via Next City

Mayor Peduto Sees Bike Lanes as Part of City’s Revitalization

By Sarah Goodyear | Next City

Pittsburgh may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about great cities for bicycling in the United States, but that could change in very short order, thanks to a coordinated effort among elected officials, local bike advocates and the national group PeopleForBikes.

Over the summer, Pittsburgh started building protected bike lanes in a few key points of the city, including the downtown business district. The first three lanes are the initial installments in a plan that will see five miles of such protected infrastructure go in around the city in the next two years — an aggressive timetable in a nation where allotting street space to any vehicles other than cars can spark months and even years of debate.

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Pittsburgh has a strong bike advocacy group, Bike Pittsburgh, which maintains a solid relationship with city government and has been instrumental in planning the new protected lanes. Bike Pittsburgh has also been responsible for one of the more striking bike-safety PSA campaigns of recent years, Drive With Care. The ads, which are meant to break down the barriers between drivers and people on bikes and encourage safe driving, show a variety of ordinary folks in work or school clothes standing next to their bicycles, with captions such as “Nurse. Mother. Rides a Bike. Operate With Care.”

Read the full article on NextCity.org.

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.bikepgh.org/membership