Laurels & lances: Riding and parking

Laurel: To getting feedback. When it comes to providing services to the public, it’s important to know what people are going to need or want. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time, money and resources.

The Westmoreland Transit Authority addressed that Tuesday with a public input session to talk with the people who use the county’s buses — or would use them if there were changes. About a dozen people participated in the open house at the Greensburg Transit Center. Other information will be culled from an online survey as a transit plan is developed.

Among the issues raised is the amount of time between transfers to connecting buses, buses that don’t arrive on time and increasing stops and hours to their pre-pandemic levels.

It’s important to address these needs because, otherwise, the low ridership becomes a vicious cycle with fewer people using it because it isn’t fulfilling needs, and routes get cut back even more.

The authority’s solicitation of input is crucial to making decisions. So is the participation of users.

Lance: To getting ahead of things. Vandergrift is making some changes with parking in the borough, and it is leading to some questions.

In February, council voted to increase parking fines and eliminate free parking on Thursdays when there are public events like the farmers market or the monthly Gathering on Grant food and vendor festival. Council also hired a new part-time meter enforcement officer to replace the one who retired two years ago.

The new basic fine goes to $5 from $3. For maximum fines involving something like parking illegally, the fine jumps to $25 from $15. That’s a 66% increase for fines at the low or high end of the scale.

But how can Vandergrift collect on those when the parking meters are out of service? The Westmoreland County Bureau of Weights and Measures recently had the borough cover all the meters with plastic bags because they aren’t certified by an inspector.

Vandergrift should know how to handle the parking issues it already has before trying to charge more.