At a time when many commuters are griping about cuts in public transit, residents of one of Pittsburgh's newest neighborhoods say they don't want bus service coming through their part of town.

	Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Summerset at Frick Park residents Jan Cerveris, left, and Marcia Klepac vote against bus service for the development during a neighborhood meeting on Sunday. Click photo for larger image. Related coverage Acting chief to be named at Port Authority

Dozens of residents of Summerset at Frick Park put out the unwelcome mat for Port Authority of Allegheny County at a meeting last night of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.

It was intended to be an informational meeting about planned changes to several bus routes, including the 61C, but it quickly turned into a heated debate about whether service was needed -- or wanted -- in Summerset.

"This is not a debate about service for Summerset," Fred Mergner, a Port Authority planner, said at the outset, but it was obvious that it would be. Claiming that bus service is not needed or wanted at Summerset, many in the crowd of about 60 were most ruffled by the fact they were not part of the planning process, which Mergner said began five years ago, before there were any residents in Summerset.

The development, which is off Forward Avenue and is most visible atop what used to be a barren hillside, is a project of the Summerset Development Co. Rubinoff Co. is the managing general partner.

The route changes, which go into effect Sept. 6, "mean more options for riders and more efficiency for us," said Bob Grove, the Port Authority spokesman. Splitting 61C to include a 61D-Summerset and 61F-Homestead Park will expand service to a high ridership area "without drastically affecting current service," he said. The Homestead Park line will expand service between Oakland, Munhall and Lincoln Place, said Grove.

Those against the Summerset line say they don't want buses turning into the development but don't oppose buses stopping at or near the entrance on Forward Avenue. Besides noise and fumes, they say they fear their streets will become a park-and-ride lot and that other areas of the city need the service more.

A development of $200,000 to $400,000 homes with two-car garages, Summerset is still growing up, three years after its first residents moved in. With 79 homes and 40 rental townhouses finished and occupied now, it will have more than 700 homes within the next eight to 10 years.

At a meeting of residents Sunday, Vince Sacca said of 36 homeowners "four said they would use it regularly," he said. "One or two would like to see some type of service so their baby sitters can come into the area. That was it."

Summerset resident David Rudov said, "It makes no sense to be giving service to people who don't need it when they were talking about scaling back service throughout Allegheny County."

During last year's budget crisis, the Port Authority threatened cuts in service but did not have to make them because state highway money was designated to tide the system over through next year, said Grove.

Last night, when asked why the Port Authority doesn't wait, Mergner said, "We want to build ridership. This is a great opportunity for all of you. Parking Downtown is $15 and gas prices are going up. Do I need to be a two-car family to live in Summerset? This opens the community to people who want transportation options."

One residential cluster near Summerset, Walnut Towers -- the former Tree Tops apartments -- has been asking for such options. Todd Reidbord, president of the Towers' owner, Walnut Capital, said residents of the 98-apartment complex were surveyed and indicated by 80 percent that they would like bus transportation, mostly to Oakland, where most have professional work or are graduate students.

With budgetary problems, the Port Authority could not offer it before, so Walnut Capital provided a shuttle for its residents. "I was happy to hear the Port Authority figured out a way to do it," said Reidbord. "It's good for our residents and good for the environment."

At last night's meeting, several people spoke up in favor of bus service. Beverly Block, who lives at Summerset, said, "One reason we moved to the city was for the benefit of services like the bus."

Grove said of the 61D, "There's no question in our minds that this bus will be used."

Sacca and others said they were not aware that bus service was being planned when they bought in.

Grove said the Port Authority monitors and changes routes that are not working: "These things are fluid. One of our lines, the 59U, will be extended to the South Side Works, but we don't poll the SouthSide residents to see if it's OK. These are public roads, these are city neighborhoods."

"What angers me the most," said Sacca, "is we citizens were not surveyed as to whether the bus is going to be used. People who are going to spend the kind of money they're asking for are not going to take a bus," he said. "But we've been told buses are coming in, like it or not."

Steve Donahue of Save Our Transit, which lobbied last year against service cut-backs, said it's a shame an affluent neighborhood would turn its back on bus service.

"If they run the system just for captive riders, it will be a lousy system. The idea is to encourage riders of choice, people who have two Mercedes but who opt to take the bus anyhow. That helps everyone."