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How Should Parkway East Change? PennDOT Wants You to Decide

Given the chance, what would you change about your morning drive on the Parkway East? 

Victor DeFazio, PennDOT Project Manager, said that’s the question the department is asking commuters in a survey released this week.

“What we’re trying to do is understand what is going on out there and what are some of the ideas that we can do to improve travel in the entire corridor,” DeFazio said. “Not just on Interstate 376, but even on the parallel and access routes as well.”

The five-screen survey, available on the Parkway East’s new website, asks commuters questions such as how often they use the roadway and what suggestions they have to improve it.

“Where they’re coming from, where they’re going to, what are the things that they see on their trip, what are the likes and dislikes that they have about the roadways that they use, what are some improvements they think can be used,” DeFazio said.

This survey was created to collect data for the I-376 Parkway East Corridor Transportation Network Project, which aims to improve the roadway’s operation.

According to DeFazio, PennDOT received $5 million in congestion mitigation and air quality funds from the federal government.

“It’s known that the Parkway East experiences a lot of congestion, both whether you’re travelling in towards the city from outside or if you’re travelling from the city and trying to head east on the Parkway East,” DeFazio said. “The roadways that are adjacent to the Parkway East itself also experience congestion.”

On average, more than 100,000 vehicles travel on the 14-mile stretch from the Fort Pitt Bridge to the Turnpike interchange in Monroeville each day.

DeFazio said they have no preconceived ideas or solutions in mind for the project.  Instead, they will listen to what people say, have public meetings to discuss their findings and then take action.

“Tell us what’s going on out there, what are your ideas to make it better, and then we want to do that,” DeFazio said. “And then kind of look at those thoughts and ideas that we get from the public, from the drivers and people who use the roadway and see what might work, and what we can do to make something better.”

Jess is from Elizabeth Borough, PA and is a junior at Duquesne University with a double major in journalism and public relations. She was named as a fellow in the WESA newsroom in May 2013.