(paraphrased from the May, 2009, issue of PennDOT's The Stakeholders' Update) 

 

 

   PennDOT is working to implement 511 statewide by this summer.  511 Pennsylvania will provide free traveler information services, reporting on travel delays, alternate routes, road and weather conditions, and regional tourism information.  It will be available to the public 24/7.  Initially, 511 will be available via telephone and the Internet.  Over the next few years, additional 511 functionality will be available.

   Ultimately, 511 Pennsylvania will help motorists to avoid travel delays, increase overall mobility, reduce air emissions (as unnecessary driving is reduced), and generally make travel more reliable.

   511 Pennsylvania users will be able to register for proactive travel alerts provided through e-mail and text messaging.  The system will also be capable of providing real-time video streaming images to mobile devides.  The system will generate travel time estimates for PA's interstate corridors, identify recurring and non-recurring congestion conditions, and advise travelers on interstate construction and maintenance activities.

   The 511 system will have Web link and call-forwarding access to transit, rail, and air travel information for key metropolitan regions across the state, as well as to Visit/PA.

   For comments and more information, contact Regis Ryan at reryan@state.pa.us. 

by Kim Harris, Project Manager
 
   A dedication ceremony held June 17 in Titusville celebrated the completion of the new "Oil Region Visitor Center located inside the historic Perry Street Station in Titusville."  A crowd of over 70  community members and elected officials attended the event to hear the speakers' remarks about the Visitor Center, the Community of Titusville, and the Oil Region National Heritage Area.  
   "We couldn't do all this work without our partners and community members' support," remarked Betty Squire, Vice-President of Marketing and Membership for the Alliance. She continued, "We hope to bring an influx of people to pass through Perry Street Station  to see the new visitor center exhibit and ride the train this year."   
   Titusville is the northern gateway to the Oil Region National Heritage Area. To assist visitors and encourage them to visit other historic venues in the region, the center includes a very large brochure rack, a derrick-shaped kiosk containing information, and a map of the region. Along a portion of the southern wall is a museum-quality exhibit titled "Moving It" with an emphasis on the railroad and the settlement of Titusville, the "Queen City," and its role as the early financial and social capital of the 1860s oil boom.  
   To engage visitors, the new exhibit contains several interactive components such as "The Race Game" designed to see what method of transportation (horse/wagon/barge, Densmore Tank Car, or Pipeline) is the most efficient method of transportation. In addition, a historic image of a family has been designed so that the faces of the people in the image have been cut out, and visitors can place their face in the empty spots and take a photograph. 
   The exhibit features several notable people from Titusville, such as Martha Herpst, Joan Peebles, James B. Stevenson, Ida Tarbell, Jim Broadhurst, John W. Heisman, and. John F. Coleman. 
    "I am humbled to be a part of this exhibit and celebration," stated Jim Broadhurst, Chairman of Eat'n Park Hospitality Group. "I spent the first 19 years of my life in this community, and I am delighted to be back in the area.  I look forward to celebrating Oil 150 with my family and friends here in August." 
   The ceremony concluded with a ribbon cutting officially marking the Visitor Center ready for visitors and community members to enjoy and to learn about the "Queen City" and the Oil Region National Heritage Area. 
   This is the second such facility within the Oil Region National Heritage Area.   The first was dedicated in June 2003 inside the Crawford Center in Emlenton, the southern gateway to the region.  The theme of the Visitor Center in Emlenton is "Blue River/Black Gold."   
   This project was financed in part by a Pennsylvania Heritage Area Program grant from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation via the Oil Region Alliance.  Additional funds were furnished by the National Park Service of the United States Department of Interior and the Oil Creek Railway Historical Society.