Editorial: Route 30 study needs to be realistic

Good transportation moves the economy.

That’s why Route 30 needs to be addressed.

It’s a big road. It’s an important road. For more than 100 years, it has been there, connecting a string of communities in a dotted line east to west across Pennsylvania.

And that makes it a draw for business. Restaurants, retail, hotels and more are eager to set up shop. In places, that’s great.

In others, the same things that make it attractive make it a challenge. It becomes a congested nightmare. There might be a dozen places you need to go, but getting there is a hassle that makes you wonder how much you really want to get there. There is nothing worse than a great business that dies because of a location everyone can see and yet no one can really reach.

North Huntingdon is one of those clogs in the pipes. It has a rich mix of businesses and a lot of traffic. What it needs is a better way for the two to flow together.

The municipality has recognized that and is going to work with Carnegie Mellon University to find out where the artery is clotting and how it can be treated.

Hopefully the $80,000 study comes up with manageable recommendations that can support not just the traffic but the businesses that line the road.

No doubt the study will show best practices and things that would be ideal.

But just like a visit to a cardiologist can result in very good advice about diet and exercise, it only works if it involves changes that can be incorporated easily and sustained for the long haul.

“We don’t have any of the answers right now,” North Huntingdon Assistant Manager Michael Turley said. “All we have is a problem and someone willing to look at it.”

Some things that could be on the table would be suggesting tweaks to work schedules to cut down on rushes as everyone gets out at the same time or improvements to public transportation. Like the diet and exercise recommendations, those could definitely be effective, but they will require commitment to make them work.