PHIA News Digest – Vol. 98
PennDOT OK with EMTA compromise
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation supports the city-county compromise that forged a new 10-year operating charter for the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Cambria County officials back expansion of passenger rail service
Two months after Cambria County’s president commissioner and other local officials testified before the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee about the advantages of expanded passenger rail service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, all three commissioners approved a resolution supporting the proposal.
Pennsylvania Turnpike IDs Biggest Toll Violators
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has publicly identified the most egregious commercial toll violators, each of which owes more than $20,000 in unpaid tolls and violations.
Westmoreland County Transit Authority Begins CNG Fleet Conversion
As part of a larger statewide project, the Westmoreland County Transit Authority in Pennsylvania has announced its intention to convert its entire bus fleet to compressed natural gas.
How State Elections Could Affect Road Funding
Transportation may not generate the most salacious headlines this campaign season, but at a time when more states are raising gas taxes and finding other ways to fix up their roads and bridges, the fate of infrastructure improvement plans in several states is riding on voter decisions in November.
Strike Looms for Philadelphia Area Transit
Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee Chairman John Taylor (R., Phila.) implored union representatives and SEPTA negotiators to talk all night Sunday into Monday, if necessary, to avoid a strike that could bring subways, buses, and trolleys in Philadelphia to a halt Tuesday.
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 97
Pennsylvania Senate endorses use of speed radar, automated tickets
Another effort approved unanimously by the state Senate covers the use of speed cameras in active work zones on interstates and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Specifically, SB840 would set up a five-year pilot program for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Turnpike Commission to post speed cameras.
Pennsylvania bills intended to improve safety along roadways
PennDOT already has guidelines in place for protective fence-railing. However, the rule applies only for limited circumstances, including where there is a bridge with a sidewalk over an interstate, railroad or other limited-access freeway.
The Senate Transportation Committee already approved the bill to require protective fencing to be included on new bridges. The rule would also apply to existing interstate bridges when a major renovation is needed.
PA Celebrates School Bus Safety Poster, Roadeo Winners
The Pennsylvania School Bus Association said members of the state’s school transportation community gathered at a reception hosted by Gov. Tom Wolfe [sic] to commemorate National School Bus Safety Week, which included recognition for the Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition and student winners of the annual School Bus Safety Poster Contest.
Pennsylvania House passes bill to allow Uber, Lyft to operate permanently
Ride-sharing company Uber has been at odds recently with segments of Pennsylvania government, but the state House of Representative
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 96
Pennsylvania driver’s license will no longer count as federal ID
Beginning Jan. 30, Pennsylvania residents won’t be able to use their driver’s license to enter federal facilities.
Transportation fund grants set for pair of Carlisle projects
Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced today that 37 highway, bridge, bike and pedestrian projects will receive $40 million in Multimodal Transportation Fund grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
State College receives $100,000 PennDOT grant
Gov. Tom Wolf and state Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards on Friday announced funding for 37 highway, bridge, bike and pedestrian projects, including one in Centre County.
Multimodal Transportation Fund grants from PennDOT totaling $40 million will be provided to make these plans reality, according to a press release from Wolf’s office and PennDOT.
Lehigh and Monroe counties receive transportation funds from PennDOT
Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced today that 37 highway, bridge, bike and pedestrian projects will receive $40 million in transportation grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
In Lehigh County the Waterfront Development Company received $2,280,000 for construction of a 2/3-mile, two-lane road west of Allentown’s Waterfront, including four intersections with existing roads, trees, lighting, crosswalks, ADA ramps, water/sewer utilities.
Pa. awards $4.6M in grants to fund four Philly transportation projects
Earlier this week, Wolf and other local officials announced another $3 million state grant for the Schuylkill River Trail. That funding will be used to link Southwest Philly and Center City by connecting Bartram’s Mile to Passyunk Point.
The grants were made possible by Act 89 that was enacted in November 2013 to dedicate funds for all forms of transportation.
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 95
Increasing Amount of Transportation Funds Going To Pennsylvania State Police
When you go to fill up your car here in the Commonwealth, 50 cents of every gallon is taxed, going to the state. Our state gas tax is the highest in the country, according to the American Petroleum Institute, after lawmakers passed Act 89 in 2013.
The revenue from the gas tax and drivers’ fees is used for road and bridge projects, some administrative overhead, as well as to the Pennsylvania State Police. But it turns out, more money is now increasingly going to state police. That’s pulling cash away from of road projects, according to PennDOT projections.
Pittsburgh gets $10.9 million in federal transportation grant
Pittsburgh didn’t win the federal Department of Transportation’s $50 million Smart City grant earlier this year, but on Friday it received nearly $11 million to help implement some of the traffic proposals in the grant application.
The $10.9 million Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act grant from DOT, announced by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, will pay for “smart spines” that use information gathered from a network of sensors to balance traffic and move it through areas more quickly. Another aspect of the improvements will allow buses, public safety or freight vehicles to communicate with traffic signals so they can move through intersections more efficiently. Read more
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 94
Uber teams with Circulation to transport patients to doctor appointments
The partnership is part of Circulation’s pilot program, designed to reduce the number of missed doctor’s appointments for disabled, elderly or low-income patients. According to the announcement, the program will be piloted at Boston Children’s Hospital, Mercy Health System and elderly care program in Pennsylvania and Nemours Children’s Health System in Wilmington, Delaware.
Congested Schuylkill Expressway might open shoulders to traffic
The agency will start preliminary engineering this fall to transform the outside shoulders of I-76 into part-time travel lanes between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange at Valley Forge and Interstate 476. They’ll do the same for I-76 west between U.S. 1/Roosevelt Boulevard and Belmont Avenue interchanges. Construction wouldn’t start for about five years.
