Chris Zurawsky, Pittsburgh City Council District 5

Website: http://www.zurawskyforcouncil.com

1. Do you use a bicycle in the city? If so, for what purposes (commuting, recreation, errands) and how often?

I’ve used a bike in Pittsburgh ever since moving back here in 1998. In 2001 I started working at Pitt and commuting to work by bike almost everyday in good weather and off and on throughout the winter. I used to bike around the city nearly every weekend but have substituted tennis in recent years. I had a regular route from Squirrel Hill, through Schenley Park and down the Jail Trial, then back up through the Strip, Bloomfield, Shadyside and Chatham Campus. A good 2 hour+ ride. My family and I are also regular users of all of the trails. We like to park on Washington’s Landing and ride down to the stadiums.

2. Have you championed or strongly supported any initiatives that are in line with Bike Pittsburgh’s mission of establishing Pittsburgh as a city that is increasingly safe, accessible, and friendly to bicycle transportation?

I was one of 7 people who were interviewed for the city’s bike and pedestrian coordinator job. I subsequently had an op-ed published in the PG about the job, suggesting that greater focus be placed on the pedestrian part of the job description (while still being very supportive of the biking aspect, of course).

I’ve also been floating the idea for a couple of years of renaming the bike and pedestrian bridge next to the Hot Metal Bridge for Mayor Tom Murphy. I spoke with Sal Sirabella recently about it and, win on lose on May 17, I plan to pursue it. I really think that Mayor Murphy deserves recognition for his leadership in turning Pittsburgh into such a bike-friendly city, and the renaming could bring some great media attention to the bike community.

3. Given Pittsburgh’s relatively low rate of car ownership and the recent transit cuts, what specific ideas do you have to make active transportation choices like biking and walking more appealing?

I would like to open discussions with Pitt and CMU to have them launch some circulator bus service for their students and staff that would connect the campuses with Squirrel Hill in particular, as well as Regent Square and Greenfield. The crowding on the PAT buses between Squirrel Hill and Oakland is becoming untenable during the main school terms. Shifting students and staff to university-operated transit would help relieve the pressure.

4. What do you think is the number one risk to walkers and bicyclists both in your district and the city as a whole? What have you done/will you do as an elected official to remedy it?
Aggressive drivers who seem to deliberately menace bikers and who fail to follow traffic rules, especially stopping at crosswalks. Like so many city residents, I’ve got my own pet peeve slice of road–the intersection of Darlington and Wightman, near my house. Fortunately, bike lanes were painted on Wightman a couple of years ago, but it is still a dauntingly wide street to cross on foot. A number of years back I circulated a petition among my neighbors and sent it to the mayor asking for the installation of traffic calming measures, like a refuge island in the middle of the street. At least we got a traffic study out of it.

As a council person, I will advocate for traffic calming and reduction measures across the city, more bike lanes and enhanced links between the city’s existing trails. One spot in particular that needs to be addressed is the train track crossing at Panther Hollow Lake. I’d like to explore the possibility of restoring a very old, disused walking path that connects the bridle trail near the Schenley Oval–at the intersection of the Blvd. of the Allies and Greenfield Ave.–with The Run neighborhood, at the bottom of Greenfield Avenue, near the jail trail.

My family and I lived in a mid-sized city in Australia all of 2007. I was knocked out by the number and diversity of traffic calming and pedestrian safety devices implemented throughout the city–speed bumps, large planters, roundabouts, sidewalk bump outs, audible crossing signals, and even a little message printed on automobile inspection stickers on the side facing into the car, toward the driver, that said, “Watch out for pedestrians”. I took a bunch of pictures of all the measures, made a Powerpoint presentation, and emailed it to the city (Pittsburgh) for use in an all day transportation planning meeting that took place at Pitt while I was away. I’ve still got it and plan to wheel it out if elected.

5. Do you believe safe biking and walking infrastructure enhance a community’s quality of life? (yes or no)

Absolutely.

6. Do you believe biking and walking are worth investing in as a city? (yes or no)

Yes

7. In what ways can enhanced bicycling and walking facilities and opportunities benefit your district and the city as a whole?

We need to make the Squirrel Hill business district more attractive and accessible in any way possible. I think that part of the walking improvements for Squirrel Hill should actually include ample seating–benches primarily–throughout the business district. I think this would prove to be very attractive for older walkers, and in general would increase foot traffic and activity by encouraging people to stay on the streets and go in and out of shops for longer periods of time.

8. Do you/Would you work to get more bike/ped safety projects underway in your district? If so, what is/would be your focus?

Yes I would. As noted above, I would advocate for more bike lanes and trails and better links between them, as well as traffic calming measures for the entire city, similar to those recently installed around Pitt and CMU–the sidewalk bump outs up and down Forbes Ave., for example.

9. Do you have a bicycling story you would like to share with our constituents?
Around 2003, I think it was, I had a very brief article published in the Cool Space Locator newsletter. It featured a picture of my wife and very young sons, sitting on the grass near the Alcoa HQ with their bikes lying down next to them. The text was something like, “I knew I was in a bike friendly city when I saw the mayor [Murphy] one evening, walking down the steps of the city county building carrying his bike and wearing a bike helmet.”

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