On Wednesday, Councilman Peduto presented the findings from a six- month study investigating the feasibility of creating a commuter line system in Pittsburgh. This city line would connect Hazelwood on the Monongahela River to Lawrenceville on the Allegheny River. It would pass near The Technology Center, Schenley Park, CMU and Oakland, The Baum-Centre Corridor, Bloomfield and Lawrenceville.

Just as this line was critical to the rise of Pittsburgh’s industrial age, it is now the lynchpin in a transit-oriented development plan for our new economy. Oakland is a job creator, and it needs the help of this line to allow those jobs to expand to neighborhoods that have not seen growth in a long time. This line does just that, and it does even more.

This commuter line has the capability of creating a much larger, regional commuter rail system and a multi-modal transportation vision for Southwestern PA. It connects to the Norfolk Southern line, which runs through the Mon-Valley, to Greensburg and beyond. It connects to the AVRR line, which connects the Allegheny Valley to Armstrong County and Downtown. It creates the possibility of having park-and-ride garages off of Route 28 and the Parkway East, as well as a link downtown to the T-line (which would connect south) on Second Avenue. Finally, it also connects with the MLK Busway connecting many neighborhoods and eastern suburbs.

In short, we need to build this line – NOW.

View Councilman Peduto’s Presentation