Pennsylvania is in the midst of a Public transportation funding crisis, we have created a seperate website to detail the actions that Transportation for livable communities has taken to rectify this situation.  Click for our special Public Transportation Funding Crisis page.

Summary of February 27th Transportation Issues Update

Transportation for Livable Communities held a Transportation Issues Update on February 27th.  Over 50 persons attended representing advocacy organizations and local governments.  For a summary of the issues discussed click here.

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PITTSBURGH, PA - Dec. 17 … Sustainable Pittsburgh (SP) in partnership with the national Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) announces its Transportation for Livable Communities Project based in downtown Pittsburgh.

David Ginns has been named coordinator of the Transportation for Livable Communities Project.  The objective of the Project is to address the need to develop a sustainable transportation system for the southwestern Pennsylvania region that balances land use planning efforts with investments in transportation infrastructure.  The Project will create partnerships among local, regional, and state agencies, other government institutions, and community organizations.  The Project will be coordinated with STPP’s federal transportation law, known as TEA-21, reauthorization campaign at the statewide and national levels.

The Transportation for Livable Communities Project will focus on connecting links between transportation and land use policy.  According to Court Gould, Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, "Spending on transportation infrastructure, including roadways, public transportation, and utility services, is a significant determinant on patterns of development and land use.  However, land use planning conducted independently of transportation planning may place major investments in transportation infrastructure at odds with sustainable development," Gould explained.

"Transportation investments should support local and regional economic objectives and promote a mixture of land uses to foster economic prosperity and sustainable growth," says Anne Canby, President of the Surface Transportation Policy Project headquartered in Washington, D.C.  "We are pleased to partner with Sustainable Pittsburgh to advocate the integration of land use planning and transportation so as to enhance the quality, livability and character of communities.  The transportation system should allow citizens to participate fully in society whether or not they own a car and regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, or income.

Mr. Ginns returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh from Florida where he has been working in regional land use and transportation planning since graduating from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 1993.  Most recently Ginns served as a director with the Martin County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the countywide transportation-planning agency, based in Stuart, Florida.  Martin County is located within the Treasure Coast, a fast growing region of southeast Florida. While there, Ginns established a two-county fixed route public transportation service through a collaboration similar to what is envisioned for the Transportation for Livable Communities Project.

"I look forward to working with various organizations to pursue the objectives of this Project,” says Ginns.  “It is my hope that establishing these partnerships will foster the advancement of sustainable transportation objectives to make Pittsburgh and the Southwestern Pennsylvania region a livable community with greater long-term economic prosperity and quality of life.”

The Transportation for Livable Communities Project is made possible through the generosity of The Heinz Endowments, The Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and The William Penn Foundation.

David Ginns can be reached at (412) 258-6652 or dginns@sustainablepittsburgh.org 

Sustainable Pittsburgh is a public-policy advocacy groups that links economic prosperity, ecological health, and social equity.  For more information on Sustainable Pittsburgh, call (412) 258-6642, email info@sustainablepittsburgh.org, or visit our Web site at www.sustainablepittsburgh.org.

The Surface Transportation Policy Project ensures that transportation policy and investments help conserve energy, protect environmental and aesthetic quality, strengthen the economy, promote social equity, and make communities more livable by emphasizing the needs of people, rather than vehicles. For more information on STPP, call  (202) 466-2247, email stpp@transact.org, or visit our Web site at www.transact.org/default.asp.