Date: June 25th, 2010

Community Meeting - Monday, June 28 at WSCC re traffic changes to Sanders

RSCA Requests Community Feedback Regarding the Proposed PAT Bus Route Changes

Need for Regent Square Clean up Steward

The Edgewood Garden Club of the East End

Recap of 6/7 Meeting Regarding Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Proposal for Outdoor Learning Spaces


COMMUNITY MEETING MONDAY, 6/28 AT WSCC AT 7 PM REGARDING SANDERS AVE

The RSCA is hosting a community meeting to present Swissvale Borough's plans to change the traffic patterns on Sanders Street. Swissvale Borough proposes to make Sanders Avenue ONE WAY from Braddock Avenue to the alley, which is also ONE WAY. Traffic on Sanders will remain TWO-WAY FROM Milton Avenue on down. There are traffic and parking implications associated with this plan.

The agenda will also include discussion regarding the possibility of a CROSS-WALK at the INTERSECTION of Braddock Avenue and Sanders Avenue.


RSCA REQUESTS COMMUNITY FEEDBACK FOR PROPOSED CHANGES TO PORT AUTHORITY BUS ROUTES

A resident alerted the RSCA board to proposed changes to area bus routes. Following is an excerpt from an email sent to the RSCA board requesting support for opposing these changes: "The Port Authority intends in the near future to combine the 63B with the 68G to create the P71 route. The 63B is a wonderful route with many loyal riders who helped prevent its elimination in 2007. 550 people ride it daily, and it is a great asset to Regent Square, Swissvale and Rankin. Many strongly oppose the merger of the 63B with the 68G. The P71 will use the 68G schedule, minus the runs that terminate at the bus way. No additional runs will be added to accommodate the 63B riders. PAT claims that the new route will work because it will no longer serve the Edgewood/Swissvale Ave corridor, removing the corridor’s riders from the P71. This reasoning is flawed. Only a handful of riders from the corridor ride the 68G, hardly enough to make space for the 63B ridership, which is usually high on
rush-hour runs. How in the world will the P71 runs be able to accommodate the 40-50 riders of the rush-hour runs of the 63B? By my reckoning, 25 riders, plus or minus, would have to be removed from the most crowded rush-hour runs to create space for the 63B riders. There are hardly that amount of bus riders on the Swissvale/Edgewood Ave corridor to make room for the influx of 63B riders, and for PAT to say otherwise is just unrealistic. Supporters of the merger point out that the P71 will have two runs after 6pm that aren’t currently offered on the 63B. While this is true, both leave Downtown after 6pm and will likely be crowded as well with former 68G riders, riders forced to take later buses because of overcrowding on earlier runs and riders who currently ride the 61A and B. Moreover, tired commuters want to get home to their loved ones, or in my case, their pets, as quickly as possible. They simply don’t want to wait longer, and perhaps a lot longer if the proposed P71 runs before 6pm will be overcrowded. More importantly, the P71 will have the same number of afternoon runs as the 63B. Its first runs may be hit with a double-whammy: former 63B riders not just from the corresponding runs of the 63B but from even more riders who formerly rode the 3:05 and 3:45 runs of the 63B. Morning rush-hour runs on the proposed P71 will probably be just as crowded, perhaps more crowded, than evening ones. The 68G schedule actually has fewer runs, seven compared to eight, for the 63B. It appears that the PAT hasn’t considered the ramifications of the merger very well. It demonstrated a similar lack of foresight in removing 12 weekday runs of the EBA which it restored just last week. I urge the Association to lobby Port Authority CEO Steve Bland to either scrap the proposed P71 route, or, at the very least, add rush-hour runs to it to address the likelihood of intense overcrowding."

For more information about the proposed PAT changes visit http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/CustomerInfo/RouteChanges/RouteEvaluations/tabid/527/Default.aspx

The RSCA’s mission is to “…serve all the residents, businesses, and property owners in Regent Square.… The RSCA acts as a liaison to government agencies, organizes community events, initiates neighborhood improvements, collaborates with other community organizations, disseminates information to the community, and operates as an advocate on community-wide issues…” Please contact us at contact@regentsquare-rsca.org to share your perspective on the proposed changes so that we can accurately represent the interests of the community.


NEED FOR REGENT SQUARE CLEANUP STEWARD

Clean Pittsburgh Commission needs a replacement for Jared Delaney, the Clean Pittsburgh Steward for the Regent Square neighborhood. Jared did a wonderful job but moved to Morningside. Stewards are the backbone of anti-litter volunteer groups around the city. Stewards, working with Citizens Against Litter, organize fall and spring Redd Ups, help recruit resident volunteers, provide supplies through local non-profits and coordinate litter collections through Public Works. Please also contact boris.weinstein@verizon.net or 412-688-9120 for information.


THE EDGEWOOD GARDEN CLUB OF THE EAST END

In mid-June, the Garden Club with its Nine Mile Run Watershed and Lami Grubb Architects partners planted a demonstration Rain Garden in front of the historic Edgewood Train Station at Maple and Edgewood Avenues. We greatly appreciated all the volunteers who came out to help. Be sure to stop by and see the results! It is our hope that we can help local homeowners to become better "storm water stewards" on their own property. The demonstration site will contribute to treating and infiltrating many gallons of storm water runoff annually.

We thank all who came out to support our annual Spring Plant Sale in Edgewood War Memorial Park. We raised almost $1,000 (net profit) which will be invested in beautification and education in our East End communities. In particular, please notice our investment in the memorial garden for Pamela Bergamasco at Edgewood Primary School, which was dedicated during a lovely ceremony in June. Also, the garden at the corner of Dickson School property in Swissvale has been installed; many thanks to Eileen Manz and Mary Meyers, Swissvale residents, for their hard work! And, Imagine Charter School must be harvesting their crops by now! Many thanks to Laura Micco and her students for their efforts!

If you are interested in participating in your East End community, and need help getting started, please contact Katharine Luckett at kluckett5@verizon.net or 412-427-2778.


RECAP OF 6/7 MEETING REGARDING PARKS CONSERVANCY PLANS FOR OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACES

On June 7th, approximately 130 people attended a meeting to learn more about thirteen outdoor learning spaces planned by the PPC for sites throughout Frick Park. Among these sites is a proposed “Tree house” concept being considered for what is commonly referred to as “Turtle Park”, located on the corner of LaClair and Henrietta streets.

The goal of the meeting was to provide additional information to the community about the proposed learning spaces. Though no decisions were being made as a result of the meeting, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will use the information presented to continue development of their plans.

More than 30 people graciously spoke or asked questions at the meeting. Some of the topics discussed included concerns about the existing World War II Memorial site, integration of outdoor, environmental learning spaces and the educational opportunities for children, environmental impact issues, encroachment into the neighborhood via traffic and parking, preservation of the existing parks and more.

The Parks Conservancy indicated that the plans for the “Turtle Park” site are on hold as they evaluate the community feedback. Please continue to check the Parks Conservancy and Regent Square Civic Association websites for continuing updates.

To view Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy slide show from the meeting please visit http://pittsburghparks.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/treehouse-meeting-recap/

A note from the RSCA Board: At the meeting on June 7th, many residents raised concerns affecting the neighborhood that are independent of the proposed learning center. The issues mentioned include the need for additional traffic control, including stop signs, additional speed limit signs, “Watch Children” signs, etc,; conducting traffic studies within Regent Square and on South Braddock, and the number and size of school busses for the City, Woodland Hills Edgewood, Wilkinsburg and the many private schools that run through the neighborhood daily and the impact they have on the local roads. This isn’t a complete list; the RSCA often receives many suggestions of relevant community issues to tackle. The multiple municipalities that make up Regent Square create special issues and unusual challenges for our community. The RSCA has demonstrated through efforts such as the recent garbage can implementation, which took significant coordination between two municipalities (Edgewo
od and Swissvale), the Vollmer study conducted in 2003 and the Braddock Ave, Design Charette in 2005- a group of concerned and motivated residents can make a tremendous impact and facilitate cross municipality initiatives and improvements that otherwise would not happen. We need volunteers to lead or support the initiatives discusses above. In light of the conversation at the June 7th meeting, within the week, the board will add a list of potential initiatives to the RSCA website. Please review the list and contact the RSCA board so we can discuss ways that we can support your goals