Project timing could have been better
Most area residents did not anticipate the Arctic-like temperatures that this region experienced this month.
Even old-timers who remember brutally cold winters like some of the 1960s and 1970s also were fooled into thinking that those kind of frigid conditions would not revisit this part of Pennsylvania during this year’s coldest season.
Unfortunately, all were wrong. Mother Nature challenged even the most hardy among us, not to mention home and business heating systems, vehicle batteries and, in some communities, waterlines.
Now, more than at any other time since late fall, people are longing for an “early” spring — except, perhaps, skiers and those others who enjoy various outdoor activities, no matter the temperatures.
Frigid temperatures don’t make everyone angry.
But amid the recent days of frigid temperatures, a particular situation in Altoona might have infringed upon some people’s comfort and patience. We’re referring to people who have “passed through” the Altoona Transportation Center in connection with their travels on Amtrak.
As the result of a renovation project that has been ongoing at the transportation-related facility since about Thanksgiving, temperatures inside have not always been ideal, but did not become a public issue until the other day, when a woman who called herself a frequent Amtrak traveler voiced a complaint to the Mirror.
That prompted an inquiry by this newspaper about what was happening with the project and why adequate provisions for warmth apparently were not always in place for travelers’ benefit.
The situation surrounding no central heat in the transportation center was explained to a Mirror reporter, as well as the fact that temporary heaters were being employed while central heating was “down,” but that a large heater had malfunctioned.
The Mirror is satisfied that there is no basis for criticism of contractors working on the project because of the heating problems that were encountered; there is no evidence of irresponsibility on the contractors’ part.
However, that should not — and does not — rule out the right of the Mirror or anyone else to question some of the decision-making tied to the project.
Probably the most important question to ponder at this time is whether the project as a whole could have been better timed to ensure that lack of proper heat would not be a factor as the project proceeded. A better timetable might have been able to be written into the project construction contracts.
It’s not as if the project needed to be rushed. As an article in the Jan. 22 Mirror reported, the city is paying for the project with a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that was awarded in 2022 — more than two years ago.
Surely, because of when the grant was awarded, there were more timetable options available than the one currently being pursued, even though the project requires a 30% match from the city — a requirement that, sometimes, in some places, would have posed a problem.
Actually, according to city officials, the matching funds will be paid with money from the city’s $39.6 million American Rescue Plan Act grant, not from general funds provided by city taxpayers.
Whenever the project is completed, most people will forget about inconveniences tied to the project; that’s human nature.
However, city officials should not forget. They should strive to use the lessons stemming from this project in other projects, moving forward, whether or not Arctic-like conditions are included in weather forecasts.