Commuters who park on the North Shore will need to make alternate arrangements on Monday as lots and garages are reserved for fans attending the Pirates opener.

Parking facilities in the area of PNC Park will open at 9:30 a.m. with game-day rates. The Roberto Clemente Bridge will be closed to vehicles after 10 a.m.

Stadium gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and pregame festivities are scheduled to begin around 12:40 p.m. Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen will be presented the Rawlings Gold Glove and Louisville Silver Slugger awards he won for 2012. Retiring PNC Bank CEO Jim Rohr will toss the ceremonial first pitch. The national anthem will be performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra violinist and concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley.

The Pirates are expecting a sellout crowd and are urging fans to consider public transportation. The North Side stop on the Light Rail Transit system serves the ballpark, and trips from the Downtown stations — First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street and Gateway Center — are free.

The one-way fare to Downtown from Station Square and other stops in Zone 1 is $2.50; for stops beyond Washington Junction, the Zone 2 fare is $3.75. A 75-cent surcharge for those paying with cash is in effect from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Those who drive can expect stadium-area lots and garages to fill quickly. Parking may be scarce Downtown, as well, with commuters occupying much of the capacity, although some workers will have the day off for Easter Monday. Real-time information about parking availability can be viewed at parkpgh.org.

The Pirates recommended these alternate parking options:

Consol Energy Center — Parking is available for $6 and $7 and patrons can board the T at Steel Plaza for a free ride to the ballpark.

Grant Street Transportation Center — The 991-space facility near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center usually has available spaces even when other Downtown garages have filled. Parking is $8 for up to six hours; $13 for more than six hours.

Station Square — Gateway Clipper will operate boat shuttles to the stadium starting two hours before game time. Return trips begin at the bottom of the 7th inning and continue 30 minutes after the game ends. Round trip is $10; children 6 and under ride free.

Rivers Casino — The 3,800-space garage is available for baseball parking with a fee of $20 that can be reimbursed to those who visit the casino to gamble or dine. All occupants of any vehicle entering the garage must be at least 21 years old. Patrons can walk to PNC Park or board the T at Allegheny Station for the one-stop ride to North Side, which is free.

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Inspection of the Liberty Bridge and other nearby structures will cause lane closures and traffic shifts starting Monday and continuing on weekdays through mid-May on the following schedule: on the bridge and its connecting ramps, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; on the bridge that carries the Boulevard of the Allies over the Liberty Bridge and Crosstown Boulevard, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Inspection of bridges and signs on the outbound Parkway West will cause overnight lane closures and traffic shifts starting at 10 p.m. Monday from the Fort Pitt Tunnels to Parkway Center and 10 p.m. Tuesday from Parkway Center to Carnegie, with all restrictions lifted by 5 a.m.

And a reminder that overnight closures of the Liberty Tunnels start Tuesday; the Broughton-Baptist road project in Bethel Park and resurfacing of Interstate 79 in Washington County resume Monday. Scroll back through previous posts for details.

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theverhe: U.S. government unwittingly advertising on pirate sites

gigom: Major undersea cable cut

The publication The Atlantic Cities brings us word of new research into whether banning texting while driving (as Pennsylvania did just over a year ago) leads to a reduction in crashes.

Two economists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee did a nationwide study of texting laws and fatalities and concluded that texting bans work best when they are accompanied by an overall ban on handheld phone use, making enforcement much easier for police. Also, they found that making texting a “secondary” offense (the cops can’t pull you over unless they see you commit some other violation) is a waste of time.

An excerpt from the article:

The first is that making texting a “secondary” violation is about as good as not banning it at all. The next is that even states that make texting a “primary” offense must maintain heightened enforcement to sustain the benefits of the law. And the third is that the easiest way to facilitate strong enforcement is to ban handheld mobile usage in general. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, only 9 states (including D.C.)* currently meet all these criteria. As more good research like this study makes its way into the public, one would hope to see that number climb.

Full article here.

Meanwhile, AAA gives travelers some useful information about what the driving while phoning laws are in neighboring states. In Pennsylvania, texting while driving is a primary offense with a $50 fine (plus about $90 in court costs). Handheld cell phone use is legal. What our neighbors do:

Kentucky -  It is illegal to send or read text messages while driving. The fine is $25 for first-time offenders, and $50 for additional violations.
New York  - Handheld cell phone usage and texting are both banned if person is driving. The fine for either violation is $150.
Ohio – Texting while driving is a secondary offense in Ohio, meaning drivers will only be stopped if cited for another violation, such as speeding or running a red light. The fine for texting while driving can be up to $150. In addition, several Ohio towns and cities ban handheld cell phone use while driving. These fines vary by town.
West Virginia – Both texting and handheld cell phone use are banned while driving. While texting is a primary offense, meaning drivers can be pulled over for it, handheld cell phone use is a secondary offense until July, when it too becomes a primary offense. The fine for either violation is $100 for first offense, $200 for second, and $300 for third and each additional offense.

And USA Today weighs in with this: adults are worse than teenagers when it comes to texting while driving. Full article here.

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Repair of a retaining wall on the ramp from the Liberty Bridge to northbound Interstate 579-Crosstown Boulevard will cause closures of the ramp at 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays starting next week and into early May. The detour is to continue inbound to a right on Forbes Avenue, left at Chatham Square, continue on Washington Place and turn right at Bigelow Boulevard to reach the ramp back to northbound I-579.

Construction will continue on the Veterans Bridge and Crosstown Boulevard through early summer. Lane closures will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Mondays through Fridays between the Liberty Bridge and Parkway North. Additional ramp closures are possible.

The right lane on the outbound Parkway East will be closed approaching the Forbes Avenue-Oakland exit from 10 p.m. today to about 2 a.m. Friday for crash barrier repairs.

We got a clarification of upcoming Interstate 79 restrictions in Washington County. There will be southbound single-lane traffic starting at 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays from Exit 45 at Canonsburg to Exit 41 at Racetrack Road during resurfacing. The first day of restrictions is Monday. The off- and on-ramp at Exit 43 at Houston will be closed and detoured intermittently during the project, which continues into early August.

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The Golden Gate Bridge, 76 years old and one of the world’s most stately and enduring structures, has a new cutting-edge component: cashless tolling.

All-electronic tolling that allows drivers to pay without stopping debuted at the bridge on Wednesday, according to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association. Technology similar to the E-ZPass system on the Pennsylvania Turnpike is used.

Speaking of the turnpike, in case you hadn’t heard, plans to convert to cashless tolling on America’s First Superhighway are moving ahead. It will take a few years, but the days of fumbling for change at toll booths are numbered. Those who don’t have E-ZPass will have their license plates photographed as they pass tolling points, and they will get bills in the mail.
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Port Authority will have regular weekday service on Good Friday but its Downtown Service Center will be closed. The customer service line will be staffed from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday. Service also will follow normal schedules on Saturday and Sunday.

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Reader inquiry: Will the Port Authority make any special arrangements for users of the Castle Shannon park-n-ride lot when it closes for construction (either late this year or next year)? Aside from suggesting that they use the South Hills Village garage, which means a Zone 2 fare instead of Zone 1 plus a $2 daily parking fee, it doesn't appear so. Spokesman Jim Ritchie tells me there are no plans to allow riders boarding and alighting at the village to pay the Zone 1 fare; nor are there any plans to waive parking fees. That's going to ramp up the inconvenience and cost for Castle Shannon park-n-riders, but this is an agency that doesn't have much room to forgo revenue.
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PennDOT will try again to close the outbound-eastbound Squirrel Hill Tunnel for construction on the weekend of April 5-8. A closure planned for last weekend was canceled because of cold weather. The tunnel will close at 11 p.m. April 5 and reopen by 6 a.m. April 8. All outbound traffic will be required to merge into a single lane and exit at Squirrel Hill-Homestead. The posted detours follow Forward Avenue, Beechwood Boulevard, Forbes Avenue and South Braddock Avenue during the daytime, and Forward, Murray Avenue, Forbes and South Braddock after 8 p.m. Click here for our survival guide, prepared (pointlessly, as it turned out) for last weekend.

Two other weekend closures of the outbound tunnel tentatively are planned for the weekends of April 19 and 26. No restrictions will be in place in either direction during the upcoming Easter weekend.

Construction will resume on Route 65 between Chestnut Street in Sewickley and the Beaver County line on Monday. Single-lane traffic is possible in both directions from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through late April as crews tend to curbs, pavement markings and drainage.

Work on the $3.9 million expansion project at Broughton and Baptist roads in Bethel Park will resume Monday, weather permitting. Starting at 7 a.m. that day, and continuing around the clock through mid-October, eastbound Broughton Road will be closed from Paxton to Sansue drives, the same closure as during last year’s work. The detour follows Route 88, Route 51, Brownsville and Curry Hollow roads. Westbound Broughton Road will have one lane open between Paxton and Sansue. Baptist Road will remain open. This project will be completed in the fall.

The bridge that carries Plum Street over Plum Creek in Verona and Oakmont will be closed to traffic long-term beginning April 11 for repairs.

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