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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the Port Authority of Allegheny County to reinstate at least some weekend service on the 89 - Garfield Commons bus route in order to adequately address the service needs of the population of the Garfield area of the City of Pittsburgh.
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Whereas, as part of the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s 2011 service reductions, weekend service on the 89 - Garfield Commons bus route was discontinued; and
Whereas, losing this service has negatively impacted the neighborhood, and most particularly has disadvantaged a large number of its residents who rely on public transit to get to their jobs (many of which require working on weekends), the grocery store, shopping, community events, places of worship, medical appointments, and more; and
Whereas, currently, 400 people utilize the Garfield Commons route each weekday, while 73.5% of renters in this community do not have access to a vehicle, 93.4% of these residents are African American, and 55.4% of the families in the area live in poverty and are disproportionately disadvantaged by the 2011 service reductions; and
Whereas, many of these transit-dependent riders are now forced to walk up and down steep hills on the weekend for a distance of over half a mile, to get to Penn Ave and Negley Ave in order to access other buses or reach destinations in Garfield, Friendship, Bloomfield, and East Liberty; and
Whereas, residents who are not able to make the lengthy walk must rely on other individuals to give them rides, or must resort to jitneys or taxis, which are comparatively extremely expensive but, for these individuals, they are often the only alternative to remaining stuck in their homes; and
Whereas, many of these residents are senior citizens and eligible for free passes but they cannot use them on the weekend as a result of the service reduction;
Whereas, other Garfield residents who buy weekly, monthly, or yearly passes also are unable to use them on weeke...
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