It is that time of the year that is commonly referred to as the holiday let down. That period in the calendar when we go from ushering in a new year to hiding eggs. People start looking forward to the Summer and vacation time it will bring.
It is also that time of the year when the trucking industry magazine, Overdrive, releases the results of their latest "Worst Roads" survey. For most of the 1990s, Pennsylvania held the dubious distinction of "Worst Roads" in the United States. The state's fortunes began to change in the late 1990s when Pennsylvania slid down to second place. For the past decade, the number one slot has been relinquished to newcomers such as Arkansas and Louisiana but Pennsylvania has taken the top, or bottom, billing 13 out of 19 years the survey has been conducted and takes it again in 2009. I find this distinction particularly amusing this year, considering all of the structurally deficient bridges that are being replaced or rehabilitated thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In fact, a Congressional committee named Pennsylvania as the top-ranked large state, third overall, for starting and completing projects funded by the ARRA.
The states are not just judged by the conditions of their highway systems, but other things related to truck traffic. Interstate 80 still retains the title of "Most Improved Road" from last year, but in 2008 it was second under "Best Highway Segment" and forth under "Worst Highway Segment." Pennsylvania still retains third place, but shares it with Maryland this year, for "Toughest on Truck Inspections and Law Enforcement." The strangest change is our truck stops have gone from third best to being tied with California and New York for third worst. Now that's some swing!
You're probably wondering how something like that, or the aforementioned I-80 ranking, or the one year Pennsylvania was second under "Worst Roads" and fifth under "Best Roads" can happen. As I learned from an editor with Overdrive, when the votes are tallied, instead of averaging the good and bad, the good and bad are separated then averaged.
Unfortunately no shout out this year for me or the website, which is just as well since Pennsylvania highways (the ones made of concrete and asphalt) are back on top, or bottom.
When White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced in May that the next G-20 Summit would be held in Pittsburgh, there was more than a few snickers from the White House Press Corp. And why not, what does anyone there know about finance and banking or surviving an economic downturn? After all, it is an area where people pay a fair market value for a house. How quaint!
The reason "City of Champions" was chosen by President Obama was due to the trips he made through the area during his 2008 presidential campaign. He saw how it had morphed from center of steel production to one with a more diversified economic base focused on bio-medical (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Pennsylvania Health System), financial (PNC Financial, Bank of New York/Mellon), and high-tech (Carnegie Mellon University) industries. Fortunately, the industrial fore-fathers of the city were not misers and gave back to their community in the form of institutions such as libraries and universities from which Pittsburgh could pull it self up by its bootstraps and start over.
Dignitaries began to arrive on Wednesday which prompted rolling roadblocks on the Parkway West between Pittsburgh International Airport and Downtown. The motorcades passed through the US 22/US 30-PA 60 interchange project, which is partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which was passed to dig (no pun intended) the country out of the global recession which would be discussed the following two days.
While the leaders of the 20 largest economies and the European Union were arriving, so were the protesters.
Members of Greenpeace repelled off the West End Bridge with a banner protesting the lack of attention paid to the environment by these leaders. Five others tried to do the same on the Fort Pitt Bridge, but were quickly apprehended. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl deputized 1,000 men and women from police departments as far away as Miami and as close as Johnstown, which in addition to National Guardsmen and state police troopers, made up a force of more than 3,000 officers.
The world's leaders had an easier time getting around the city than the denizens. Only residents, with a driver's license with proof of a Downtown address, delivery trucks (with deliveries made between 5 AM and 7 AM), taxis, hotel shuttles, armored cars, ACCESS vehicles, and medical suppliers were allowed into the Golden Triangle. Three police checkpoints were established on the Smithfield Street Bridge at PA 837/West Carson Street, Fifth Avenue at Ross Street, and the Roberto Clemente Bridge and Isabella Street but motorists could exit anywhere. Ramps from I-279, I-376, and I-579 and other bridges and street were barricaded.
The two-day summit went off without a hitch, and Pittsburgh was able to do something no other city could: host a bloodless G-20. Police arrested only 193 people, a few minor fires were reported, and some minor damage to stores occurred. Only about 5,000 protesters came which were outnumbered by the nearly 6,000 law enforcement personnel. Needless to say crime dropped steeply, as did the need for paramedics which for times every ambulance in the city was idle. Perhaps the most surprising was the thousands of police vehicles, being driven by mostly out-of-towners, managed to navigate the labyrinthine of city streets without a single accident.
VisitPittsburgh hopes that the G-20 Summit helps tourism and attracting conventions. The city was awarded another international gathering not long after the conclusion of the summit. Pittsburgh will be the North American host city for the 2010 United Nations World Environment Day. Perhaps the highest praise came from the Italian-born songwriter, singer, former model, and current French First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy who said, "I think I wish I could stay a little longer because we only stay one-and-a-half days," and added "But I think it's beautiful." I don't think VisitPittsburgh could have asked for a better spokeswoman.
