Second Letter to the editor: on 10/2/04 from Norma Bronder of SqHill

Transit madness
I was very disappointed to read your editorial coming out in favor of the massive pork-barrel project known as the North Shore Extension ('River-Bound,' Sept. 16). Three-hundred-sixty-three million dollars to build a tunnel under the river when our rivers are spanned by numerous bridges? Has there ever been a more massive, expensive undertaking to transport people such a tiny distance?
Don't fall for Port Authority chief Paul Skoutelas' claim that this project 'represents opportunities for the future.'
Twenty years ago the residents of the East End were promised a spine line connecting the subway to Oakland and Squirrel Hill. We're still waiting.
If you believe, as Sen. Arlen Specter recently stated, that this tunnel must proceed because we have to find a way to get people from Downtown to the sports stadiums, then by all means support this 'Big Dig.'
If you truly care about genuine mass transit, please contact the Federal Transit Administration. The funding is not a done deal, and there is still time to stop this madness.
NORMA BRONDER
Squirrel Hill