Extension Of the Public Comment Period:
At the request of many individuals and organizations, including City Council and the Hazelwood Initiative, the deadline for public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has been extended to September 9. Since the three public hearings are now over, only written comments will be accepted. Here are some helpful suggestions if you are considering submitting written comments, which were prepared by the University of Pittsburgh's Environmental Law Clinic.
Format and General Issues:
The easiest way to submit your comments is in the form of a letter to the Turnpike Commission. Your comments should be as factual, specific, and civil as possible. If you are commenting about a specific portion of the DEIS, cite to the relevant pages. Use your COMMON SENSE. If something does not make sense to you, seems to defy logic, or seems to be based on an incorrect assumption, that is a valid comment or criticism of the DEIS and you should mention it in your letter.
Much of the underlying ³documentary support² for the conclusions and assertions in the DEIS is stored at the Turnpike Commissionıs Offices in New Stanton. The Federal Highway Administration believes that requiring you to go to New Stanton to get complete information is reasonable and convenient for you. Is it? If not, mention that.
When commenting, be sure to say whether or not you support the ³preferred alternative,² which is to build a four-lane turnpike from Rt. 51 to Monroeville and Pittsburgh, following the North Shore of the Monongahela River. If you are against building this highway please say so specifically. Without such specific opposition, the Turnpike Commission may count even your critical comments as supporting their ³preferred alternative.²
You must submit your written comments by September 9, 2002 to:
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
PO Box 67676
Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676
Attn: David P. Willis, Environmental Manager
Alternatives
The DEIS only considers in detail two alternative routes: build a turnpike or the "no-build² alternative. Ask yourself: Is this a "reasonable range" of alternatives? Is building a turnpike the ONLY reasonable alternative to improve traffic flow? Do you think the DEIS should have considered an alternative that combined road and public transit upgrades?
If you have any questions about how to review and comment on the DEIS, contact the University of Pittsburgh Environmental Law Clinic: 412-648-1300. If you would like to join CANTR or receive more information about why they oppose this proposal contact: CANTR, Citizens for Alternatives to New Toll Roads, 412-384-0378
Environmental Justice And The North Vs. The South Shore
The DEIS must address adverse effects that the proposed turnpike will have on low income and minority communities.
The DEIS favors building the turnpike on the North Shore of the Mon River, running right through several low-income and minority areas, such as Braddock, Rankin and Hazelwood. The South Shore alternative, however, would run near or through mostly commercial areas such as the Waterfront development and Sandcastle.
The DEIS finds that the South Shore businesses have considerable value. But does the DEIS put value on the green spaces, homes, and neighborhood communities on the North Shore that will be directly impacted by the turnpike?
Air Quality
The DEIS only spends three pages discussing air pollution and only discusses one type of air pollutant in detail, carbon monoxide. The ³analysis² completely ignores issues like soot (particulates), which could be a big concern for those folks who will have to live near this road, especially children or seniors with breathing problems.
Traffic
The traffic analysis uses outdated data that predicts a bigger population growth in the area than newer studies do. As for traffic reduction, will traffic be reduced in areas like Hazelwood and Oakland, which will host interchanges for this new expressway?
Riverfront Access
The north shore of the Monongahela River, where they prefer to build this new turnpike, contains prime, undeveloped riverfront access. The DEIS has pleasant sketches showing folks strolling along the river underneath or right next to a four-lane expressway. Is this the kind of river front access you want? Is this the way we want to use our riverbanks, as highway corridors?
Alternative Plan To Be Presented:
One of the major flaws in the DEIS is that no serious consideration is given to alternatives to the tollroad. Clearly, the issues of traffic congestion and access to Mon Valley communities need to be addressed, but we are presented with only one solution: the Mon-Fayette Expressway. A coalition of organizations is putting together an alternative plan, which will combine new road construction, upgrades of existing roads, and mass transit. It will be a comprehensive transportation plan for the area that the expressway is designed to serve.
This plan will be made public early in August, and a public hearing on it will be held early in September. Contact the Hazelwood Initiative, at 412-421-7234, for more information on this alternative. If you prefer it to the expressway, write a letter to the Turnpike Commission as part of the Public Comment process.