Southwest Air Quality Partners Hold Trip To The Strip Event May 2

The Southwest Pennsylvania Air Quality Partnership, Inc. will celebrate the National Air Quality Awareness Week with an Alternative Transportation Festival, “Trip to the Strip,” on May 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot next to the Firehouse Lounge at 2216 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.

 

The “Trip to the Strip” will offer information on car and van pooling, ridesharing, transit services, biking opportunities and other alternative transportation modes, as well as a free climbing wall and food.

 

“National Air Quality Awareness Week is a great opportunity for people to learn more about factors that contribute to ground-level ozone ways they can help make improvements in air quality in our region,” said Partnership chair Ann Gerace. “Simple changes in your daily activities such as ride sharing, carpooling or riding a bus to work can have a great impact on the air quality of our region.”

 

One bus can take 60 cars off the road. According to the Port Authority of Allegheny County, for every 10,000 solo commuters who utilize an existing public transportation service instead of driving for one year, the nation reduces fuel consumption by 2.7 million gallons.

 

The Trip to the Strip will feature a scavenger hunt with prizes and will include information and interactive displays from a number western Pennsylvania organizations including: a bus from the Port Authority of Allegheny County, a climbing wall from Venture Outdoors, a Zipcar, and information from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Allegheny County Health Department, Southwest Planning Commission’s Commute Info, Free Ride, and Fossil Free Fuels. B-94’s Melanie Taylor will make an appearance with the B-94 Prize Patrol.

 

The Southwest Pennsylvania Ozone Action Partnership Inc. monitors air quality and designates an Air Quality Action Day when ground-level ozone concentrations could potentially exceed the national health-based air quality standards. Ozone (O3) is an odorless, colorless gas produced when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) combine under hot weather conditions. When levels exceed the standard, it poses a threat to health, especially in the elderly, young children and others with respiratory illness.

 

For more information, visit the Partnership website.