(The following story by Bob Stiles appeared on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review website on July 22.)
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Mike Langer says it’s up to Amtrak.
The president of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust said Monday that getting approval from officials of the government-owned corporation that provides intercity passenger train service is the last step before construction of an enclosed walkway at the train station in Greensburg can begin.
The walkway would link the northern end of Greensburg with the city’s downtown.
Langer said the Trust, which owns the station, has obtained verbal approvals from its own insurance company, Norfolk Southern, which owns the rail lines, the city, Seton Hill University and various solicitors.
“The only one we need now is Amtrak,” he said.
Langer, Amtrak representatives, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, an Upper St. Clair Republican, state, local and Seton Hill officials met at the train station on Monday to discuss the proposal.
It calls for a nearly 25-foot walkway that would be walled in plexiglass and lead off Seton Hill Drive. The walkway would lead either to the existing underground passage at The Train Station or an elevator, then into the city’s downtown.
Langer told Amtrak officials — Joe Kelly, director of corporate security, and Chuck McHugh, district manager of stations, Pittsburgh — that pedestrians, including many Seton Hill students, are now jumping a nearby fence and putting themselves in danger by crossing railroad tracks. The walkway would stop that problem, he said.
“The biggest benefit is the safety for the students,” Langer said.
Local officials believe the passage also would attract more people to the city’s cultural district and businesses, as well as improve access to the downtown for people who park in the city’s new lot on Seton Hill Drive.
“Right now they have no alternative,” Langer said of direct access.
The passage carries an estimated $30,000 cost and would be funded by the Trust.
A closed tunnel once gave access.
Greensburg officials are considering putting up surveillance cameras that would allow monitoring of the newly created passage and surrounding areas 24 hours per day from the city police station.
Both Kelly and McHugh said they need to discuss the proposal with higher-ups in Amtrak.
“We’re always looking to work with the communities, and I don’t see this project as being any different,” Kelly said.
A similar meeting was held last year with Norfolk Southern officials.