You've heard the story about Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody? You know, Everybody thought it was Somebody's job, Anybody could have done it, and Nobody did it.
Everybody --- or at least three local governmental bodies --- shares responsibility for the approach ramps to the W.D. Mansfield Memorial Bridge, but City Administrator Dennis Pittman acknowledges that Nobody's been taking care of them.
A light-pole knocked down in a traffic accident a year ago is still in the middle of the sidewalk; a directional sign at the end of the bridge has fallen over; dirt and debris has collected in the gutters.
That's going to change, Pittman tells the Almanac.
"You're not the only one who sees it --- I see it every day, you see it every day," Pittman says. "It's a portal to the city ... I will guarantee that the kids on our summer crew will clean it up this summer, but that's a band-aid approach, and I don't want a band-aid."
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His remarks came in response to questions from the Almanac about a letter to the editor in Tuesday night's Daily News.
The letter from 10th Ward resident Terri Gorick asked the city to do something about the "blight" along West Fifth Avenue, one of the main entrances to McKeesport from West Mifflin and Pittsburgh.
PennDOT traffic studies completed in 2006 indicate that about 13,000 people use the Mansfield Bridge daily, while about 19,000 people daily use at least part of West Fifth Avenue.
"Keep pushing to make McKeesport 'the place to rebuild,' but first, how about fixing the disgusting sight coming off of the W.D. Mansfield Memorial Bridge --- a major artery into our town," Gorick wrote.
"Signs falling down, major, major potholes and trolley tracks showing through the streets," she continued. "Trolley tracks --- please!"
Gorick's phone number is unlisted and attempts by the Almanac to reach her were not successful.
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The Mansfield Bridge, which is maintained by the county, is a four-lane structure built in 1949 and 1951 that connects the city and Glassport with Dravosburg.
It's slated for a complete makeover in 2009, including new deck, repairs to the superstructure and paint.
The county in November 2005 retained the engineering firm Michael Baker Jr. Co. to oversee the work, estimated to cost $25 million.
But responsibility for the approach ramps is shared by Glassport and the city, says Joe Olczak, Allegheny County director of public works.
"According to the (state Public Utility Commission) the sidewalks, railings, light poles and the ramps would be maintained by McKeesport," he tells the Almanac in an email.
Olczak says he will ask the city about replacement of the light pole.
Pittman says city crews have temporarily filled potholes on the approach ramps, and he vows to talk with Twin Rivers Council of Government and the South Hills Area Council of Government about sweeping the ramps on a monthly basis.
McKeesport and Glassport are members of the Twin Rivers COG, while Dravosburg belongs to SHACOG. Both COGs operate street-sweeping equipment.
"Maybe we need to split the duties between the COGs," Pittman says. "Maybe we trade off months. Maybe Twin Rivers does it one month, and South Hills does it the next month, and the county puts in (some money) ... maybe no one has ever thought about it, and if (Gorick) has triggered it, she deserves a pat on the back."
. . .
Repaving West Fifth Avenue is a stickier problem. The street was last repaved in 1998.
A preliminary estimate put the cost of laying new blacktop at $750,000, Pittman says.
That's three times the city's annual paving budget. Pulling out the trolley tracks --- which have been unused since 1963 --- would add another half-million dollars to the project.
"There is a sincere effort underway to address it," Pittman says. "We've looked at it, and (state) Rep. Bill Kortz and (state) Sen. Sean Logan are looking at it."
The city's hope is that some agency --- such as the state --- will provide money to help underwrite the cost of the repairs.
West Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare used by city residents as well as people who live in Port Vue, Glassport and Liberty. But there is no interest from the county or state in taking over responsibility for the road, Pittman says.
"Believe me, we've tried to give it away," he says.
The city's best hope is that planning for the reconstruction of West Fifth Avenue will begin later this year, and that repaving will get underway next spring, Pittman says, though he notes a new crop of potholes will have grown by then.
"We've patched the potholes already and we're going to get the potholes patched," he says. "By then, the screaming (for repaving the street) will be louder, but a solution will be in sight."
A few newsworthy items of local interest:
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Meeting Tonight in Clairton: It may be too late by the time you read this, but Neil Bhaerman of Clean Water Action notes that a public meeting will be held tonight at 7 at the Clairton Municipal Building to discuss planned environmental upgrades to U.S. Steel's Clairton Works.
My apologies for not getting this item posted sooner. (Sometimes the hamster falls out of the little wheel in my brain.)
Bhaerman says that CWA has helped to create a new group called Residents for a Clean and Healthy (REACH) Mon Valley.
"REACH Mon Valley is a grassroots community group that works to improve air quality and hold local industry accountable to environmental standards," he says. "As you covered on May 5, pollution from the Clairton coke works is a serious issue. They have had a poor history of environmental compliance recently but will soon be embarking on a $1 billion series of upgrades to the plant."
If you miss this event (again, my apologies), REACH Mon Valley is holding its next meeting at 7 p.m. June 18 at the Elrama Volunteer Fire Department on Route 837.
And Bhaerman points out that there will be a public hearing on U.S. Steel's request for a permit to conduct its demolition and construction work in Clairton; that's set for 6:30 p.m. June 5 at the Clairton Municipal Building.
If you're interested in speaking at the hearing, Bhaerman suggests that you call him at (412) 765-3053, extension 202.
. . .
Name That Park: Pop-culture historian and Mon Valley native Brian Butko needs your help, so put on your thinking cap.
The portable toilets are being sucked clean, the crews are sweeping up the leftover cheese cups and hot dog wrappers, and the great geek-out known as Dayton Hamvention, the world's largest gathering of bath-deprived, socially-inept electronics freaks, is finally over.
OK. I keed, I keed. Some of the people do bathe.
Anyway, I just got back from my ... (counts on fingers) ... eighth-annual trip to Hamvention. Sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, Hamvention is billed as the biggest convention for radio and computer buffs in the world, and I don't doubt that.
Each year at Hamvention, just about every major electronics hobby company (along with a lot of minor ones) is there to show off samples of their latest equipment. Some of the stuff they have on sale frankly would require a second mortgage on my house. On the other hand, prices in the outdoor flea market --- which takes up three entire parking lots --- start at "free" and go up from there.
And you literally do meet electronics buffs of all ages, from all over the world; I talked to guys (yeah, mostly guys) from Germany, the UK, Japan and Australia. (Not too many people from sub-Saharan Africa attend. I guess dropping four bills on a trip to the U.S. to gawk at ham radio equipment isn't a good idea when you're trying to scrape up enough for food today.)
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Almanac Readers are Everywhere: So I'm pursuing the books on sale at the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) booth when I literally do a double-take.
There, on the back of a new book called World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion is an endorsement from Tube City Almanac reader and contributor Donn Nemchick!
Written by Pittsburgh-area counselor and behavioral psychologist Lisa Spahr, it's the story of her grandfather, who was held captive in a German POW camp, and the ham radio buffs who monitored overseas propaganda broadcasts to send news of POWs back to U.S. families. Needless to say, I bought the book, and you should, too.
Hey, Nemchick! I gotta drive four hours to find out about this? Sheesh.
. . .
Things Are Tough All Over: Everyone seems to agree that attendance at Hamvention this year was way down, but apparently, no one yet is saying by how much. In the past, annual paid attendance at Hamvention was said to run 20,000 to 30,000 people; one educated guess I saw pegged attendance this year at more like 14,000.
What accounts for the dramatic decrease? I blame the generally aging population of ham radio buffs, combined with record-high gasoline prices ... and prices were actually about 10 to 15 cents higher in Ohio than they are around Pittsburgh.
It's not easy to solve the second problem. As for the first problem, the ARRL, the U.S.'s biggest lobbying group for ham radio, issued a press release on Saturday urging ham radio buffs to embrace new technology as a way to attract people to the hobby:
(ARRL President Joel Harrison) noted that many hams attribute their affinity to "Amateur" Radio as launching their professional careers in radio engineering, satellite communications, computer science and wireless communications.
"This is less about defining a new course for Amateur Radio, but simply recognizing a course that has always been a precept of radio amateurs and the ARRL," he said. Referring to the federal rules and regulations for Amateur Radio, Harrison explained that one of the defining principles of the Service's very creation by the government is the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
Dayton: Buckle on the Rust Belt: Dayton might be the only major metropolitan area in the Midwest that makes the Mon Valley look good by comparison. You can drive for blocks and blocks and find nothing but boarded-up buildings, check-cashing stores and pawnshops.
Two Cheers for PennDOT: On the other hand, Pennsylvania's interstate highways --- at least to my untrained eyes --- look a lot better than Ohio's. The grass is cut, the shoulders are free of debris, and things just generally seem to be maintained better here.
The fact is that no one ... but no one ... other than me was carrying a film camera, as far as I could tell. Hamvention always attracts a few camera dealers, and second-hand conventional (i.e., film) Canon and Nikon SLRs that would have sold for hundreds of dollars a few years ago were going for $25 or $50.
I've been out of town for several days and just returned home late Sunday night. Normal service will resume shortly. Did you miss me? Did you notice? Do you care?
Never mind, I'd rather not know the answers.
. . .
As a public service, I've been asked to mention that there has been a rash of vandalism incidents up in Christy Park. Several homes --- apparently mostly vacant ones --- have been broken into and trashed.
If you live in the area, keep an eye on the neighborhood and call the cops if you notice something suspicious.
Not to make light, but I came home to a house that was trashed, too. Not by the burglars, but by the slob who lives here (namely me). If burglars did break in and wreck the place, I'm not sure I could tell the difference.
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In other news, the Tribune-Review and its sister papers (including the great, not-so-gray lady of 409 Walnut St.) are hosting what's billed as a "town hall meeting" at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of McKeesport Area High School to discuss the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
Panelists include Joe Kirk, executive director of the Mon Valley Progress Council, which boosts the construction of the expressway; state Rep. Joe Markosek of Monroeville, chairman of the governor's transportation committee; Andrew Quinn, director of community relations for Kennywood and a strong supporter of the expressway; Chad Amond, president of the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce and another expressway backer; and Joe Brimmeier, executive director of the state Turnpike Commission.
I don't mean to imply that the panel is a little bit biased, but to paraphrase Gene Weingarten: Asking these guys if you need a new expressway is like asking your kid if you need a puppy.
The chances are 100 percent that every single panelist is going to enthusiastically back the MFX, which begs the question: Why even host the discussion? It's not a debate, it's a pep rally.
Anyway, with the price of gas nearing $4 a gallon (premium hi-test is already over $4 in the Mon-Yough area), I think these folks ought to be challenged on whether building a new highway is sustainable, let alone desirable.
Perhaps the $3 billion they're trying to raise would be better spent on improvements to the network of surface roads in the Mon Valley: Route 837 through Homestead, Whitaker, West Mifflin and Duquesne; Lysle Boulevard in the city; Lebanon Church Road in Dravosburg and West Mifflin; Braddock Avenue in Braddock and Rankin.
All of those roads are already served by public transit. Widening them, adding new sidewalks and bike lanes, creating pull-off areas for buses, and timing the traffic lights to reduce congestion would provide immediate benefits to the surrounding neighborhoods.
It also wouldn't saddle the state with additional new, expensive infrastructure that would need to be maintained.
I suspect that Braddock Mayor John Fetterman (an outspoken opponent of the expressway) would rather have a four-lane, tree-lined boulevard (like Ardmore Boulevard) going through Braddock than a highway zipping over Braddock.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear the washing machine calling my name. My vacation socks aren't going to wash themselves ... although judging by the smell of them, they may be able to march to the laundry on their own.
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