Last Chance for Transit Equity! Final Public Meeting on the Mon Oakland Connector

The LAST VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING for the Mon Oakland Connector shuttle roadway project is scheduled for Thursday, 10/29, 6-8pm

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Transit equity means that public transportation investments must benefit people, not corporate interests.

For more than two years, Pittsburghers for Public Transit has been advocating alongside residents for investment in a community-driven plan –Our Money, Our Solutions – instead of the City’s Mon Oakland Connector (MOC) shuttle roadway to connect Hazelwood and Oakland.

The MOC is a City-led project costing $20+ million of your tax dollars to build a shuttle road through Schenley Park – along what is now a car-free bike path and an expansive playing field used by youth sports groups and others from around the city.

The privately-operated shuttles proposed for the roadway would cost an additional $16+ million of foundation funding for a trial period, and would principally serve to connect CMU & Pitt in Oakland with the new Hazelwood Green development site.

Instead, Our Money, Our Solutions asks that those funds be reallocated to expand existing bus service, sidewalks, and bike paths between Hazelwood, Greenfield, and Oakland. This community-driven plan connects more people to more jobs, grocery stores, healthcare, and amenities than the MOC – all for significantly less money.

1,000+ residents and 25 community organizations from within the project corridor have signed as supporters of the Our Money. Our Solutions. alternative transportation plan. You think that would be enough to move the Mayor and City Council to rethink the MOC…. but sadly, that is not the case.

The City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), CMU/Pitt, and the Foundation partners that own Hazelwood Green are plowing ahead with this project – despite the fact that:

  • Pittsburgh is facing a$100 million dollar budget shortfall due to the pandemic, meaning the City is lacking resources to address critical resident needs to manage the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis.
  • At $20-23 million dollars, this is the single biggest transportation corridor investment that the City of Pittsburgh is contributing to, and the shuttle service is projected to provide 180 passenger trips a day. Contrast that with the Downtown to Oakland Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor construction, which will provide between 37,000-50,000 passenger trips a day. 
  • Expanded bus service will provide faster, more effective, and more affordable connections to and from Oakland and elsewhere for our most vulnerable residents.
  • This project will be obsolete almost as soon as it is built. By 2028, Hazelwood Green is anticipating 20,413 total projected trips to that specific site. By contrast, the maximum daily capacity of the shuttle service is less than 1,000 riders. By 2060, Hazelwood Green is anticipating 61,000 total trips to the site.  
  • There is no guarantee that the cost of riding these privately-operated shuttles will be affordable to low-income residents for the long term.
  • There is no plan to protect renters in Hazelwood and Greenfield from the increased housing costs that large-scale development projects like the MOC inevitably bring.
  • People are relying more than ever on our public parks for health and recreation.
  • Running shuttles along our commuter bike path and next to our playing field puts users at risk.

We demand that our money be spent on affordable, effective, and equitable public transportation solutions for the residents of Pittsburgh today.

We will not let the Mayor and City Council hand our money and our parks over to developers. Please join us for the next meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21 from 6 pm to 8 pm, where DOMI will present the latest design plans for the MOC, demand equitable investments.

Sign up to join the meeting here
Give Feedback Now Via their website

More ways that you can learn about the Our Money. Our Solutions. transportation plan, the Mon Oakland Connector, and the resident-led fight for transit equity to connect Hazelwood & Oakland: