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In Monroeville and Wilkins, we worked with the Turnpike Commission - and our concerns were addressed
Sunday, January 06, 2002
By Wes Blaha
One of the dictionary meanings of the verb "cooperate" is, "to unite in producing a result." A good team of horses works together to be effective. United, they work as a team, share the load, and produce the desired result.
Another illustration of cooperation is the recent agreement reached between the municipality of Monroeville, Wilkins and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Talk about a positive result -- the agreement among these parties brought smiles to many faces that had worn expressions of deep concern and disagreement about the alignment of the Mon-Fayette Expressway in the eastern edge of Allegheny County.
What is very significant is what the three-party agreement promises for motorists when the highway, now in the planning and design phase, reaches its eastern terminus. But before we look at the benefits the Mon-Fayette Expressway offers, let's look at some of the problems in Wilkins and Monroeville.
Anybody who has ever lived in, driven to or shopped in these municipalities knows that the traffic problems are severe. Business Route 22 is a very heavy-traffic highway.
What we experience on Route 22 and other local roads and highways is confirmed by the latest data. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Allegheny County motorists spend 48.2 minutes in their cars on their way to and from work every day, an increase of 11 percent since 1990. Some spend far more. Westmoreland County job commuters spend 51 minutes in their cars, according to the data.
The Mon-Fayette Expressway, especially the Route 51-to-Pittsburgh portion, will have a profound positive impact on those statistics. Fast, efficient travel, much like that provided by Interstate 79 and Interstate 279 to the north, will be produced by the new expressway.
The Mon-Fayette Expressway brings not only added traffic lanes. It will also offer a noteworthy step forward in mass transit accessibility.
Included in the design are Park-N-Ride lots and busway access, both attractive incentives to alleviate traffic congestion which is now stifling commuters and commercial trucks south and east of Pittsburgh and along the Monongahela River corridor. The expressway is the obvious and logical answer to aid sustainable and continued economic growth.
That brings me to the Mon-Fayette Expressway as it pertains to Monroeville, Wilkins and other municipalities in the eastern part of Allegheny County, as well as a large portion of Westmoreland County. In the original design, there were no plans for a connection between Route 22 and the expressway. The Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce interceded with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, asking that a local connection be considered.
The commission was responsive and proposed a $14 million ramp in Wilkins that would have connected directly with Route 22 and would have taken out a popular retail business, CompUSA.
Although appreciative of the commission's response to the request for an interchange, there were those who had deep concerns about the interchange as proposed. Not only would a business --tax revenues and possibly jobs -- be lost, the channeling of expressway traffic directly to Route 22 was perceived to add to traffic congestion in that corridor.
With a cooperative spirit, the commission listened to the concerns and went back to the drawing board. A different interchange was proposed to the delight of those concerned.
This proposal -- the preferred interchange -- will connect directly with the Monroeville Mall. It's a good move: According to an SPC traffic study, 64 percent of drivers leaving the expressway will be headed to the mall. A spur will connect with Route 22, allowing drivers to exit there to travel either east or west. This alignment will thus minimize the impact on that highway.
The benefits of the expressway are many, not the least of which is the reduced driving time for commuters who will be able to bypass the Squirrel Hill tunnel. The east will be opened to the Mon Valley and vice-versa. The city of Pittsburgh will be vastly more accessible. Truck transportation, so necessary to commerce, will be accelerated. Property values will be enhanced. An entire region will progress and develop, both economically and in quality of life.
We in the eastern suburbs are grateful, not only for the highway itself but also for a commission that has listened to us and resolved our concerns. And it was done several months in advance of publication of a draft Environmental Impact Statement, the next step on the highway's march into existence.
Ours was an exercise in negotiation, compromise and cooperation in producing an effective result. I believe this approach is the key in developing the best possible design for the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
Wes Blaha is president of the Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce.