Connecting Downtown Bike Lanes to the GAP and to the Point
For decades, there has been a dream to connect the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail to the Point, and that dream is soon to become a reality. The GAP is one of the premier trails in the United States, bringing in millions of tourist dollars to our city. Combined with the C&O Canal trail, it fully connects Pittsburgh to Washington DC, but still lacks an important connection to its final destination (or start), the Pittsburgh’s Point State Park.
The City of Pittsburgh, along with other stakeholders are trying to remedy this, with several organizations spearheading efforts to piece the connection together.
Along the trail itself, significant gains have been made by Riverlife to build the Mon Wharf Trail, the Smithfield St switchback, and a Grant St Crossing (more to follow). In tandem, the Department of City Planning and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership are working to make Downtown more bike friendly, not only to facilitate residents and workers into one of the top employment centers in the state, but also to make sure that tourists and recreational cyclists using the GAP are able to safely access all of the great food and entertainment that downtown has to offer.
So to expand upon the momentum, Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning will be hosting the first of several public meetings to discuss the connection of the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail to Point State Park, and onward to the Penn Ave Bike Lane, to ensure a clear, safe connection to all parts of the business and entertainment center.
While the exact alignment isn’t clear (that’s where your opinion comes into play), they are looking at the potential of adding bike lanes on either Ft. Pitt Blvd or the Blvd of the Allies, as well as figuring out how it ties into the Penn Ave Bike Lane and to the Point.
Please attend this meeting to have your voice heard, and keep reading to find out what else is going on to finish this important connection.
Public Meeting: GAP to the Point Bike Lanes
Monday, December 14, 2015 6:30pm
11 Stanwix St (auditorium off the lobby)
Getting there from other corners of the Triangle
Next week’s exciting public meeting will consider whether bicycle infrastructure should connect to the Point via Fort Pitt Blvd or Blvd of the Allies. But here are two other exciting connections to the Point being lead by our friends at Riverlife – already in various stages of planning/implementation.
Mon Wharf Switchback and Point State Park Connector
Moving east from the Point, connecting the existing Mon Wharf Landing to the system will be a priority. It is currently an island of a trail, not connected on either side. However, Riverlife has been diligently working on two projects that will provide these connections. On the western end of the Mon Wharf, the Point State Park Connector will create a seamless connection from the wharf into and out of Point State Park. On the eastern end of the Landing, the Mon Wharf Switchback is due to be built, providing an ADA-accessible bike/ped ramp that will connect the Landing to the Smithfield Street Bridge.
Grant St Crossing
Image: Riverlife
Once the Mon Wharf Switchback is in, there is a trail segment that currently take users to a particularly intimidating intersection where I-376 intersects with Grant St. Riverlife’s Grant’s Crossing project will attempt to create a seamless and welcoming crossing to/from the Eliza Furnace Trail, which is also the beginning of the first completed section of the GAP and onward to DC.
A bolder vision of what our streets can be. We know that our streets can be safe, healthy, vibrant places for people to bike and walk. Help us make this vision a reality by making a tax-deductible gift to BikePGH today. Gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000!
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