I have lived in the Pittsburgh area for over 20 years. I cringe every time I need to go into the city. I am sure I am not the only one. This opinion is to piggyback on Tom Kerek’s letter “Eliminating Pittsburgh’s traffic nightmares.”
As most people who live on the east side of the city know, your trip could take 30 to 90 minutes or more. I am not an engineer, but I can see the causes: too many cars on the roads, ramps clustered together and roadways that are too narrow. And then the tunnels and the unexplained reason why people seem to have to slow down to 15 mph to enter them.
With the push to revitalize and get people to travel Downtown and enjoy the jewel we have, it’s time to fix the road systems. Widen the tunnels. Would it be expensive? Yes! But how much, and is it feasible? Again, I am not an engineer. Maybe it has been investigated. But it appears that nothing is being done, and the attitude of the city fathers and others may be “Let them eat cake.” Who cares if you have to struggle to get into town?
With the infrastructure bill introduced, now seems to be the right time to investigate the options and plan and act on making an antiquated road system better, and save the environment along the way.
Ron Giuliana
North Huntingdon