Any written comments regarding the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Section 4(f) Evaluation should be sent to:

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
ATTN: Mr. David P. Willis, Environmental Manager
P.O. Box 67676
Harrisburg, PA   17106-7676

Any written comments concerning the Section 404 Permit Application should be submitted to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ATTN: Mr. Rich Sobol, Project Manager
Chief of Regulatory Branch
1834 Federal Office Building
1000 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA   15222

The comment period for the FEIS will close at 4:00 PM on April 6, 2004.

Hazelwood Homepage — November 2001 Edition
NO Toll Road

At our May meeting, the members of Hazelwood Initiative, Inc. passed the following motion: "Since a four-lane limited access highway is not compatible with the vision for Hazelwood's future that was established at the May 5th Design Workshop, Hazelwood Initiative is opposed to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's plan to build the Mon/Fayette toll road through Hazelwood." The events that lead to this decision began in 1859, when the first coke ovens were built in Hazelwood. This began the process that turned Hazelwood from a quiet neighborhood that was the home of the City's wealthy residents into a neighborhood that was dominated by the steel and railroad industries. In fact the heavy industry that grew up along the Mon River shaped Hazelwood through the 20th century. This domination ended forever in the Spring of 1998, when LTV closed the Hazelwood coke plant. At that point the community's future was uncertain, as it remains today. About a year ago, Hazelwood Initiative in cooperation with the City of Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning began a process to develop a master plan for Hazelwood. We recognized that the former LTV coke plant site was the key to the neighborhood's future, just as it had been the key to its past.

This planning process resulted in an all-day workshop on May 5, which was attended by over 100 people, including residents of Hazelwood, Oakland, and other interested stakeholders. The purpose of the workshop was to create a vision for the future of the LTV site, Hazelwood, and the Junction Hollow section of Oakland.

A Master Development Planning Report has been prepared by The Saratoga Associates, the consulting firm contracted to design and implement the master plan process. This report identifies two key elements of any development of the LTV site which are crucial for the revitalization of Hazelwood. One is that it should be a mixed-use development providing a range of job opportunities for residents. The second is that development must be connected to the community.

Without going into all of the details, it is worth noting that the Report projects a balance of three types of development: 1) new economy office park, in reality an extension of the Pittsburgh Technology Center, to the north; 2) regional mixed use in the center; and 3) neighborhood scale mixed use in the south. There are also seven points of neighborhood connection, which link the new development with the existing neighborhood.

The Mon/Fayette toll road is not included in this vision. Why not? According to the report: "Almost unanimously, workshop participants are opposed to the Mon-Fayette as they see it as a threat to the mixed use/integrated development scenario that was chosen during the morning of the workshop...The group clearly felt that the Mon-Fayette would act as a barrier between Hazelwood and the LTV site thus directly conflicting with the preferred scenario." The crucial question, then, is:

How would the Mon/Fayette Expressway effect this vision?

The Saratoga Associates attempted to answer this question with their own analysis of the situation. "Should the Mon-Fayette be constructed in its currently proposed alignment, it is likely that it will drive the development of the LTV site in a manner that is more consistent with the Stand Alone Transportation alternative scenario. That is, the economic driver on the site becomes the transportation infrastructure rather than new information based development that is connected to the neighborhoods and the region. The site would function as an "easy in/easy out" development with large footprint users as the economic driver. Given the location of the Mon-Fayette and its purpose (i. e., move as many people as quickly as possible), it is likely that will severely distract from the workshop participants' vision for the site."

The Consultants project what such a development would look like. One major difference from the preferred scenario is that much of the site is dominated by regional mixed use, with only a small portion near the Hazelwood Avenue interchange devoted to neighborhood scale mixed use. The second difference is that there are only two points of connection between the new development and the neighborhood. A 110-foot wide barrier would exist between the two halves of the community, and just as importantly, between the river and the community.

Clearly, the Mon/Fayette Toll Road would have a major impact on the development of the LTV site. It would impact the Hazelwood community in other ways as well. 35,000 cars per day using the highway would bring increased air pollution and traffic noise. Property values along the highway would surely decrease. Homes and businesses, but more importantly people, would be forced to relocate. Hazelwood would be a less desirable place to live and work.

We are facing a once in a lifetime opportunity, an opportunity to shape the future of Hazelwood by connecting it to this vision for the development of the LTV site. There will be no second chance; we must get it right the first time. Unfortunately, the Mon/Fayette Expressway looms over this opportunity, threatening to prevent us from reaching the full potential to revitalize this neighborhood. We have heard that this highway is needed to help develop the Mon Valley. Well, Hazelwood is part of the Mon Valley, and this toll road would not help us at all.

How to Comment on the DEIS