McKeesport: Transportation study underway

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

A city in the Mon Valley is calling on its residents to answer a question: “How do you move around McKeesport?”

Thanks to an Active Allegheny grant of more than $80,000, funded through the Allegheny County Health Department by the CDC’s Reach Program, the city, the Allegheny County Economic Development and Environmental Planning & Design LLC are conducting a study of pedestrian and bicycle access to McKeesport’s existing trail and transit systems.

A vital part of gathering the data is hearing from a mix of city residents, who are being called upon to take a brief survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/LK6BV6S.

Those who take the survey and include their name and email address at the end have a chance at winning a $50 gift card. A quick QR code link to the survey is available on the City of McKeesport Mayor’s Office Facebook page. There’s also a printable graphic there that can be displayed at businesses and organizations in the city.

The city, county and EPD are hoping for a large and hearty mix of responses, ranging from those who regularly use the city’s trails and the McKeesport portion of the Great Allegheny Passage for recreation and exercise, to those who rely on trails and public transportation to get around the city, as well as those who struggle to access trails, parks and public transportation opportunities in the city.

“We are part of a multi-agency grant project funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it’s called Reach — Racial and ethnic approaches to community health,” ACED Assistant Director of Mobility and Transportation Ann Ogoreuc said.

She said there are a number of partnering organizations and other projects going on throughout the county related to CDC Reach that are focusing on “a variety of health aspects — access to health foods, promoting breast feeding, helping people get referred and access clinical health care.”

“These are all things that were identified as issue areas by the CDC and so we responded,” Ogoreuc said, later adding that “it’s all about addressing health disparities and addressing chronic disease risk factors as well.”

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