The Trouble with Tunnels

This blog hasn't been shut down yet, I just haven't had time (or a computer) to post. Fortunately for you all, this article finally stirred me into action:

Jack Wagner is getting angry about cost overruns on the North Shore connector. Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy about cost overruns either, though I recognize that is like getting angry at the tides or the wind.

It seems like the North Shore Connector has become a popular punching bag, representing either government waste or a personal attack on Dan Onorato. A few days ago, friend of the blog Jon Schmitz wrote about an Anthony Williams ad criticizing Onorato's "Tunnel to Nowhere" (which mistakenly describes the NSC as being funded by the drink tax).

In my opinion, it's funny that people are trying to peg Onorato, or Bland, or anyone else with the NSC, when in reality, they're just as quick to run away from it. The tunnel is a product of the past generation of community leaders, which has been inherited by this lot, and therefore they don't have as much stake in it (fun history lesson: this is still by far the most informative article on the subject). There hasn't really been a champion for this project since it's inception, which is why it's now our Big Dig. Had it been branded well, I think popular support would be a lot higher (and could probably have kept the spur to the convention center).

So if I may, let me take a shot at trying to defend this lovable mile of light rail track. Let me try to convince you that, even if we came by it in a way you don't approve, for a product you wish was better, and spending more than you think we should, the NSC is still a regional asset:

1. It expands the urban frontier. Downtown Pittsburgh, as the Golden Triangle, is hedged in by geography. New buildings aren't going to be built on rafts on the rivers. After we put all that money into the city's front yard, we aren't going to do anything stupid there (not that we haven't thought about it). 579 continues to be a roadblock in the way of Hill redevelopment, far more than Mellon Arena would be if it were left around (and, you know, the fact that it's a hill doesn't really make it any easier). The South Side is still too industrialized too really get really built up, and again topography doesn't help. You're left with the North Side, a neighborhood that has a lot of potential. The NSC essentially completes the annexation of Allegheny city from a century ago; it makes it possible to get from Grant Street to the Science Center in a matter of a minute or two. The North Side (and the North Shore, insomuch as it exists) becomes integrated into the Central Business District in a way that bridges alone could not. The North Side is close enough that we're not creating an edge city, but far enough away that we're creating a larger, denser space.
2. It has the possibility to change the layout of the Near North Side. I'm not saying it is an absolute possibility, but the NSC has the potential to change how the North Side looks. In the past, the area has been the site of some disastrous projects (Parkway North, Allegheny Center, etc.). The NSC has the potential to make density more desirable for the area. With more chance that people will want to use the service and property values may go up, maybe parking lots may make more sense as mixed use retail and residential buildings, or at the very least, parking garages.
3. You get a new Gateway Center Station out of it. Gateway Center has always been a poorly placed station, in my opinion. But this new plan repositions the station to a better location where it is actually more useful, in my opinion. Not to mention more aesthetically pleasing, from the sketches I've seen.
4. Because it's a gift, you ingrate. The county paid 3.3% of the budget for this project. The rest was federal and state money. Think of all the other places in the country or the state who could have got that funding, but we did. It's sort of like when you were a kid, and your grandparents got you Mega Bloks when you really wanted Legos and your mother would say "well think about all the poor kids who didn't even get a Christmas present". The NSC is our Mega Blok set. It may not be what you wanted, but you can still build with it.