Dormont group calls for more public transit support from state leaders
As the Pennsylvania State Senate surpasses one week beyond the state's budget deadline, a group in the South Hills is making sure their voices are heard in Harrisburg.
A group of residents met in Dormont on Monday for a rally to request more support for public transit from the state legislature.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit recently approved next year's operating budget, which includes a $100 million deficit due to state funding cuts. Demonstrators say that unless the funding is increased, PRT's budget cuts will affect commuters across the South Hills.
"In Dormont alone, we have the 'T' and the 41," Dormont Council President Jen Mazzocco said. "And then, with these cuts, it's every bus line that reaches a South Hills community, so anybody that takes a bus will be out of luck, and that's a lot of people. It's a lot of people that will have trouble getting to work, or getting to school, getting to appointments or visiting friends."
"We lose the entirety of the Silver Line, which is pretty much going to cut all transit access to Bethel Park and South Park," said Allegheny County Councilman Dan Grzybek, who represents Bethel Park, Dormont, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair. "If we don't get the funding that we need for PRT in this budget, public transit is pretty much going to cease to exist in the South Hills."
The South Hills is a section of town that many of the demonstrators say was attractive to them, particularly because of the access to public transit, whether it be by bus or on the "T" line.
"I moved up here from Houston to be closer to family, and I picked Mt. Lebanon because it had the 'T' coming through it," resident Phil Cassidy said. "Some people don't have cars. They don't want to have cars, and they rely on the bus routes, so that's why I'm here: to support my neighbors and support the 'T.'"
"There's so many working-class people here, and we rely on public transit, whether it's taking the bus to go get food, getting downtown on the 'T' or the bus," said Dormont Councilman Chris Kipp, who was at Monday's rally with his two children. "It's just a vital part of our community."
But then there's the potential impact that cutting transit could have on those already driving. It creates the potential for more traffic for commutes to and from Downtown Pittsburgh.
"Anyone who has driven down [routes] 88 or 51 knows how long you stand to get stuck in traffic in the South Hills, and I think it's really important to think about it," Grzybek said. "Even if we're not taking transit day in and day out, all those folks who are on transit now are going to be added to the roadways. So, as bad as traffic is right now in the South Hills, it is going to get exponentially worse if we don't get the transit funding that we need."
Governor Josh Shapiro has proposed $292 million from the state budget to help support 52 different transit systems across the state.
