Donald J. Mahoney

Public transportation - and most specifically, the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) - lost a staunch supporter, a wise counsel and very dear friend, this week: Donald J. Mahoney. His obituary (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=donald-j-mahoney&pid=144916963) lists his business interests, highlights his career, hobbies and his loving family ... we knew him best of course, for his long association with LANTA as a member of the Board of Directors.

Don was first appointed to the Board in 1978 by County Executive David Bausch for a five-year term and re-appointed for several terms after that. Don's strong suit, according to Mr. Bausch, was his many years of experience in the heavy duty vehicle sales and leasing industry. But, as we came to discover, Don's expertise was a good deal more broad.

Don's judgment, experience, ability to weigh all sides of an issue before offering an opinion were invaluable to the success that the Authority achieved over the past three decades. Of course, his ready smile and witty Irish sense of humor resulted in his being a pleasure to work with.

Over the 31 years of public service Don dedicated as a LANTA Board member, he served as Chairman of the Authority and also, at various times, as Chair of all the Authorities standing committees. He was Chair of the LANTA Operations/Metro Committee for many years. During Don's tenure, he assisted the decision-making process on a wide range of operating and capital improvements both in terms of vehicles and physical plant expansion. While Don was on the Board, LANTA purchased, more than 200 heavy-duty Metro city transit buses, and 500 minibuses for its Metro Plus paratransit divisions! A monumental achievement!

The community has been fortunate in the quality of leadership available for appointment to the various of boards and Authorities throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Don Mahoney stands out as one of the truly sage and generous leaders who was there when the community needed him, and who moved on gracefully when his tenure came to an end.

Our thoughts are with his family who suffer his loss most dearly. We, to whom he was such a great and loyal friend for so many years, deeply mourn his passing. His contributions live on however, and the riding public in the Lehigh Valley enjoys the benefits of his stable leadership each and every time they board a modern, well-maintained bus.

We've missed him since he left our Board room a little over a year ago but at least on occasion, we could meet and break bread with him. Now, we don't even have that to look forward to and we miss him all the more.

Rest in peace, Don.

Focused Group

Last week a group of LANTA Metro passengers sat down together over donuts and coffee and talked about how much they liked riding the bus. And they also spoke about how the system could be improved so that they and others like them might find it more useful.

The coffee klatch which took place in the later afternoon at the Allentown Transportation Center, lasted 2 hours and was facilitated by representatives of Brecon Hill and Thiel Design, two consulting firms out of Wisconsin that are helping LANTA redefine and upgrade its passenger information system.

Among the many recommendations that came out of the Moving LANTA Forward planning effort last year was one that said Metro bus information was difficult to understand. LANTA hired Brecon Hill/Thiel to help evaluate the information base further and to come up with an improved package for customers.

The bus rider meeting was very important in the process. Obviously, what riders say will weigh heavily on the outcome. The participants were selected over a two day period on a random basis. LANTA staff wearing shirts with the corporate logo and armed with a clipboard, approach customers at the Allentown Transportation Center inviting them to be involved. Twenty were invited: 18 showed up at the appointed time.

Out of what was a ‘study session,’ not a focus group, came a plethora of information and impressions:

. The LANTA Metro rider group was very positive about the transit system. While some depended upon Metro for all their transportation needs, others chose to use it because it saved money and was a convenience. Some also said it felt good to ride because it ‘helped the environment.’

. The riders knew one another because they rode the bus. They met on board and enjoyed seeing one another as their paths crossed riding the system. Half said that they only knew each other because of the bus and felt a sense of community because of the shared experience.

. No one complained about transit fares and, despite the fact that more than half of those present had to make bus transfers, no one complained about service access. Some of the things that were said:

“Metro is my lifeblood.”

“I use the bus 4 times a day – for work and for daycare. I could never get to my job if it were not for Metro.”

“Most drivers are helpful when I have a question.”

“I’m glad someone at the Metro Office speaks Spanish because that really helps when my Mom calls them.”

“I like Sunday service, I just wish there was more of it.”

Not all comments were positive: the group had their favorite drivers and those that they avoided. And they bemoaned the fact that service was limited at times and that buses did not run more frequently.

But this is all valuable input as the Authority looks to expand the system.

Over and over LANTA hears that the public wants more service. The major challenge continues to be how to pay for it.

Environmental Assessment and Public Hearing: Easton Intermodal Transportation Center

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA), and the City of Easton, have completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed Easton Intermodal Transportation Center.

Click here to view the final draft of the Easton Intermodal Transportation Center Environmental Assessment

This EA has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act for FTA as the lead federal agency. This project involves the construction of an intermodal transportation center along with a 3-level parking garage and a 3-story commercial building at 123 and 181 South Third Street (former Perkins Restaurant and Marquis Theatre properties) in the City of Easton, Northampton County.

The EA is available for public review online at www.lantabus.com and during regular business hours at the following locations:

City of Easton, Planning Bureau, City Hall, 3rd Floor
Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church Street
LANTA, Easton Office, 3610 Nicholas Street
LANTA, Main Office, 1060 Lehigh Street, Allentown

The public hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 17, 2010:

5:00 PM to 6:00 PM Informal Public Open House
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM Presentation and Public Comment Period

Location:

Grand Eastonian Suites Hotel
140 Northampton Street
Easton, PA

The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Anyone requiring special accommodations for this meeting, or for more information, contact LANTA at (610) 435-4052.

A 30-day public review period for the EA begins July 21, 2010 and will end August 20, 2010 at 5:00 PM. Comments must be received by no later than 5:00 PM on Friday, August 20, 2010.

Comments may be made at the public hearing, or submitted in writing, faxed, or emailed to:

Mr. Armand Greco, Executive Director
Lehigh & Northampton Transportation Authority
1060 Lehigh Street
Allentown, PA 18103
Tel: (610) 435-4052; Fax: (610) 435-6774;

Email: agreco@lantabus-pa.gov

Lehigh Valley Commute

Check out the new Lehigh Valley Commute site: transportation information for commuting in and about the Valley.

Electric cars versus Transit: Is it time to choose again?

Most have heard by now about the ''Great American Streetcar Conspiracy" with GM, Firestone, Standard Oil - and even Mack Trucks - through a company called National City Lines, worked to purchase and dispose of trolley and light rail lines in favor of rubber-tire buses in the 1950's. The film released a few years back: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," was about the demise of the 'red line' trolley in Los Angeles - the land of the new American travel path: the 'freeway.'

The unintended consequence of this 'revolution' was that less attractive bus systems began to lose ridership big time as the love affair with the private auto in post-war America took hold.

As we look out upon the sea of automobiles moving in and out and around our urban areas on ribbons of expensive highways, while a skeletal system of public transit struggles to compete and to maintain balanced budgets with public subsidies, there is no doubt that the auto 'won' the hearts of Americans in the post WW II decades. And it took but a handful of decades to make the private transit systems unprofitable.

We quote this statistic: 50 million passengers rode the public transit system in the Lehigh Valley in the year 1950. By 1971, this figure dropped to 2.6 million! That loss of volume resulted in service cuts and fare increases until the public sector had to assume responsibility for a community asset that could not be let to disappear. In 1972, LANTA, the bi-county transit authority was created so that many who did not or could not own autos or drive had a public transit alternative.

Recently, fuel shortages and high energy costs and a movement to counter Urban sprawl has us at another crossroads. How the next few years sorts out with our mobility choices will have an impact on our nation likely for another set of decades to come.

Will low-cost, fuel efficient or alternative powered private automobiles be developed and marketed to replace the existing vehicle fleet or will governments - national, state and local - expand their support and funding for public transportation so that it again truly becomes a viable alternative to driving?

An interesting article on the electric vehicle versus transit is worth reading and pondering:

Which way should our future be influenced to unfold? And who is going to win or lose this next competition?

PennDOT Officials Review Carbon County Community Transit

Pictured, from left to right are: Steve Panko and Anthony Steever, Officials from PennDOT and Denis Meyers, LANTA staff.

As part of their obligation under Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines, representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT’s) Rural Transit Division were on site in Allentown and Nesquehonging to conduct a thorough review of the Carbon County Community Transportation (CCCT) system.

Since 1996, LANTA has been managing the transit operation in Carbon County on behalf of that community. LANTA staff oversees the operations and submits plans and applications to PennDOT on behalf of Carbon, to provide door-to-door demand response Shared Ride services and the Lynx, a fixed-route service that links the major boroughs in the County.

The daily operations are provided by way of a subcontract with the private, for-profit Easton Coach Company of Forks Township.

PennDOT reviewed the financial management elements as well as the operation itself and inspected the fleet equipment that is purchased with FTA and state funds.

LANTA Testimony before House Transportation Committee June 3 at DeSales U

Click here to read testimony delivered by Armando V. Greco, LANTA Executive Director, before PA House Transportation Committee June 3rd, 2010 at DeSales University.