For those who care about the pgh PAT Transit struggles
A co-worker gave me a letter with a bunch of legislator contact info. If anyone is interested, post a comment and I'll post them all here.
I sent them an email from both my hotmail and my symphony address. I got a reply in my hotmail. The reply was not a generic email, because they referenced a specific line I put in there, "cutting off your nose to spite your face".
Here is what the senator sent me:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Port Authority's proposed
service cuts and how the proposal impacts you. Please know that I am
reading each and every communication I receive on this issue and am
extremely aware that the proposed mass transit cuts will have a
tremendous effect on all of us.
The proposed service cut choices were made by the Port Authority of
Allegheny County and Allegheny County officials. The members of the
General Assembly have no authority over the decisions of the Port
Authority and have no power to veto the choices they have made. The
sole role we have as state legislators is in funding - the State
currently provides over 50% of the Port Authority's budget.
It is absolutely essential for the Port Authority to retain bus service
on the main arteries of our neighborhoods and municipalities. The
proposed service cuts will be devastating to the citizens of my
Senatorial District in many ways and will also damage the region's
economy. While I understand the Port Authority's financial issues,
service changes should have been occurring on an ongoing basis over the
years. To make mass cuts to service to assuage financial difficulties is
much like cutting off our nose to spite our face.
I firmly believe that if the Port Authority management, employees and
their union, the County, and the State work together that real,
meaningful solutions can be identified and implemented without hurting
the labor force or eliminating adequate mass transit service throughout
Allegheny County. Some service cuts may be unavoidable, but better
choices can be made that are more appropriate for our county.
Please be assured that I am committed to working with my colleagues to
identify a dedicated funding source that can sustain mass transit in
Allegheny County. I also intend to support responsible legislation that
provides consistent funding for our highways, bridges, and mass transit
service long into the future. That means working with the citizens of
this Commonwealth and listening to their suggestions.
If you have an idea of how to address this issue or believe that a
particular dedicated funding source is best, please share that
information with me by sending me an email (fontana@pasenate.com), or
contacting my District office at 412-344-2551. Thank you for your input
and attendance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Wayne D. Fontana
42nd Senatorial District
www.senatorfontana.com
>>> tori_vixen420 01/29/07 14:23 >>>
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to voice my displeasure to the proposed cuts, as a native
Pittsburgher whose use of the PAT Transit system is part of her
livelihood.
I use it on a daily basis to get to and from work in Downtown
Pittsburgh,
and to me limiting my access to work is discouraging, to put it in the
most
polite way. If you want to encourage economic growth in the the Downtown
area, limitiing bus access to a neighborhood with parking issues is like
cutting off your nose to spite your face. It doesn't make sense.
Multiply my concerns with the majority that also use the buses and you
are
making an indirect attack on your voting public. Including the elderly
and
diabled. I, myself, am a voter and have cast a vote in every election
since
turning 18. I have lived in different areas of town, and have voted in
Morningside, Beechview, and Mt. Oliver areas at different points of my
life.
You are all public servants, and as such should be concerned about what
we
think and what would mean the most to the public at large. This is one
such
matter.
Compromise is acceptable. Instead of eliminating bus routes, why not
distribute cut backs? Eliminating bus routes will affect traffic and
income.
Most people would accept a reasonable restriction in runs of the bus as
opposed to terminating a route all together.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Victoria Maize
I sent them an email from both my hotmail and my symphony address. I got a reply in my hotmail. The reply was not a generic email, because they referenced a specific line I put in there, "cutting off your nose to spite your face".
Here is what the senator sent me:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Port Authority's proposed
service cuts and how the proposal impacts you. Please know that I am
reading each and every communication I receive on this issue and am
extremely aware that the proposed mass transit cuts will have a
tremendous effect on all of us.
The proposed service cut choices were made by the Port Authority of
Allegheny County and Allegheny County officials. The members of the
General Assembly have no authority over the decisions of the Port
Authority and have no power to veto the choices they have made. The
sole role we have as state legislators is in funding - the State
currently provides over 50% of the Port Authority's budget.
It is absolutely essential for the Port Authority to retain bus service
on the main arteries of our neighborhoods and municipalities. The
proposed service cuts will be devastating to the citizens of my
Senatorial District in many ways and will also damage the region's
economy. While I understand the Port Authority's financial issues,
service changes should have been occurring on an ongoing basis over the
years. To make mass cuts to service to assuage financial difficulties is
much like cutting off our nose to spite our face.
I firmly believe that if the Port Authority management, employees and
their union, the County, and the State work together that real,
meaningful solutions can be identified and implemented without hurting
the labor force or eliminating adequate mass transit service throughout
Allegheny County. Some service cuts may be unavoidable, but better
choices can be made that are more appropriate for our county.
Please be assured that I am committed to working with my colleagues to
identify a dedicated funding source that can sustain mass transit in
Allegheny County. I also intend to support responsible legislation that
provides consistent funding for our highways, bridges, and mass transit
service long into the future. That means working with the citizens of
this Commonwealth and listening to their suggestions.
If you have an idea of how to address this issue or believe that a
particular dedicated funding source is best, please share that
information with me by sending me an email (fontana@pasenate.com), or
contacting my District office at 412-344-2551. Thank you for your input
and attendance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Wayne D. Fontana
42nd Senatorial District
www.senatorfontana.com
>>> tori_vixen420 01/29/07 14:23 >>>
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to voice my displeasure to the proposed cuts, as a native
Pittsburgher whose use of the PAT Transit system is part of her
livelihood.
I use it on a daily basis to get to and from work in Downtown
Pittsburgh,
and to me limiting my access to work is discouraging, to put it in the
most
polite way. If you want to encourage economic growth in the the Downtown
area, limitiing bus access to a neighborhood with parking issues is like
cutting off your nose to spite your face. It doesn't make sense.
Multiply my concerns with the majority that also use the buses and you
are
making an indirect attack on your voting public. Including the elderly
and
diabled. I, myself, am a voter and have cast a vote in every election
since
turning 18. I have lived in different areas of town, and have voted in
Morningside, Beechview, and Mt. Oliver areas at different points of my
life.
You are all public servants, and as such should be concerned about what
we
think and what would mean the most to the public at large. This is one
such
matter.
Compromise is acceptable. Instead of eliminating bus routes, why not
distribute cut backs? Eliminating bus routes will affect traffic and
income.
Most people would accept a reasonable restriction in runs of the bus as
opposed to terminating a route all together.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Victoria Maize