The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has teamed up with several local businesses and organizations to launch an effort to pressure state lawmakers to find new ways to fund mass transit in Allegheny County. The PDP has launched the website keepPGHmoving.com as a way to educate the public about the issues at hand and to give citizens a new way to make contact with legislators. The site allows visitors to send a message to their state representative and senator. They can also view message created by others and send those along to their lawmakers. PDP Executive Director Michael Edwards says if the Port Authority of Allegheny County has to go through with the currently proposed cuts it will add another 5,200 cars to the roads every day.
He says it will have impacts beyond traffic jams. “The demand for more parking will increase the competition for both on-street and off-street spaces for our employees, our shoppers, our theater goers and our visitors,” says Edwards. “PDP believes employers relying on workers who use public transit may lose significant numbers of employees, and find it increasingly difficult to find employees for new downtown jobs.” Edwards says that will lead to more businesses leaving the golden triangle, occupancy rates falling and a dwindling tax base for the city.
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