THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY METZGAR, CALTAGIRONE, D. COSTA, EVANKOVICH, FLECK, GABLER, GROVE, HELM, MILLARD, RAPP, SCHMOTZER, STERN, WATERS AND BEAR, JUNE 13, 2012

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, JUNE 13, 2012  

A RESOLUTION

Memorializing the United States Secretary of Transportation to

issue a TIGER grant for the construction of the Rockwood

Station project and urging the Pennsylvania Congressional

Delegation to support the project.

WHEREAS, The Rockwood Passenger Rail Station is a multimodal

project to design and construct a new Amtrak passenger stop in

Rockwood Borough, Somerset County, Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, Amtrak's Capitol Limited operates on the CSX rail

line, but does not currently stop at Rockwood, with the nearest

stops in Cumberland, 48.6 miles east of Rockwood, and

Connellsville, 42.9 miles west of Rockwood; and

WHEREAS, Rockwood is located at a crossroad in Somerset

County, with valuable access to the Great Allegheny Passage

trail stretching from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, The project will include a new station platform and

canopy, bicycle facilities, parking lot with designated shuttle

pick-up, creation of priority bicycle corridors in the station

area, upgrade and installation of new signals and complete

necessary track work to facilitate a new rail stop in Rockwood;

and

WHEREAS, The Rockwood Station project will establish a

leading national example of rail and bicycle integration and

fill a substantial public transportation void with one of

Pennsylvania's premier natural regions, the Laurel Highlands;

and

WHEREAS, Rockwood's passenger rail history ended in 1971 when

the B&O Railroad ceased to use the old station located just

across the bridge at the south end of Market Street; and

WHEREAS, With the potential for a passenger rail stop,

Rockwood could once again emerge as a rail destination; and

WHEREAS, The Rockwood Station on the Amtrak Capitol Limited

line is more than a historical link to past prosperity; it is

poised to become a gateway to a new future; and

WHEREAS, The Rockwood Station project will make this vision a

reality; and

WHEREAS, The new station site is located in downtown

Rockwood, along existing CSX right-of-way between Chestnut and

Bridge Streets; and

WHEREAS, The site for the station, located at the Rockwood

Mill Shoppes and Opera House at 450 Main Street, is ideal for

connections to existing community development; and

WHEREAS, Rockwood boasts several bed and breakfasts, a

campground and a hostel, all within close proximity to the new

station, to accommodate active travelers that will be attracted

to the area by the new station; and

WHEREAS, The Rockwood Station project will complete design

and construction of a new, intermodal transportation hub in

downtown Rockwood, which is fully accessible in accordance with

the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to benefit Somerset

County and the entire Laurel Highlands region; and

WHEREAS, According to Amtrak's standard ridership model,

using a fiscal year 2009 baseline, it is anticipated that at

least 2,540 trips will be taken each year from the Rockwood

Station at opening; and

WHEREAS, This number only accounts for the increase in

mobility of Somerset County residents and does not include trips

generated by the Great Allegheny Passage and other prominent

attractions in the Laurel Highlands region; and

WHEREAS, According to a study completed by VisitPA, in 2009,

2.6 million overnight trips were taken to the Laurel Highlands

region of Pennsylvania, and during the same period, 4.7 million

day trips were taken; and

WHEREAS, Analyzing only the existing visitors to the Laurel

Highlands region, at least 4.3 million people could potentially

benefit from the Rockwood Station for their traveling needs; and

WHEREAS, This potential, combined with the vast improvement

to the mobility of residents of Somerset County, creates the

foundation for a project that will profoundly impact the lives

of millions; and

WHEREAS, The Somerset County Planning Commission, the

Somerset County Rails-to-Trails Association, the Community

Foundation for the Alleghenies, the Laurel Highlands Visitors

Bureau and Amtrak have jointly submitted a request for $3.9

million in grants from the United States Department of

Transportation's TIGER Grant Program for 2012 in an effort to

complete the financing for the station project; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize the United States

Secretary of Transportation to issue a TIGER grant to the

Somerset County applicants for the construction of the Rockwood

Station project; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Pennsylvania Congressional

Delegation to take action to support the project as well; and be

it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to

United States Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, and to

each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.