste.

Public Works Director Guy Costa said the city has hired Mackin Engineering for $170,000 to study the drainage problem and develop a solution. Its report is expected within a month.

But don't stop squeaking now. If the drainage problem is not fixed, the city will continue to waste upwards of $300,000 at a pop to re-pave this major artery every other year or so. And if the wheel stops squeaking, this report will get tossed under the rug for another few years.

And if McArdle isn't your pet project, call '311' and insist that your project get fixed, too. Or make some friends in high places, but I think the phone is easier.

More Funding for Pittsburgh "Highways"

I'm a resident of the South Side of Pittsburgh and normally when the federal dollars start flowing in my neighborhood, I find it difficult to complain. Except for this time. Why is PennDOT widening Carson Street between 25th St and 33rd St? I just don't understand.

Carson Street is a mess. It's not especially pedestrian friendly - and in the vicinity of the Birmingham Bridge, it's especially pedestrian-unfriendly. I frequently fear for my safety while crossing the street in that area. Yet PennDOT and our generous state senators have won the fight to make Carson Street wider???

I understand that this is a heavy truck route. But I certainly don't feel the need to encourage that the home to "America's longest business Victorian National Historic District" be a more pleasant and convenient truck route.

And is it really in our best interest to enable bar patrons to drive their cars more quickly and efficiently after closing hours at the many bars on Carson St? How about we encourage them to take the bus instead?

Carson Street is not a highway. It's a business district. But if PennDOT and short-sighted leadership have their way, I wonder how long that's going to last. If I had my way, I'd shut Carson Street down between 10th and 22nd Streets to cars every Friday and Saturday night except for public transportation. If Austin, Texas and New York City can do it, why can't Pittsburgh? Heck, in my ideal world, Carson would be shut down every day of the week with walking and light rail being your only option for traveling the street. While we're at it, how about shutting down Penn Ave in The Strip every Saturday?

Thanks Senate! (for real this time)

High-speed and inner-city rail: Went from $300 million in House bill to $2.25 billion in Senate to $8 billion in final version. There also is a $6.9 billion provision for public transit.

But where is that money going? California is in line for the lion's share, and I think they deserve it. I'd love to see high-speed rail throughout this country, and California is truly embracing it. They've planned state tax dollars for it, and they have a solid plan to connect San Diego and San Francisco. Second in the running is the Las Vegas to Los Angeles which would dovetail nicely, but thankfully the Federal government likes to distribute its wealth on both sides of the Mississippi.

It turns out there's lots of other cities lining up for that money. Atlanta and Baltimore are also fighting for East Coast Maglev money. But did you know New York wants a high-speed line from Albany to Buffalo? How about Dallas to Houston?

Does Pittsburgh have an edge? Pennsylvania is home to one of the measly 3 Republican Senators that voted for the Stimulus who also happens to be a fan of high-speed rail and came under LOTS of flack for voting against the grain. If Specter can turn around and bring some serious federal dollars here for Maglev, I'm sure he'll be back in good graces with his voters if not his party.

Back in November, some Maglev money was magically discovered for which Pittsburgh was a top contender.

Finally, on the campaign trail, Obama said the following:

"One of the things I have been talking about for awhile is high-speed rail connecting all of these Midwest cities - Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, St. Louis."

Surely, that counts for something. Obama didn't explicitly mention Pittsburgh but as Jim Russel at R2P has mentioned, Pittsburgh is a key connector between the East Coast and the Midwest. The first step to that is Maglev Pittsburgh. The $4 Billion and higher price tag makes $100 Million for the North Shore Connector seem paltry, doesn't it?

But don't hold your breath.

Thanks Senate!

The Pittsburgh Trib has a nifty breakdown of the House bill versus the Senate bill. To bring around the stimulus bill to semi-local issues:

First, the Senate decided to remove $25 BILLION in state grants from the stimulus package.

No state block grants = higher state taxes.

But it's okay because we'll all get a $1,000 per couple tax credit for the next 2 years. Don't worry, if you phase out of the tax credit (at a combined income of $140,000), there's a loop-hole for you. The Senate also decided to add a fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax. "The change would save a family of four an average of $2,300." Glad to see we're focused on who needs the money during this recession. How about you save a family of four who's making under $150,000 per year $2,300??? Between those 2 tidbits, we've got $210 BILLION of the stimulus. The Senate and House are ignoring that Bush's stimulus checks did almost nothing to help the economy and the people are not clamoring for a check.

The people were actually excited about the prospect of a major infrastructure investment. The Senate decided to chop out $43 BILLION for rail and general public infrastructure repairs. They leave the infrastructure component at about $55 BILLION or about 6.5% of the package.

But wait, there's also lots of money for energy.

The Senate thought energy was so important they added $11 BILLION to that area. Maybe we'll see some of that trickle down to $25 Million for Pittsburgh LED street lights? Fat chance. Instead the extra money is divided out like this: $4.6 BILLION for fossil fuel research and development; $6.4 BILLION to clean up nuclear weapons production sites.

The Senate also decided to sneak in an auto-makers bailout by allowing folks to deduct interest on their auto loans as well as extending tax benefits to companies losing money. Another $16 BILLION down the drain there. And they'll give all of us a $15,000 coupon if you buy a house in 2009. Except in Pittsburgh where most houses cost less than $150,000 so we'll only get 10%. Another $35 BILLION there.

All in all. This "stimulus" is a gigantic mess that is mostly managing to alienate the American people from their overlords in the House and Senate. With $838 BILLION to play with, you'd think they could manage to please someone. Instead, the Democrats appear to be setting the stage for a major Republican come-back in 2 years.

Of course, at least all this money is being spent in the USA. And I'd rather have a deficit based on spending and tax cuts that benefit my family rather than spending the staggering trillions of dollars on destroying and rebuilding Iraq.

Feeling Kinda Friday

Everybody's gearing up for the big game around here, and the news front is pretty quiet here if you don't care that Ben got caught stretching and more snow is falling.

A chink in Cranberry's armor has appeared though. I'm not too sad. I find that there already enough malls in the area that I avoid like the plague. But I've also never actually gotten off the highway in Cranberry. It's not too surprising that PennDOT is taking the blame in this failure.

Does PennDOT actually want Western Pennsylvania to fail? Between closing the major artery to Oakland for a year to planning mass devastation to Route 28 to now preventing a new shiny mall in Cranberry, it sure seems like it. There has got to be a way to reconstruct Route 28 without literally shutting down parts of this major artery for 6 months. Crawling through rush-hour traffic on Route 28 last night, I day-dreamed about a commuter rail on this artery. Instead, we'll be spending our stimulus money on wreaking havoc on commuters while we build more lanes. Thankfully, I work from home, so it's hard to get too angry. My ire is mostly reserved for the nearby evils like the Department of Public Works.

This whole post is feeling like a day-dream. I guess it's the lull before the Super Bowl storm.

Go Steelers!

Less Than $20 Million

According to the Steelers and VisitPittsburgh, the home AFC championship game should bring in $20 million to the city on Sunday. That's on top of the $18 million for last week's game.

And how much extra are these games adding to the drink tax coffers alone? I'm going to make an educated guess and say that if you take the drink tax profits from Steelers Sundays, that alone will easily land you $1 Million per year.

The North Shore Connector is costing the county 3.33% of its total cost - or about $15 million. Even if it balloons to a $600 million project, that's still less than $20 million in local funds.

Don't you think a new subway line is worth 1 home Steelers championship game?

I can go over the Port Authority spiel that this paves the way for future T lines. Or that this will add yet another fringe parking area alleviating traffic and parking woes downtown. Or that this will encourage more development on the North Side which needs some help right about now.

But instead I'll tell you why I think it's not a horrible idea.

When out-of-towners or former Pittsburghers come back to visit in droves, it's for one of two things. The holidays and Steelers games.

Theoretically, we want to give these people a good impression. We want them to think their city is improving. We want them to go back to where they live and say good things about Pittsburgh. We want them to tell their friends, so that when they get a job offer and they're deciding between Houston, Texas and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, they remember that they heard Pittsburgh was sweet. They choose Pittsburgh.

How do we impress these people? We give them slick public transportation where they're going to use it. To the Steelers game and to the airport. Assuming this risky bet works, then those people will get up and move here. Then we'll have some money in our pockets and we can do more practical less flashy things like actually get people between Oakland and Downtown.

And all for less than $20 million.

But the most important thing to realize is that this is just a piece of the puzzle. If we actually want a world-class transportation system (which we do, right?), then this is a necessary piece of that puzzle. Might as well build it first if we have the money and it can attract and impress some people. We just can't stop here. I don't care if it takes another 50-100 years. (I have faith that Pittsburgh and this country will still be around then.) But we need to keep building and planning and thinking big and we will get there.

Rigging the Lottery

I'm not big on lots of quotes in my posts, but I couldn't pass up all the juicy whining tidbits I've included below.

The only justification when the drink tax was instituted was to give the County a way to pay for their share of transit system expenses. Period.

Roads may be "transit-related" but they are not "transit systems." The drink tax was not instituted to pay for road repairs.

County Solicitor Mike Wojcik argued that if the Legislature meant the Port Authority specifically, it would have said so, and bridges and roads can be defined as transit-related.

Laws in this state stay on the books for decades longer than they should (Johnstown Flood Tax for example) and if Harrisburg could envision a time when this Pennsylvania county might have more than one "transit system", or god-forbid change the name of their "transit system", then god bless them.

The drink tax was not instituted to add money to the county's fund balance, unlike what Amy Griser wishes.

County budget director Amy Griser testified that a $21 million hole in the budget would wipe out the county's fund balance and make it more difficult and costly for it to borrow money.

The drink tax was not instituted so that the county would never again have to raise property taxes, unlike what Rich Fitzgerald is dreaming of.

Council President Rich Fitzgerald, a Democrat, said that if Mr. McCullough and his allies win the suit, it would amount to a "straitjacket" on county spending and force a property tax hike to fund crucial infrastructure improvements.

Poor planning is no excuse to break the law and take advantage of taxpayers. Please, Judge Judy, don't let the whiners in the county rig the lottery. I want smart cards.

Are We Going Somewhere?

Councilman Peduto - the only person on council that appears to be putting forth bold ideas and attempting to sidestep council politics - has put forth yet another bold and interesting idea in council today.

Peduto's idea is partially converting a freight line that runs through Hazelwood/Oakland/Lawrenceville into a commuter line. More public transportation is good. Building on existing infrastructure to work on a project that costs potentially less than $100 million instead of a project costing in the billions is a very smart use of our resources.

However, who is going to take this train? Carnegie Mellon folks who want to reach their robotics center from the central campus? The people who want a relief from parking in Oakland and are willing to park their car at either end of the line in a cheaper less crowded garage? Would this connect to the new Children's Hospital and give parents and UPMC workers more access to this grandiose new Lawrenceville destination? And where does this plan fit in the grand over-arching scheme of Pittsburgh public transportation dreams? Does such a dream plan even exist? There are a ridiculous number of freight lines throughout the city. How many of them could potentially be converted to commuter rail?

And most importantly, are these connections valuable enough to CMU or UPMC or someone else to drive some public-private partnership money?

At an upfront cost $9,000 it's worth finding out the answers.

The Merger

Am I beating a dead horse by talking about the PNC / National City merger?

The merger has been approved. Theoretically, this seems good for Pittsburgh because a bank based here is getting more and more powerful. However, I'm sure there are a lot of people in the region who will lose jobs because of National City leaving.

What about the current National City skyscraper? Does PNC really need another tower with their name on it in Pittsburgh? Won't they want to get rid of that office space because it brings down their LEED-certified building count? (Plus, isn't it kind of ugly?)

"It doesn't strengthen Cleveland at all," shareholder Melanie Deutsch told The Associated Press, calling yesterday "a sad day for Cleveland."

Nobody is quoted in the Trib article as saying that it's a good day for Pittsburgh. Is that just good old-fashioned Pittsburgh self-deprecation?