Cranberry Explores Options to Bus Service

The Port Authority of Allegheny County plans to cut service by 15% March 27 to help eliminate a budget shortfall.

The PAT board had previously approved a 35% service reduction to take effect in March but then Governor Ed Rendell came up with a plan to flex an additional $45 million to the transit agency to stave off those cuts until June of this year. The board has decided instead to cut service by 15-percent and put off any further cuts until June of 2012.

At the beginning of April, the last bit of PAT service to and from Cranberry, Butler County will be eliminated. Township Chief Planning Officer John Trant says ending the 13K Marshall Express will seriously reduce the travel options for an estimated 400 to 600 Cranberry residents who work in Pittsburgh. Trant says they've been looking for alternatives for years...

"We've partnered with other agencies and been involved in mass transit studies focused on the area and trying to address the issue. Our township supervisors have been involved in setting up a reverse commute system."

Trant says to help offset the cutback, they are collaborating with the CommuteInfo Program of the 10 county Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission to form new carpools and vanpools to link Cranberry with downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland....

"Our current effort is how to address the immediate need when the (PAT) service goes away and Cranberry Township residents no longer have it at their disposal. What alternatives to they have that can be ready now? Also, there is a continuing dialogue that's been going on for quite sometime about what to do about mass transit in the bigger picture."

There will be a public meeting February 17 at 7 p.m. at the Cranberry Municipal Center. Trant says it's not about discussing why the PAT cuts were made but rather to provide information about ridesharing and vanpool options and to gauge interest in creating new pools.

Cranberry Looks to Limit Shale Drilling

Cranberry Township’s Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at 6:30pm Thursday (2525 Rochester Rd. 16066) on an ordinance that would limit where in the municipality a company could drill for Marcellus Shale gas. State law requires every municipality to provide for every type of activity, meaning Cranberry cannot just make shale drilling illegal. Cranberry Township Chief Planning officer John Trant says the ordinance would limit drilling to just a handful of zoning districts. The ordinance identifies those zones as TLI (Transitional Light Industrial), PIC (Planned Industrial/Commercial), IL (Light Industrial), and SU1 (Special Use). Trant says he cannot guarantee that there will never be drilling near a residential area but the zones were chosen to have the least contact possible with residential areas. He says there are still hundreds of acres of land available to drilling. “We certainly realize that there are lots of opportunities that come about related to this drilling so we want to provide areas where it could be permitted but mitigate impacts on existing, and potentially future, neighborhoods as well as the township’s road system,” says Trant. The ordinance would apply to all types of gas drilling but it would not cover how the drilling is performed. “Cranberry Township has no ability to get involved in issues related to how the drilling operations work, what kinds of chemicals they’re using or the other things we keep hearing about in the news,” Trant said. “Cranberry Township is focused on zoning for this use, which is appropriately within the Board’s ability to regulate.”

Cranberry Considers Sustainability Recommendations

A new study will help guide Cranberry Township toward a more sustainable future. The township enlisted the help of the group Sustainable Pittsburgh to find opportunities for conservation and smart growth. The 200-page document includes recommendations like the purchase of recycled materials, better recycling programs in township offices, and even simple measures like turning off computers at night.

Chief Strategic Planning Officer John Trant says he knows many people consider Cranberry to be "the poster child for sprawl." But he says the township has already been pursuing sustainable initiatives that many people don't know about. For instance, about 80 percent of traffic lights in the township use LEDs, which require less energy. He also says the township's commissioners made the unpopular decision during the high-growth 1990s to require sidewalks in all residential areas. In April, township commissioners adopted five sustainability principles to guide future development. Those principles are: be distinctive, be prosperous, be healthy, be engaged, and be committed.

Cranberry talks to residents about future developmment

3,000 Cranberry Township homes will soon receive surveys asking for input on how the municipality is responding to resident’s needs and how they would like to see their community look in the future. The questioners will touch on issues such as service levels, transportation, recreation and water and sewer issues. A committee drawing up a long-range plan that will set goals into the year 2030 will use the data. The survey will also serve as a benchmark for future surveys. Township spokesperson Peter Longini says Cranberry has been growing for the last 20 years and expects to continue to grown for the next 15 years. Right now about 60-percent of the land is developed. The 30 question surveys will be sent out the week of Feb 11th.