Casino traffic forecast faulted

An unpaid traffic engineer from one camp is tossing bricks at the report of another camp about traffic issues. The ploy is to get the South Side neiborhood all fired up to fight against the Station Square location for the casino.

Hurling the insults on the "study" won't work for a number of reasons.

Casino traffic forecast faulted An analyst for Pittsburgh's Gaming Task Force said Harrah's has 'woefully underestimated' the traffic jams its proposed Station Square casino would create along Carson Street.

Chuck Wooster, a traffic engineer working pro bono for the task force, was asked to review traffic projections submitted by the three outfits competing to win the city's lone slot machine casino license.

At the group's meeting yesterday, Mr. Wooster said Harrah's traffic projection appears to misjudge the number of cars that would visit Station Square.

'I don't buy it,' he said. 'It's woefully underestimated.'

For starters, none of these 'studies' nor plans are -- how should we say -- peer reviewed. And, the folks in the neighborhoods are not real fond of "studies" anyway.

Some of the 'weenies' who live off of government soft money might be anxious to read and react to the consultant studies -- as they are consultants too. But, those folks are reading the documents only to figure out how to get an opening so as to get themselves a subcontract. Or, they might want to go kiss-up to the firm that did one or the other report so they can get the next job. In the end, these folks are generally not going to rock the boat. They'll watch and nod and say little.

Other consultants have been hi-jacked to various other positions long ago. For example, those on the gambling task force are sitting on their hands playing roles of big cheese. They can't do anything because they are on the task force. So, they've been iced and have an excuse with a title to prove it.

Still others in the community never wanted gambling to begin with. So to pick between a plan that is hated and another that is despised is not going to happen. Rather, let's run to the fish fry today and say some more prayers.

Moreover, the South Siders have thick skin when it comes to these "studies."

Mr. Reginella came to a community meeting some years ago -- and I couldn't fathom what he said. He was in charge of traffic for the city under the last administation. He spoke about the pending closing of McArdle Roadway -- the road from the Liberty Bridge/Liberty Tunnel that crosses Warrington Ave and comes to the South Side closed. We could not use the bridge to drive to or from the South Side (12th, 10th, 9th Street) to the Liberty Bridge (to Downtown & North Hills with a right turn nor South Hills with a left). He "KNEW" without doubt that the closing of that road would NOT tie up traffic on East Carson Street.

Unreal statements like that have been around here for too long and get said too frequently.

The people see the crap -- and choose to not step in it.

Pirate and Steelers games screw up traffic on East Carson Street. Penguin games do too.

Anyone that comes here and says that traffic is going to be fine for a casino on The Hill and not for a casino at Station Square is a joke.

It just doesn't matter. Would you rather have a pimple on your cheek or your nose? Big deal. All the traffic fussing is in vain because what really matters isn't getting its due attention. And, its not like the folks who save parking spaces with a chair (myself included) can choose to widen East Carson Street to 8 lanes anyway.

A JOKE quote follows:

"The last thing we would ever do is choose a site that doesn't work,"

Should be, "The last thing we would ever do is choose a site that we didn't own..."

All gambling quotes are JOKES if the quote includes the word, "PALATABLE."

DUHHH.... "You've got a mountain on one side and a river on the other," he said. Sign us up for that geography lesson.

If you don't like our rivers and mountains -- then put the blasted casino in a desert (Las Vegas) or next to an ocean (Atlantic City) or at a waterfall and international border (Niagra) or on the edge of a historic battlefield (Gettysburg). I think the MON and Mt. Washington are but bumps in the landscape that can be bridged (pun intended).

As helpful as I try to be -- I offer my critical words, and generally try to follow-up with some solutions too. The photo that follows is from Hong Kong's Ocean Park. It is much like Kennywood, except in has two sections, because of the mountains. People are moved from one section of the park to the other in the lift.

We could build a people mover, such as these chair lifts / pods, to move people over the mountain and near the water. Stops could be in Monroeville and Robinson Town Center. (This is a joke.)