District 7: La'Tasha Mayes Responds to BikePGH Candidate Survey
District 7 Candidate La’Tasha Mayes
1. Do you use a bicycle (or walk) in the city? If so, for what purposes (commuting, recreation, errands, exercise) and how often? Do you have any favorite places to ride or walk?
I walk in the city for transportation to and from work. I walk for exercise as well in my Morningside neighborhood. My favorite places to walk are in Highland Park and Friendship Park. I own a bike and for a long time I used it for exercise but stopped as I became increasingly concerned about my safety. I would bike more if it was safer to do so and I look forward to working with Bike Pittsburgh if elected to City Council to represent District 7.
I have lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years and in District 7 for a decade. I moved here from Philadelphia – which is a great model for both a bikeable and walkable city – to attend the University of Pittsburgh, and like many, I never left. I used public transit as my primary means of travel and I moved to Highland Park because it was so walkable and convenient to public transit. I completed the Coro Center for Civic Leadership Fellows Program in Public Affairs and during that time, I founded New Voices Pittsburgh, a Black women and girls’ health organization – all without a car.
I earned my Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from the Heinz School of Carnegie Mellon University and when the need arose for a car, I looked to my membership with FlexCar and ZipCar to drive. I just always wished the car share system in Pittsburgh was expanded to more neighborhoods and used more hybrid cars. I used this service for years. When driving was essential to my job at the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, I shared a car with a friend for years to meet both of our needs as activists and advocates.
Walking and using public transit is how I got to know this incredible city and the amazing neighborhoods of District 7. Living without a car for so many years allowed me to see Pittsburgh in a way that made me appreciate all the forms of travel. For those who are low-income, young or living with a disability, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods and complete streets matter most to them. Walkability, bikeability and accessibility to public transit build affordable, sustainable and healthy communities.
I now own a car and I walk and I use public transit. I continue working to improve the quality of life for our city’s most vulnerable. My constituents, family and friends ride bikes, walk and use public transit. As a City Council Member, I would promote community design that makes multimodal transportation safe, convenient and accessible for everyone who lives in District 7.
2. What role do you think city council can play in making cities safe, accessible and friendly for biking and/or walking?
City Council can play a powerful role in creating bikeable and walkable neighborhoods, communities and cities. City Council can act as a leader, advocate, innovator and model to serve our constituents who need safe access to multimodal transportation.
District 7 has one of the lowest rates of car ownership in the City of Pittsburgh and one of the highest rates of biking, walking or public transit. Beyond that, nearly 20% of District 7 is at or below the poverty line. My commitment is to make biking and walking accessible, safe and convenient for all residents regardless of their income or where they live in District 7 and our city. Biking and walking creates affordable, sustainable and healthy communities.
As someone who has made a career of building strategic collaborations and organizing marginalized communities, I will work with community-based organizations like Bike Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group and the various Bicycle and Pedestrian Committees to identify priority projects and opportunities.
City Council can play a key role in the effective implementation of Mayor Peduto’s Executive Ordinance for Complete Streets and engage in a community engagement process. Democratizing our streets so that everyone – regardless of who they are, where they live or how they get around the city – can travel in a safe and convenient manner. City Council can utilize an array of tools, information and research to make data-driven decisions that promote bikeable and walkable cities and drive innovation.
3. How can improved biking and/or walking benefit your district? Are there any specific projects that you would like to see accomplished or are in the works that you’re excited about?
Biking and walking benefits District 7 by increasing the health and well-being of residents, reduces diesel emissions that improve air quality in our urban environment, decreases the strain on our roads and infrastructure, boosts our economy and connects residents and neighborhoods.
I am particularly excited by the Pittsburgh Bike Share – this is a game changer for the entire city but especially for District 7 given the high rates of biking in our neighborhoods. The bike share systems in both Washington, DC and Philadelphia are models for Pittsburgh in terms of system expansion and ease of use for payment, i.e. cash payments and integrated payment with the Port Authority ConnectCard.
The Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard is a project that excites me a great deal and is groundbreaking for District 7. It will transform the riverfront by reconnecting it to neighborhoods, creating new opportunities for biking and commuting and creating sustainable community design. I’ve been looking forward to BikePGH’s expanded 2015 Open Streets Pittsburgh event series since they began it last Summer. Opening our streets to bike and pedestrian traffic on Sundays will demonstrate that these projects can be transformative and improve quality of life for District 7 and the entire City.
4. In your district, what particular problem spots for pedestrians and/or people on bikes that you’d like to see addressed?
Complete Streets Redesign
· Safely link the Liberty Avenue bike lanes to a protected lane through the Strip District
o The intersection of Liberty and Herron Avenue/Ligonier Street is dangerous. Bike lanes were a good start. It is critical to finish the job of making this a safe intersection for all forms of travel
· Negley Avenue bike lanes
o I want to work with the District 9 Council Member to safely connect Highland Park to Friendship
· Stanton Avenue bike lane
o This is important on at least the uphill stretches since it is such a heavily trafficked street
· Intersection of Liberty Avenue and Main Street
o There have been many designs that have looked at ways to improve the bikeability and walkability of this intersection; prioritizing safety for all travelers benefits everyone
5. Do you have any ideas on how the city can better maintain, fund, and fix our public steps, an important piece of our pedestrian infrastructure?
Most of our District 7’s public steps are in Upper Lawrenceville, Stanton Heights and Morningside. The city set a precedent with the manner of pursuing funding for the Joncaire Steps in Oakland. Building upon this president, I will work with our city’s leadership and neighborhood organizations to pursue state funding such as the Transportation Alternatives Program and the Multimodal Transportation Fund. These streams of funding could also be used to improve other bike and pedestrian improvement projects in District 7.
Snow and ice removal remain key problems with maintaining our public steps. Snow and ice present a danger and inconvenience to pedestrians and weaken the physical infrastructure. I would like to explore use of app-based technologies to ensure timely snow and ice removal as a start. Ultimately, there has to be a long-term investment in our public steps.
6. Aggressive and drunk driving seem to be problematic throughout the city. What steps can Council take or advocate for to address these life-threatening issues?
Enforcement is critical to addressing aggressive and drunk driving. The Responsible Hospitality Institute and the Sociable Cities Plan provide a blueprint for implementation. I would like to work closely with the Mayor’s Nighttime Economy Manager to continue implement the Sociable Cities Plan.
In addition, our city has to look at infrastructure. Our city needs a Complete Streets policy implementation that begins with our most dangerous roads. We have the ability to significantly decrease traffic fatalities and serious injuries by design. Let’s get smart about traffic calming like speed bumps, bump outs and diagonal parking. If elected to City Council, I will work closely with the Mayor to ensure a Vision Zero policy is passed to put a stop to traffic fatalities and serious injuries on our roads.
7. In conclusion, why do you think people, who care about issues involving biking, walking, and the built environment, should vote for you?
I believe that biking, walking and multimodal transportation is the pathway to building affordable, sustainable and healthy communities for everyone who lives in District 7. To build Pittsburgh as a city of the future, we must prepare for it by creating car-free culture and infrastructure that reduces car traffic, relieves parking gridlock and decreases strain on our roads. Bikers, walkers and environmentalists should vote for me because I am a community organizer, policy advocate and nonprofit leader with an extensive track record of creating healthy communities and fighting for environmental justice. I understand the needs of people who walk and bike in District 7 and together, we can make Pittsburgh one of the most bikeable and bike-friendly cities in America.
NEWSLETTER