Official Public Comment: TDP
Tuesday,
September 29, 2009 7:33 PM
From: "Glenn
A. Walsh" <gawalsh@planetarium.cc>
To: "Dave Wohlwill"
<dwohlwill@portauthority.org>
c: "Glenn A.
Walsh" <gawalsh@planetarium.cc>
Bcc:
To: David Wohlwill
From: Glenn A. Walsh
This afternoon I attempted, and I think I succeeded, in posting my public
comments to the TDP web site. But, I cannot be sure!
This is why I prefer sending comments in by e-mail rather than posting to a web
site. With e-mail I have a record of what was sent and what time it was sent,
hence proof that it was sent before a deadline. I have none of this posting to
a web site. On the web site, the only acknowledgement I received was:
Glenn Walsh
Thank you for your feedback.
Your comments have been submitted.
I have to record the time myself, which I recorded as:
2009 September 29 2:37 p.m. EDST
David, the problem is that during my posting, an error message came up
indicating that my message had exceeded the 4,000 character limit.
LIMIT--WHAT LIMIT? I thought there was no limit for written public comments.
And, how could there possibly be a limit for such a huge service change
proposal. This proposal is GAZILLION times greater than the 4,000 character
limit. It should be expected that there be would large public responses to such
an all-encompassing proposal of change!
The problem is, I now cannot be sure that my entire message was received by the
TDP system. I fear that my message was cut-off at 4,000 characters, and the
rest of the message was lost.
Hence, I am now sending the entire message to you by e-mail, to ensure you
receive the entire message before the deadline:
The following are my official public comments on the final recommendations for
the Transit Development Plan of the Port Authority of Allegheny County:
1) I STRENUOUSLY oppose the renumbering system they propose for bus routes.
This is a throw-back to the old Pittsburgh Railways numbering system. The new
numbering system implemented by PAT in 1964 is one thing PAT got right. It
numbers buses by corridor and often by main arterial into the city; specific
bus routes that branch off of the arterial get a letter. So, you know one bus
number for whatever part of town you want to go to.
For instance, when you are Downtown and some asks how to get to
This renumbering proposal comes under the file, "If it ain't broke don't
fix it!" The current system works well. The only problem is that there are
some inconsistencies in the present system.
Probably the most glaring inconsistency is the 36A
AND, both the Allegheny County Transit Council and I have pointed this out to
the PAT Service Development Staff. They ignored our advice to make the 36A
consistent with the rest of the system.
There are a few other inconsistencies with the present system that could easily
be ironed-out. Iron-out these inconsistencies to make a very consistent system
that works as it was designed to work in 1964!
2) If a color-code system is used for rail lines (as
3) If colors are used for the Busways and the HOV Lane, which I do NOT support
(colors should be reserved for rail lines, as in all other transit systems),
then the bus line designation prefix should be "EB" for East Busway,
"WB" for West Busway, or "NH" for North Hills HOV Lane--NOT
the letter prefixes for each color as presently proposed; this proposal is just
nonsensical.
4) I oppose folding Fare Zone 3 into Zone 2--there should be a discount for
people who actually live in
Actually, the Port Authority Administration really wants to eventually
eliminate all zones and have one flat zone, which I STRENUOUSLY oppose. A flat
fare zone means that suburbanites that travel by bus ten miles pay the same
rate as a city dweller only going a few blocks! This is completely unfair with
city dwellers subsidizing suburbanites.
At one time PAT had a 13-zone fare system. I agree, this was too cumbersome.
However, a 3-zone fare system, with Zone 3 for all areas outside of
5) Reducing Rail and Bus Stops – The primary concern here is to ensure speedier
rail and bus service *during rush hours*. Yet, due to the demographics of our
region, additional rail and bus stops are needed for the transit-dependent,
particularly senior citizens.
Hence, rail and bus stops should only be reduced during rush hours. This can
easily be done by using two specific types of bus stop signs:
a) Red Sign—Clearly stating that this stop is served at all
times.
b) Blue Sign—Clearly stating that this stop is not served
during rush hours.
6) I support maintaining the two-dollar base fare.
7) The Overbrook Junction--Willow Avenue Rail Station Complex was poorly
designed for the type of transfers that will occur with the Red Line ending at
Overbrook Junction instead of
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh
P.O. Box 1041
Pittsburgh PA 15230-1041 U.S.A.
Telephone: 412-561-7876
Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc
>
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