Earlier this month, we were pleased to welcome to the Coalition Susan Carty, president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.
Representing more than 1,800 members in 23 counties, the League promotes energy-efficient and environmentally sound transportation systems that afford access to housing and jobs, relieve congestion and enhance the quality of life in communities of all sizes.
To that end, Susan has written to PennDOT Secretary Richards to express the League’s support for increasing Amtrak service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, something our western PA friends have been pushing for some time. Increasing service on that route will take more vehicles off the Turnpike, attract tourism and enhance the quality of life in the communities along the route.
We welcome the League’s involvement as we continue our quest for an adequately funded, multimodal transportation system.
Be of Good Cheer,
— The Wolff
Transportation Issue Update
- The Legislative Budget & Finance Committee released its report on the appropriate and justifiable amount of Motor License Fund revenue that can be used to fund State Police operations.
- The PA House Democratic Policy Committee traveled to Pittsburgh to hold a hearing on funding State Police by imposing fees on municipalities that rely solely on that agency for police protection. The committee also held a hearing in Philadelphia the previous week.
- Transportation advocates are expressing disappointment in President Trump’s budget outline that trims the U.S. Department of Transportation’s operations by nearly 13 percent. Trump campaigned on the idea of creating a $1 trillion infrastructure initiative over the next decade.
- Uber briefly suspended its autonomous vehicle program in Pittsburgh and other cities following an accident that occurred in Arizona. The program resumed this week after the company determined that the other driver was at fault. No injuries were reported.
- PennDOT opened the third of four bids for the northern section of the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project, one of the largest highway projects the state has undertaken following passage of Act 89 of 2013.
- The PA Turnpike Commission is halting work on the last leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway after local officials expressed concerns over whether the project will achieve its original transportation and development goals.
- The Turnpike will begin removing the signals that tell drivers whether their E-ZPass has been read in order to comply with federal guidelines.
- PennDOT is beginning a two-year, $88 million Parkway North project, one of the major projects in western PA funded by Act 89.
- Berks County could double the resources for bridge repair, to $2 million per year, after enacting a countywide $5 registration fee.
- The Wolf administration outlined plans for biking improvements to 150 miles of Route 6.