On that North Shore train

Pulp, February 12, 2004

The papers are calling it a "blessing." The Port Authority's North Shore Connector project, a plan to extend the city's light rail system, the T, to the North Side by tunneling under the Allegheny River, was just listed as recommended in a report by the Federal Transit Administration. Of the more than 100 proposed projects around the country analyzed in the report, the North Shore Connector was one of only five that received a recommended rating. It is also listed as a Fully Funded Grant Agreement item in President Bush's 2005 federal budget. All of this means that if it passes through Congress the project will receive 80 percent of the estimated $363 million cost in federal money -- the state would provide 16 2/3 percent and the county would kick in the remaining 3 1/3 percent -- and work could begin on the project by the end of the year.

The North Shore connector would extend the T a total of 1.5 miles. One section would travel from Gateway Subway Station, underneath Stanwix Street and the Allegheny River, to two new North Shore stations, one near Heinz Field and one near PNC Park. According to the Port Authority's Web site, tunneling is preferred to building a new bridge because the construction of a tunnel won't have as great an impact on downtown and would be a safer and more efficient route for the train to travel; and, in what must be a first in the history of Pittsburgh, regional transportation planners are worried that a new bridge would have "negative visual impacts."

The other part of the project would be an extension running from the Steel Plaza Subway Station to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

It seems impossible, but could it be that a joint project between the Port Authority, local and state governments, and funded mainly based on a recommendation by the Bush administration, might actually benefit the region and not be a colossal waste of money?

George White doesn't think so. White is a retired professor of engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, and as the director of the university's transportation research center he specialized in the study of public transit in Allegheny County. He is probably the best expert on transportation issues in the region who isn't already working for PennDOT or the Port Authority, making him extremely qualified to criticize the North Shore Connector project.

And he does. Thoroughly.

"What do you get for $400 million?" says White. "You get backdoor access to the three most extravagant expenditures of Mayor Tom Murphy."

He points out that the two North Side stops would hit the back entrances of both stadiums. The station at Heinz Field would be closest to the northwest corner of the stadium, while the main entrance, and the entrance closest to a planned amphitheater, is the southeast entrance. Also, the way he sees it, the stop at PNC Park only serves two purposes. One is to service the field during the 81 Pirates home games -- which, given the team's recent history, won't be difficult -- and the other is to service apartments being developed by Consolidated Realty.

According to White, the shuttle between Steel Plaza and the convention center might be even more problematic. This proposed line is in the no-fare zone of the Golden Triangle, meaning that under current rules it would be free. White has calculated the operating costs of running the shuttle for a year between seven a.m. and 11 p.m. would be between $300,000 and $400,000 a year. This expenditure would be covered by the same Port Authority that is projecting a $30 million operating budget deficit next year and was considering eliminating evening and weekend services in order to stay running this year.

So does anybody have a better plan?

Well, some retirees play golf or bridge, others go on cruises to Florida. White comes up with alternative plans for transportation development projects. He says that there is an existing railroad bridge just up the river from the proposed tunnel that is only being partially used. The upper deck of the bridge is used by Amtrak and Norfolk Southern freight trains, but the lower deck of the bridge has been abandoned by the railroads and has no connections to any existing rail lines. White says that the bridge is available for eminent domain taking, and that using the bridge would save the enormous amount of money it would cost to drill under the river -- enough money to extend the reach of the North Shore Connector.

White's route would take the T under Stanwix Street, turning to run between the river and the 10th Street Bypass. The first station would be at the Sixth Street Bridge; the next station would be at the front door of the convention center.

The train would then spiral onto the second level of the Fort Wayne Bridge. At the North Shore the station would turn left, parallel to the I-79 viaduct, where there is room for elevated tracks. White would put a station at Anderson Street, near the new ALCOA corporate building and the new Lincoln North Shore apartments. The next station would be at Federal Street close to stadium ticket windows and with under-the-roof access to the North Shore parking garage.

After diving underground beneath the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the next station would be at Robinson Street. The tunnel would turn just past the old Clark Building, and the train would come above ground where there are four railroad tacks already in place. According to White, the Port Authority could negotiate to use two of the tracks which are not being used by the railroads and convert them to light rail. He then proposes five new stations along Allegheny River Boulevard, near many of the North Side's existing businesses. This plan would also position the T facing the airport, making way for a possible extension. All of this, White argues, would cost the same as the three stops planned in the current proposal.

White says there is no chance that the Port Authority will examine this alternative plan unless there is some kind of political action. "They're not open to citizen input," says White. "They consider themselves the only experts, and they take a pious posture where they say they listen to citizen input before immediately dismissing it."

He says that because the project is counting on $65 million in state money, the state government could decide not to fund the project until the alternative proposal had been analyzed. Another hope for White's project rests with new Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato. The Port Authority gets about $22 million of its operating budget from the county, which the state matches with about three times that amount. This combined $88 million is roughly half the Port Authority's operating budget. The county, too, could threaten to withhold this money until the alternative North Shore Extension plan is analyzed. White thinks that Onorato might be more likely to challenge the Port Authority than the former county executive, Jim Roddy, who used to be on the Port Authority board. He also points out that Onorato lives on the North Side himself, and might be more sensitive to the transportation needs of the area that has always had poor public transit.

White's alternative plan may or may not be feasible. But given the history of past Port Authority projects, like the airport busway -- "They screwed us, to use an expression," says White -- it might be worth looking into.