web1_letter-to-editor-opinion.jpg

Letter to the editor: All Olympians earn praise

web1_TTL081716united.jcc_.jpg

United Way of Wyoming Valley and Jewish Community Alliance partner to support summer learning

<p>The initial jargon may make you feel a bit like you&#8217;re driving, say, a 1980s Yugo, that soviet-era auto so bad pundits suggested it was invented to force everyone to walk. Don&#8217;t be deterred, this is about a fundamental government responsibility: Transportation infrastructure, a topic as mundane as macadam and as essential as amino acids.</p><p>The State Transportation Committee (STC) has released its new 12-year program, and your first snipe might be &#8220;Wow, has it been 12 years already?&#8221; Well, actually, it&#8217;s only been two. Turns out the 12 year plan is updated biennially, as explained by this admittedly eye-glazing paragraph from <a href="http://www.talkpatransportation.com/typ.html" target="_blank">talkpatransportation.com</a>:</p><p><em>&#8220;The STC is responsible for reviewing and approving Pennsylvania&#8217;s Twelve Year Program (TYP), which is the Commonwealth&#8217;s official transportation program. The TYP is a multimodal, fiscally-constrained program of transportation improvements spanning a 12-year period. Multimodal means that the TYP includes all travel modes, including highways, bridges, public transit, aviation, rail, and bicycle and pedestrian. PA State Law, Act 120 of 1970, as amended, requires PennDOT to prepare, update and submit Pennsylvania&#8217;s TYP every two years to the STC.&#8221;</em></p><p>The media release announcing the new plan was more blunt: &#8220;No capital project (read &#8220;work costing money&#8221;) can move forward unless it is included in the 12-year program.&#8221;</p><p>So if you regularly travel a stretch of potholes held together by bits of road and want it repaved, or if you need that rickety-looking bridge to remain open for your business to thrive, this list matters.</p><p>Granted, the <a href="http://www.talkpatransportation.com/docs/2017TYP.pdf" target="_blank">report </a>can be as dry as berm dust in a heat wave, but there are some 200 items for Luzerne County alone. Remembering that the list is redundant with projects phased over years, locally there are 97 bridge replacement listings, 25 bridge restorations, 29 highway restorations and 22 bridge preservation projects.</p><p>There is also money for bike racks, safety improvements and rail crossings.</p><p>Perhaps most importantly, public input is part of the process. For this update, the comment period ran six weeks beginning April 16, 2015. You can use the interactive survey result <a href="http://www.talkpatransportation.com/2015SurveyResults/2015StatewideSurveyResults.html" target="_blank">map </a>to see what people said about problems in your neighborhood. A few local snippets:</p><p>&#8220;Wegman&#8217;s really should step up to improve pedestrian access to their store.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Wilkes-Barre needs buses that leave on time.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Almost half of bridges on Susquehanna river are in need of repair or replacement.&#8221;</p><p>That comment period is long gone, of course, but you can always compile your concerns for the next round, bring them up at any of the STC quarterly meetings (next one is Dec. 15, 10 a.m., Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Harrisburg) or contact the local <a href="http://www.luzernecounty.org/county/departments_agencies/planning_commission/lackawannaluzerne-metropolitan-planning-organization" target="_blank">Metropolitan Planning Organization</a> via email at james.ferry@luzernecoounty.org</p><p>It matters because, after all, while being in the right place at the right time is great, you&#8217;ve got to <em>get</em> there first.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TYP.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TYP.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Take a moment to consider 12-year transportation goals