I am from a town in the south hills of Pittsburgh called Peters Township. I spent my whole life in Peters Township until I moved to State College for school. Peters Township is approximately forty-five minutes outside of Pittsburgh and is in a different county than Pittsburgh. Peters Township is a typical suburb with neighborhoods and shopping centers as well as public parks and local farms. The township population is approximately forty-six thousand people. Peters Township is located far enough away from the city so that there is no public transportation in the town; everyone travels by car. The public and private schools utilize buses but that is the only other means of transportation with in the town. Many professionals that live in Peters Township commute into Pittsburgh every day.
As was mentioned in the module, Bogota, Colombia has implemented Ciclovia every Sunday and holiday during which the streets are closed for cars and opened to pedestrians. The citizens come to walk, dance, workout, cycle, skate, and more. This event promotes regular physical activity within the community and decreases pollution from cars. In Peters Township, one day each summer, we celebrate community day. On this day the Peters Township residents have a mini Ciclovia. I think Peters Township should learn from Bogota and have more regular park events that promote exercise and health as well as decrease pollution from cars. Throughout Peters Township there is a public trail on which people ride bikes, skate, and walk. While the trail is a nice feature, I believe a public event would be more successful at increasing physical activity and improving public health.
In the module we also learned about Curitiba’s bus system and its success as a public transit system. Curitiba implemented a bus system because it would have proven difficult to build an affordable subway system. I think Curitibia is a perfect example of a community determining the most sustainable improvement for public transportation and then acting upon it. As I mentioned previously, many residents of Peters Township commute into Pittsburgh on a daily basis via automobiles. I believe Peters Township could learn from Curitiba’s success and begin moving towards a more sustainable mode of transportation for the daily commute into Pittsburgh. In the bordering townships there are public transit trolleys that travel from the south hills into Pittsburgh. Peters Township could investigate extending the trolley tracks into a location within the township and provide incentives for residents to use the public transit rather than using their automobiles.
Hi Maura! In my hometown, almost everyone drives so I can relate to the fact that public transportation is not a widely used method. I also live near a big city (New York City) so a lot of people near me also commute. I agree that we can learn from other places like Curitiba and implement more methods of public transportation. If more places used public transportation, there would be less pollution and a smaller ecological footprint.
If you have the chance, take a look at my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/15/urban-planning-across-the-world/
Hi Maura! My name is Sabrina and my link is http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/15/module-7-urban-planning-2/. I find it very interesting that your town had ciclovia because I have never heard of that event other than after reading this module. Although it is already a great event, I agree with you when you say that it would be more successful if the event was more public and not just cut down to a single trail. I also find it really cool how you were able to take something from Curitiba’s bus system and apply it to a suggestion for your own town. I think it would be extremely beneficial for not only reducing your towns ecological imprint but also improve resident health by having pedestrians walking to the bus and train stops.