2021 COUNCIL DISTRICT 4 CANDIDATES RESPOND TO BIKEPGH SURVEY

Candidates weigh in on biking and walking in D4

Biking and walking are not only quality of life issues, they are political issues. Elected officials determine how much is invested in our streets, and whether or not those investments make biking and walking safer and less stressful. Biking and walking are healthy, affordable ways to get around, and positively address air quality and climate change. They are good for the economy, and biking and walking infrastructure make our streets safer. If our streets are dangerous for biking and walking, the outcomes affect us all.

In Pittsburgh Council District 4, Councilperson Coghill is being challenged by Bethani Cameron, who will be battling it out on the May 18 primary. Connor Mulvaney, backed by the Green Party, will be challenging the winner of the primary on November 2.

We wanted to be sure to give these candidates an opportunity to talk directly to the voters on these issues, so that you can better understand where they are coming from and make an informed decision for who to cast your vote for on the May 18 primary and November 2 elections.

We have posted the answers in the order in which they were received, and we’d like to offer a sincere “thank you” to the candidates for participating.


1. We envision a Pittsburgh where people can thrive without needing to own a car. What role do you think city council plays in making Pittsburgh an easier place for people to live and visit without a car?


Connor Mulvaney
Green
www.connor4pgh.com

The most important role city council plays in making Pittsburgh easier to live in and visit without a car is deciding on the investment and design of our infrastructure. This includes immediate needs like roads, sidewalks, steps, bike lanes, bus shelters, etc, as well as more future-oriented planning like electric vehicle (EV) chargers. However, when we think about the future we have to think really carefully about what we want that future to look like. Getting everyone that currently drives a car with an internal combustion engine into an EV would displace our emissions from tailpipes to generation and production sites, but does nothing to increase mobility and access for those who don’t own cars now or in the future.

This needs re-examining from council for this reason alone. Are we building a city for people who live in Pittsburgh, or people who own EVs but live in Sewickley and only come downtown on weekend evenings? Right now, it’s looking like the latter. We need an immediate shift toward policies that will achieve our goals for safety and climate while easing inequalities. Better infrastructure for things that we know work, like buses and bikes, can do that. Sacrificing those for policies supporting EVs, autonomous vehicles and trams is silly, harmful and dangerous.


Anthony Coghill
Democrat
Incumbent

City Council plays a large role in helping to make Pittsburgh an easier place for people to live and visit without a car, and I work very closely with DOMI (Department of Mobility and Infrastructure) to make sure this becomes a reality. Within our purview we can make sure our neighborhoods are walkable, accessible for all residents, and well maintained.

When we speak about mobility options, one of the biggest challenges is working around existing infrastructure. In District 4 we have some of the highest concentrations of hills and narrow streets in the city, this creates a lot of challenges for mobility.

Additionally, connecting to the larger bike network is a challenge because of how disconnected the District is from the rest of the city. Even in a car we must cross a bridge and a tunnel to get into town, and with non motor vehicles permitted in the Liberty Tunnels, options to get into town are further limited.

I have been working with our regional partners like Allegheny County and the Port Authority in addition to DOMI to identify ways to increase mobility options in the district and am trying to identify the safest routes for our cyclists to use to connect to the busway and get into town.

Lastly, working with our elected leaders at the state level is a necessary part of securing better mobility options for our residents. Currently, the safest form of bike lanes (protected lanes) are largely illegal because of antiquated state regulations. Removing this restriction will allow new construction and road work to create safer conditions for all forms of mobility.


Bethani Cameron
Democrat
bethaniforcitycouncil.com

City Council could work with Port Authority and residents to ensure access to public transit as well as building (and/or maintaining) affordable housing options near public transit. Additionally, the bike stations that provide times rentals are a great idea, but paying extra for another service is not. We need to ensure that folks who could benefit from those bike stations are able to use them without money being a barrier. I would propose providing free access to especially school students to these bike stations. If we can make other forms of transit easier and diversify the ways folks are able to move around, then we will see more mobility without further car traffic and pollution. Our air quality and the families in Pittsburgh would benefit greatly.


2. As with roads, sidewalks and public transit, biking only works well when there are complete networks of safe streets people can use to get around. We’d like to hear your thoughts on the expanding bike lane network over the past decade. What’s working? Where can the City Improve?


Connor Mulvaney

The parts of the network that already exist are working wonderfully in my experience – They’re making people on bicycles more visible, giving them a safer ride and getting more people out on two wheels. However, down here in District 4, we’ve been consistently denied bike network expansion. The City had a chance to make huge strides in mobility with the redesigns of Broadway Avenue and Brookline Boulevard, but leadership chose to listen to a vocal minority over advocates who wanted safer streets, increased access and the economic benefits of complete streets. Now those two corridors are stuck between big overhauls without protections for people on bicycles or people getting around on foot. We can start to correct those mistakes with semi-permanent improvements now, but if we take our commitment to zero deaths on our streets seriously we have to put our money and effort where our mouth is. We’ve had success in Brookline with the slow streets program when neighbors are directly engaged with decision making. That program is a great proof of concept, but we need to take the next step and build permanent protections for people who want to use our neighborhood streets for something other than a speedway.


Anthony Coghill

I think one of the positives of the expanding bike lane network is how concentrated and focused it has been. We have not seen an expansion of bike lanes in the south hills yet because building out the network and making sure it functions well is a crucial step.

To improve the bike lane network we need a number of things to happen. Most importantly, allowing for protected bike lanes is a top priority. The state legislature desperately needs to pass reforms making protected lanes legal. Until then, motorists and cyclists will be left to “compete” for space in our already narrow streets. This competition or feeling of scarcity creates tension and hostility between motorists and cyclists that feeds into the negative stereotypes that accompany bike lanes and cyclists. In order for a real, lasting network of bike lanes and micro mobility options to exist in Pittsburgh the legislative infrastructure from the state down needs to support a sense of shared space and not a competition for already existing space.

South Pittsburgh has seen almost zero change to our streets to make things safer. I was born North of Detroit, Michigan, and I respect cars as the 2-thousand pound rockets they are; I have always been fascinated by cars and engines, and I have always felt strongly that cars, people, strollers, wheelchairs, and yes, bikes, should have lanes of travel that don’t interfere with car traffic. It’s just too dangerous to mix these modes, and we need to do a better job and make sure they don’t mix as often as possible.

In South Pittsburgh, we may not have as many brave souls willing to bike down these hills into town for work (or, more likely, not willing to bike back UP the hill on the way home), but we should look at that as an asset. We have the opportunity to innovate how we move people around, and the limitations in South Pittsburgh present opportunities unlike the rest of the city where we could test various modalities to see what works best for all of us who like South of the rivers!


3. What transportation project in your district are you particularly excited about?


Connor Mulvaney

Oh boy, I have two! The proposed transit hub in Overbrook is very exciting for District 4, as well as for me personally. That hub in particular and its neighborhood connections would make it a lot easier for me to get to my current job and see loved ones. The other is the still-forming idea of a bicycle/pedestrian connection through Seldom Seen Greenway and the Wabash Tunnel. This one has a lot of hurdles to clear, in addition to disinterest from current Councilperson Coghill, but there are a lot of advocates and neighbors that want to see this happen and I’m excited to help make it a reality.


Anthony Coghill

The continuing work on Broadway ave is one of the projects I am most excited about. We’ve been able to add public art and remove the dangerous slip lanes in previous years. Moving forward we will also see intersection improvements at the existing Broadway ave and Beechview ave intersection. Coupled with the economic development work I’ve done in the last 3 and a half years and Beechview’s main street has undergone a revival and the community is thriving as a result.


Bethani Cameron

I am delighted that talk of creating ADA accessible T stops in Beechiew has resurfaced. In 2017, a state grant was allocated to do just that, but instead was used for beautification and painting the streets. Beautification is great, but safety comes first. And we need a comprehensive safety review of all public transit in this district!


4. What’s a particularly dangerous problem or location in your district for walkers, bikers, or people with disabilities that you would like to fix?


Connor Mulvaney

There are several stretches of sidewalks in my own part of Brookline that aren’t passable for people in wheelchairs, and folks will move into the road to get by them. That issue is particularly alarming, especially since ADA isn’t a new concept. This is also near the intersection of Brookline Boulevard and Pioneer Avenue, where Austin Fike was killed while on his bicycle about a year and a half ago. The only change at that intersection since that crash was to change a turning lane for cars, which does nothing to protect vulnerable users. I myself was hit on my bicycle a few blocks from there and walk or ride on Pioneer every day. So those corridors are very important to me, especially since children frequent those spaces on their way to school.

The dramatic crashes from Maytide Avenue seem to have slowed slightly but continue. That needs to be remedied proactively instead of waiting for someone else to get hurt. The same could be said for many neighborhood streets whose residents want slower traffic speeds. In fact, I recently asked DOMI if they have plans for expanding or making permanent their neighborhood slow streets program. I look forward to reading their response and sharing it with the folks in South Hills Safe Streets.

On top of all of this, this district is divided by state routes 19 and 51. Neither have great crossing points. 19 has some decent sidewalks but speed is a huge problem. I know there are discussions happening behind the scenes to make these routes safer for the neighborhoods they border, and I intend to be a part of those conversations to advocate for safety, especially for vulnerable street users.


Anthony Coghill

There are two locations that come to mind as particularly dangerous, the first is Maytide street and I am proud of the hard work done last year to improve the safety of this street. Before we installed speed tables on this street 99% of drivers reached speeds over the speed limit. After introducing the speed tables that number dropped by half.

The next location that I have been fighting for improved traffic calming measures is Brookline Boulevard. There are multiple hot spots that stretch the length of Brookline’s main street where we have several interventions in a planning stage. From intersection redesigns to changing stop light patterns we are working to make sure that we are able to make the boulevard safer for everyone.


Bethani Cameron

Where there are no sidewalks, a portion of the paved surface of the road should be separated at least with bollards to provide a safer area for walkers. Additionally, the city steps we have failed to maintain could help people (like my son and I) have a much safer walking commute to school. Safe routes to school is a huge priority for me and I feel just the same about those moving around in any way that’s not in a vehicle. We can do so much better and we need to in order to save lives.


5. Why do you think people who care about safe streets or specifically bicycling and walking issues should vote for you?


Connor Mulvaney

I’ve been doing the work with South Hills Safe Streets. I want to bring everything we’ve advocated for alongside BikePGH directly into council chambers.

We can’t wait for others in power in city government to decide it’s time for District 4 to be given a little freedom of movement and basic safety while our own representative slows down measures that would benefit businesses as well as the health and safety of constituents. Indifference isn’t policy. A quarter of people who live in Pittsburgh don’t have a car, but how many council people could get around without one? We need council’s decisions to better reflect the needs of people who live in the city, and I intend to bring that to council.


Anthony Coghill

I believe that I should be the candidate of choice for individuals who advocate for bicycling and walking issues because as chair of the Public Works committee I meet regularly with DOMI and am able to advocate effectively for common sense changes. It is also no secret to residents of the South Hills that there is a lot of negative orientation towards bike lanes in our part of town. I am confident that I am the best candidate to address the concerns of all our residents and make sure that any changes are made with the full scope of the community’s mobility needs in mind. As a lifelong resident of District 4 I recognize and can speak to the ways that hesitancy emerges regarding mobility options. My commitment to safer streets for everyone guides the work of my office and is at the heart of our mobility projects.


Bethani Cameron

I may have cars in my blood (my great grandfather was the first man to work for Ford for 50 years), but that instilled in me a profound respect for the destructive potential of a self propelled several-thousand-pound metal box on wheels. Because I know so well the death and damage cars can inflict upon people, I know we need to get cars and people as far apart as possible, build safe routes for moving around the city, and ensure that no matter how people move around the city, we make it as safe as possible.


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