PHIA News Digest – Vol. 3, No. 9
Gov. Wolf announces $11.5 million in Automated Red Light Enforcement in 35 municipalities
Gov. Tom Wolf announced that PennDOT will distribute nearly $11.5 million in Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) funding to 35 municipalities statewide to fund 41 safety projects.
Rail push gains speed: Local leaders hope to expand passenger train service to Pittsburgh
Increasing rail service could help Johnstown along with other western Pennsylvania municipalities with passenger train stops – including Altoona, Greensburg, and Latrobe – become bedroom communities for Pittsburgh.
3 far-flung cities offer clues to unsnarling Manhattan’s streets
The idea translates easily into any language: Charge drivers for using congested streets and watch them change their habits. It has become an increasingly attractive tool for major metropolises overwhelmed by the traffic strangling their streets.
How could Trump’s infrastructure proposal affect southwestern PA
One displeased local Democrat is Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. He expressed frustration on Twitter over the proposed cuts in federal funding. Peduto was also upset over proposed changes to the funding formula. Cities currently receive $4 in federal funds for every $1 they offer, but Trump’s proposal means they would only receive $1 for every $4 they offer.
Wolf tries again to get state police-covered towns to pay up
There are 2,571 municipalities in Pennsylvania and yet 1,700 of them rely on the Pennsylvania State Police to provide full- or part-time police coverage. The 4,300 enlisted troopers on the force work out of 16 barracks across the commonwealth with jurisdiction over 82 percent of the state and about one-fourth (3.3 million) of the population.
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 3, No. 8
Trump tempts transportation cataclysm
The tunnels are at the center of the most important rail link in the U.S. – the Northeast Corridor, which generates 20 percent of our domestic product, but is now held together with sticky tape and glue.
Project to connect I-95, PA Turnpike nears major milestone
Since I-95′s completion in 1969, plans called for creating a seamless link between the interstate and the turnpike. In 2018, project engineers say, they will finally make good on the decades-old promise to make the connection and have I-95 stretch continuously from Maine to Florida.
PennDOT to tackle rural roads, locally owned bridges under Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal
Part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2018-19 budget proposal would steer more money toward fixing rural, low-traffic roads and locally owned bridges, officials said.
PhilaPort infrastructure investments expecting another record year
After investing $1 billion and changing its name from the Port of Philadelphia to PhilaPort in 2017, the port had a record year for containerized cargo activity — a success the port is prepared to repeat.
PennDOT wants feedback for bicycle, pedestrian master plan
PennDOT wants public feedback to update its bicycle and pedestrian master plan.
Source: Trump endorsed 25-cent gas tax hike in White House confab
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 3, No. 7
First girders for Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway bridge due on site this week
The first steel girders for the nearly mile-long bridge that will carry Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway over the West Branch of the Susquehanna River are due on site this week.
Gov. Tom Wolf announces 45 multimodal projects for Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has announced funding for 45 multimodal transportation projects that will benefit 22 communities. The projects, which include highways, bridges, bike and pedestrian paths, ports and waterways, are made possible through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.
Pa. budget toss-up: More spending, due largely to fixed costs, for criminal justice
Pennsylvania State Police would see a bump in state funding in Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2018-19 budget, up $8.8 million to $260.5 million. The proposal once again includes a $25 per capita fee for municipalities that rely solely on state police coverage, which would generate $63 million and in turn help shift that burden off the Motor License Fund and onto local taxpayers. Read more
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 3, No. 6
Why fewer people take public transit (hint: it’s not just Uber)
In Los Angeles, the number of bus and rail trips taken last year was the lowest in more than a decade. Over just the last five years, transit ridership has declined 15 percent. What’s behind the huge drops?
Lehigh Valley transportation expert: ‘Math does not work’ in Trump’s infrastructure plan
Transportation officials in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere worry that projects could be put in jeopardy by a vague, emerging plan from the Trump administration that seemingly upends the long-established way federal, state and local governments pay for transportation advances.
CPI dedicates training center to Glenn O. Hawbaker
Approximately four years after it was built, Central Pennsylvania Institute for Science and Technology’s Transportation Training Center has been renamed after one of CPI’s biggest advocates. On Tuesday afternoon, CPI held a dedication ceremony to recognize this new change and unveil the building’s new namesake: the Glenn O. Hawbaker Transportation Training Center.
Report shows Pa. has second-most structurally deficient bridges
According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the state is still second in the nation when it comes to the number of structurally deficient bridges.
PhilaPort making solid case to attract still more cargo up Delaware River
Rebranded in 2017 as PhilaPort, the Port of Philadelphia, coming off its best year ever in terms of containerized cargo activity, is indeed ideally poised to bring more love on the part of shippers and carriers to the City of Brotherly Love.
PHIA News Digest – Vol. 3, No. 5
Regional transit key to economic progress
The availability of a good job means little if the worker cannot get to that job.
PhilaPort moves quickly to accommodate surge in cargo
As the port’s $392 million main channel deepening project approaches completion, cargo volumes in the Port of Philadelphia are surging. In 2017, container cargoes grew by 19 percent, leading all ports on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. The growth is especially significant since the port is busy implementing its $300 million capital improvement plan.
Mayors skeptical of Trump infrastructure plan
When big-city mayors met in Washington last week, one of their primary messages regarding infrastructure was that the federal government should send new money directly to cities, rather than through states. The Trump administration seems open to the idea.
SEPTA approves King of Prussia extension
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority on Thursday approved the Norristown High-Speed Line extension that would provide direct service to King of Prussia Mall. The extension would give passengers a faster link between King of Prussia, Center City and University City.
Leaked Trump infrastructure plan would put onus on states
The Trump administration has hinted for months that its long-awaited infrastructure plan would lean heavily on new spending by states, local governments and the private sector. On Monday, a leaked outline of that plan seems to confirm that the federal government would take a back seat in funding its own infrastructure initiative.
