It's sound-off time again, starting with a Ross reader who wants to remain anonymous but who raises an interesting point about the Port Authority's light-rail extension called the North Shore Connector.

"Have you noticed they're calling the station near PNC Park the North Side Station?" he said in an e-mail. "It should be named the North Shore Station since that's what the area is called and that's how PennDOT identifies the area on highway signs."

Mr. Reader said he strongly supports the 1.2-mile-long project that includes the twin tunnels now being bored under the Allegheny River.

But calling it a North Side Station after Pittsburgh has spent years re-casting and re-marketing the world-class riverfront area as the North Shore?

"Pittsburgh is confusing enough," he said.

The other station, an aerial platform near Heinz Field, is being called the Allegheny Avenue Station.

The Port Authority messed up its own name in 1999, when it dropped "transit" from Port Authority Transit, or PAT, which it had been using for 30 years and which it continues to be called today by many people.

It was all part of a new marketing and image campaign that focused on the word "gold" -- Port Authority Gold.

Do you remember the mascot Gold Pan Dan, gold-colored buses, GoldLink suburban service, Nike-like gold " swooshes" and a purported "gold standard of service"?

They turned out to be fool's gold.

As for the Port Authority, there is no port. PAT divested itself of a "waterways division" years ago. Those duties are handed by the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.

And by excluding the word "transit," the Port Authority name provides no clue that its business is buses and trolleys.

"Getting Around" observed years ago that taking the T out of PAT was tantamount to kicking the H out of Pittsburgh.

Signs of the times. Leland Johnson, of Zelienople, wonders why mile-marker signs designating fractions of a mile have been posted on interstate highways between old signs spaced one mile apart.

"I can't imagine why anyone needs to know their mileage every two-tenths of a mile," he wrote. "Was some politician paid off by the manufacturer?"

PennDOT added them to comply with new federal standards for signs for all 46,000 miles of interstates in the United States. Among other things, the signs are supposed to improve safety by enabling motorists in trouble to identify their location as well as help police, emergency responders and highway engineers better perform their duties.

PennDOT saved money by putting them every two-tenths of a mile apart. Some states, such as Virginia, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike have posted them every one-tenth of a mile.

An aside: The signs on I-19 in Arizona are based on kilometers, partly because the road runs to the Mexican border.

It doesn't ad up. Caroline Popovic, of McKeesport, has become disgusted by the many TV and radio ads promoting the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

"Do they think these ads will encourage people to use the turnpike?" she said. "I think not. It seems like those in power just want to keep on wasting our money."

And Bob Abraham, of Monroeville, asks why PennDOT is spending taxpayer money advertising to "Catch the Keystone," the 14 passenger trains a day it subsidizes between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, a one hour, 45-minute ride.

"PennDOT can pay for this promotion but it won't add a second 'Pennsylvanian' train to serve the entire state between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia," he said.

Amtrak's eastbound Pennsylvanian leaves Pittsburgh at 7:20 a.m., if you're lucky, and arrives at Philly's 30th Street Station about seven and a half hours later, if you're lucky.