A resource for those who live, play and work in Regent Square
7604 Charleston Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218-1265
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A resource for those who live, play and work in Regent Square |
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Website sponsored and maintained
by the Regent Square Civic Association, 7604 Charleston Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218-1265 |
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RSCA Information:
About the RSCA |
We are pleased to tell you that PennDOT has retreated from its proposal to close or meter our ramp access to the parkway. In an article published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Nov. 21), Dan Cessna, DOT's representative stated "PennDOT is really taking a step back and looking at how we're preparing our scope of work for Parkway East to evaluate the entire transportation network that serves the communities and the Parkway East along the corridor". Mr. Cessna has assured us that the proposed plan, which so many of us opposed, has indeed been dropped. However, the RSCA's Parkway Access Committee will continue to meet and to monitor the evolution of the new wider study, its implications to our community and its implementation.
For more information on the decision: Click "here, " and
"here, "
Regent Square Civic Association officials are alarmed over a plan being explored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that would close the southbound Braddock Avenue on-ramp to the inbound Parkway during morning rush hours and close the out-bound off-ramp in the evenings.
The plan is part of a comprehensive study looking at ways to ease congestion and reduce crashes on the Parkway East, and involves several ramp closures and a metering system. PennDot already has budgeted $5 million for design and construction of the ramp metering system – a program that has improved traffic flow and safety in other U.S. cities. Construction money is budgeted for 2016.
The southbound on-ramp at Ardmore Boulevard also would be closed under the proposal. In all, these restrictions on the inner-ring neighborhood ramps would reduce rush hour travel times for suburbanites by 5 1/2 minutes in the morning and by 4 minutes in the evening.
The RSCA is very concerned about the impact that denying access to the Parkway and the resulting diverted traffic will have on our residents, our homes, our streets, and our businesses, as well as on those of our surrounding neighborhoods.
The RSCA Parkway Access Committee called a meeting with PennDOT District 11 Manager, Dan Cessna, on Thursday Oct. 25th to address PennDOT’s proposed plans for reducing rush hour congestion on the Parkway East by metering and/or closing certain on-ramps at the S. Braddock Ave. (Regent Square/Swissvale/Edgewood), Ardmore Blvd (Forest Hills/Wilkinsburg), Greensburg Pike (Penn Hills/Churchill) and Beechwood Blvd (Squirrel Hill) interchanges. Also invited to this meeting were representatives from our four municipalities, state government agencies, nearby community groups and other interested organizations. Following are links to documents related to this meeting:
Please check back for upcoming developments on this issue as this is an important issue that is sure to impact our community.
If you would like to be involved in this effort, send an email to: contact@regentsquare-RSCA.org
- Freeway Ramp Management in Pennsylvania: Final Report
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
An engineering report detailing the plan along with background information has been prepared. This research identified the opportunities to implement ramp management strategies on freeways in Pennsylvania. The research explored the need to integrate local arterial traffic signal systems with ramp management strategies to reduce the impacts of ramp management on local roadways. The report recommends a definition of freeway congestion and screening criteria for candidate ramp management freeways in Pennsylvania. In addition, a case study was performed for the I-376 tunnel bottleneck in the City of Pittsburgh to identify potential ramp management strategies, their impact on local roadways, mitigation strategies for local traffic signal systems and the relative benefits and costs of implementing such a project on I-376. Transportation planning and simulation models were used to evaluate travel pattern changes and measures of performance of the I-376 freeway with ramp management strategies in place.
This report is available for download (41.2 MB) here:
- Federal Highway Administration Ramp Management Control Handbook, Chapter 5, "Ramp Management Strategies"
- More Information on the Federal Highway Administration Ramp Management Program is available:
here.
- 1-376 Parkway East Ramp Management Project: PennDOT Advertisement • July 16, 2012
Request for submissions for Open-End agreement to perform preliminary engineering, final design & construction consultation services for implementation of a ramp management plan for the I-376 corridor.
Media Coverage of Parkway Ramp Plan
- August 14, 2012 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on University of Pittsburgh Plan
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/transportation/access-control-in-parkway-east-plan-648935/
Available here.
- August 20, 2012 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial on proposed plan
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/congestion-indigestion-some-drivers-would-be-barred-from-the-parkway-649698/
Available here.
- November 18, 2012 Tribune Review article on the proposed plan
http://triblive.com/news/2973333-74/parkway-east-penndot-ramp-ramps-residents-signals-close-rush-traffic#axzz2CS8Yt6RF
Available here.
- November 17, 2012 WTAE news article on the proposed plan:
http://www.wtae.com/news/local/allegheny/PennDOT-considering-traffic-lights-on-some-Parkway-East-ramps/-/10927008/17453632/-/format/rsss_2.0/-/l0nnqyz/-/index.html
Available here.
- November 19, 2012 Forest Hills-Regent Square PATCH article on the proposed plan:
http://foresthills-regentsquare.patch.com/articles/parkway-east-plan-concerns-regent-square-leaders
Available here.
Comments and suggestions concerning this website can be sent to the Regent Square Civic Association
at 7604 Charleston Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15218 or via contact@regentsquare-RSCA.org
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