A once in a lifetime opportunity to shape the future of transportation in Pittsburgh
The City of Pittsburgh has been embarking on the first Comprehensive Plan in City history, PlanPGH (facebook page here – please “like” it). The Comprehensive Plan covers everything from open space and recreation to development and transportation.
Under Pennsylvania law, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are exempt from having to produce a comp plan, however several attempts have been made over the years to create one. According to Planning Director Noor Ismail, since the City is not required to produce one, they are “able to be creative in [their] use of limited public and philanthropic resources” creating, what she says is “the most ambitious, inclusive, innovative, and wide-ranging planning effort undertaken in the City of Pittsburgh in its 252-year history.”
City Planning is about to launch into the transportation part of the plan, called MovePGH, which will take about one year of public input to create (click the poster to the right to enlarge). Planners are also creating a “Street Design Manual” – a document that will help standardize what bike lanes, crosswalks, and other infrastructure will look like. MovePGH will guide transportation decisions for the next 25 years.
This is an amazing opportunity for biking and walking advocates to get actively involved in shaping the future of the City of Pittsburgh. You can be assured that BikePGH is committing resources to this planning effort, but it is extremely critical that anyone with a bicycle, like yourself, show up to the public meetings to express support.
This is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity to influence the future of your City.
Calling all City residents with a bicycle!
That’s probably about 300,000 of you. Please attend the kick-off meeting, to be held on CMU’s campus.
Public Kick-Off for the MOVEPGH Multimodal Transportation Plan
- February 2, 2012
- Carnegie Mellon campus from 6-8 PM
- Porter Hall (Building #3B) just off of Frew St (adjacent to Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park)
The Public Kick-Off will offer the opportunity to begin public input on this most vital project to the City and Region. According to planners, there will be an opportunity to discuss the progression of the plan effort in more detail, as well as spotlight numerous public engagement events throughout 2012.
If you are on Facebook, here is the event page.
Questions about MovePGH can be directed to Patrick D. Roberts: patrick.roberts@pittsburghpa.
A timeline for the MovePGH planning process. Click to enlarge.
Not a member of BikePGH? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership
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