Monday, September 18, 2006
PG Needs to Get its Vision Checked
Here go the Post-Gazette editorial writers again, acting like strong parents by urging the little children of Pittsburgh to take their medicine because the PG knows what is good for us. With the Federal government giving its go-ahead on the North Shore Connector, we are told by the PG editorial board that criticism should cease and “Pittsburghers should rejoice at the news”. Before the party gets started, let’s look at the paper’s arguments.
The PG notes the escalation in the cost of the Connector to $435 million now, before one shovel of dirt has been moved, but fails to neglect that the increase came despite dropping a link to the new convention center. This change means that the costs of the tunnels have grown by 40 percent while the ridership numbers that were contingent on the center have fallen significantly. And that does not take into account the negative impact on other FTA criteria regarding potential beneficiaries of the system. But the Feds, likely under tremendous political pressure, approved it anyway.
Contrary to the PG’s repetition of the silliness that the Connector is “one of the top transit projects in the nation”, this project was not even a top regional transit project. It received a top rating for political reasons. Powerful legislators pushed this project and other federal and local politicians were unwilling to take a stand against it.
The editorial repeats all of the usual, tired arguments: (1) “extending the line establishes a beachhead that one day may extend light-rail service to points north or west”, even though an extension to the airport would have to cross the Ohio River and an extension north would present enormous logistical difficulties. (2) That rejecting the federal money would have been tantamount to looking “a gift horse in the mouth”. The gift horse requires the state and local taxpayers to ante up 20 percent and divert 20 percent of the cost from other federal transportation funds. These are dollars that could have been used for truly needed projects.
And, finally and unbelievably, the PG argues that the Connector will be just as good for us as the two stadiums, since they have caused “new development nearby”. Where, we must ask, are all the new jobs? Why is the City in financial distress? The only benefit to the City is that state and county taxpayers have paid the overwhelming majority of the cost of the stadiums and convention center, the biggest white elephant of all.
People are getting to the attractions on the North Shore now and do not need the most expensive (per-mile) light rail project ever built in the USA to get there, but they will get it thanks to the fact that no one in a position to stop it was willing to oppose it.
But it is “progress”, according to the PG. “ Useless activity” is more like it. The project does nothing for commuters to the east, west, or north of the City. That’s the “bigger picture” the editors fail to see. Think of it this way: would the PG make the same arguments if it were the Mon-Fayette Expressway? Probably not. Is the PG at all concerned about the $48 per rider subsidy this Connector will cost?
Just like the earlier projects the PG have thrown support to (Lazarus comes to mind), the Connector will be placed on the list of big promises that delivered dreadfully inadequate return for taxpayers.
It is ironic that a newspaper in dire need of labor cost reductions continues to endorse wasteful government spending.
The PG notes the escalation in the cost of the Connector to $435 million now, before one shovel of dirt has been moved, but fails to neglect that the increase came despite dropping a link to the new convention center. This change means that the costs of the tunnels have grown by 40 percent while the ridership numbers that were contingent on the center have fallen significantly. And that does not take into account the negative impact on other FTA criteria regarding potential beneficiaries of the system. But the Feds, likely under tremendous political pressure, approved it anyway.
Contrary to the PG’s repetition of the silliness that the Connector is “one of the top transit projects in the nation”, this project was not even a top regional transit project. It received a top rating for political reasons. Powerful legislators pushed this project and other federal and local politicians were unwilling to take a stand against it.
The editorial repeats all of the usual, tired arguments: (1) “extending the line establishes a beachhead that one day may extend light-rail service to points north or west”, even though an extension to the airport would have to cross the Ohio River and an extension north would present enormous logistical difficulties. (2) That rejecting the federal money would have been tantamount to looking “a gift horse in the mouth”. The gift horse requires the state and local taxpayers to ante up 20 percent and divert 20 percent of the cost from other federal transportation funds. These are dollars that could have been used for truly needed projects.
And, finally and unbelievably, the PG argues that the Connector will be just as good for us as the two stadiums, since they have caused “new development nearby”. Where, we must ask, are all the new jobs? Why is the City in financial distress? The only benefit to the City is that state and county taxpayers have paid the overwhelming majority of the cost of the stadiums and convention center, the biggest white elephant of all.
People are getting to the attractions on the North Shore now and do not need the most expensive (per-mile) light rail project ever built in the USA to get there, but they will get it thanks to the fact that no one in a position to stop it was willing to oppose it.
But it is “progress”, according to the PG. “ Useless activity” is more like it. The project does nothing for commuters to the east, west, or north of the City. That’s the “bigger picture” the editors fail to see. Think of it this way: would the PG make the same arguments if it were the Mon-Fayette Expressway? Probably not. Is the PG at all concerned about the $48 per rider subsidy this Connector will cost?
Just like the earlier projects the PG have thrown support to (Lazarus comes to mind), the Connector will be placed on the list of big promises that delivered dreadfully inadequate return for taxpayers.
It is ironic that a newspaper in dire need of labor cost reductions continues to endorse wasteful government spending.
