Pennsylvania Highways Blog

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.

G-20 Summit - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I will admit that I am not the best driver in the world, but no one is perfect. I have also fractured an occasional traffic law in my 14 years behind the wheel.

In light of New Jersey Governor Corzine's accident, our own Governor Rendell was asked about the behavior of the state trooper behind the wheel of his car. He acknowledged that his personal vehicle sometimes exceeds the speed limit. He went on to say, "Sometimes we adhere to the speed limit, sometimes we don't. On many of Pennsylvania's highways, if you adhered to the speed limit, you'd be a safety hazard."

In that case I want all of my fines repaid because I was trying to not be a safety hazard! Especially the time on April 6, 2001 at 1:43 AM where two from the Belle Vernon barracks almost ran me off PA Turnpike 43 to extort $180 (originally $190, but they were so "generous" at the trial...sheesh). I should also note that they tailgated me for two miles in a construction zone with no lights or siren on, and only caught me because I had to exit. Nice work, Starsky and Hutch!

Not to mention that they laughed the whole time they filled out the ticket, and screwed up two items they had to correct. My license picture wasn't the greatest, but I didn't think it was that funny. However, what I think is hilarious is that I didn't have my seat belt on, and only put it on when they went back to their car to whoop it up over my license, registration, and insurance. Now THAT is funny...screwed yourselves out of an additional $50 because you were so enraged I stated the observation of "You came up on me pretty fast," but I digress.

Back to the subject at hand: Sometimes? That's rich! Back in 2004, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that troopers had clocked Rendell's Cadillac at speeds of more than 100 MPH nine times along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A State Trooper behind the wheel doing 35 over the limit! That is five points and a departmental hearing and sanctions under Section 1538(d). Tisk tisk. You better fill a ticket out on yourself since I always thought that was against the law, but I guess it is do as I say, don’t do as I do, right? Oh well, in that case as George Costanza once said, “There’s no laws in this place. Anything goes! It’s Thunderdome!”

The police are supposed to set an example on the highways by keeping and maintaining discipline just like my teachers did in school. Speeding and driving aggressively are like teachers shooting spitballs at kids and passing notes. Well, that last one is a bad example with all the teacher/student affairs going on recently.

After the story broke, Governor Rendell instituted a policy ordering his drivers to abide by the speed limit except in emergencies. Note to self: use that excuse next time. He even told the Harrisburg Patriot-News, "I've told my troopers that I don't want them exceeding 80 unless they need to pass, or unless there's some real exigent circumstance." There's my excuse: there is some real exigent circumstance. There also seems to be a standing "exigent circumstance" at a sports bar near my parent's house as I get passed on US 30 when driving to it and sure enough those who blew past me are turning into the parking lot.

There are various manners of speed detection such as VASCAR (big name for a stopwatch and math) gives an 11 MPH cushion, radar (which only State Police can use) allows a 6 MPH cushion, and if a trooper is behind you, they can give you a ticket for just one mile over. What they don’t tell you is it has to be for 9/10ths of a mile at the same speed, so keep adjusting your speed if you find a Smokey in your rear-view mirror.



Rendell Admits Frequent Flying on the Freeway - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review