2023 Pittsburgh City Council District 3 Candidate Survey

🗳 Update: The results of the 2023 municipal primaries are in! Check the county’s website to see all the details, and see below where we’ve made note of the winner. Thanks again to all of the candidates who participated in our survey.

District 3 includes the South Side, South Oakland, Allentown, Arlington, & Knoxville

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 3, Bob Charland is running unopposed in the May 16 Democratic primary, but has still taken the time to submit answers to better help voters understand his thoughts on the subject matter.

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?


Bob Charland – *WINNER*
Democrat
charlandforpgh.com

City Council has a huge role in making Pittsburgh a city that is safe and accessible through all modes of transportation. If we really want to be a city for all, we cannot mean a city for all as long as you can afford a car. This means bike infrastructure, but it also means a commitment to public transportation, alternative mobility and to folks that are getting around on by foot.

In addition to transportation, this commitment requires Pittsburgh to address the fact that much of the City is a food desert and other basic needs aren’t easily accessible to everyone. For example, there is not a primary care physician in 15210. A 15 minute City isn’t just a laudable goal, it’s a requirement if we are going to be “a most livable city” and “a city for all,” as we like to say.

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. What are your thoughts on the current bikeway network. What’s working? Where can the City improve?


Bob Charland – *WINNER*
Democrat
charlandforpgh.com

The current bike network is not accessible to the entire city. I live in the South Side, and the network works really well for me to get downtown. It works okay, but less well, for me to get into Oakland (with the exception of ‘the chute’ that connects the Eliza Furnace Trail and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail). When I lived in Allentown, to have made biking even physically possible would have either required me to invest in an e-bike or high end road bike that wasn’t in my price range or to get into a level of shape that wasn’t attainable at that time in my life. Even if I met one of those requirements, I would have to ride on roads that weren’t going to protect me as I pumped away up the hill.

While e-bikes have come down considerably in price in recent years, everything else that I laid out is still the case for much of Pittsburgh. Our bike network works really great if you live by the rivers, but it has a long way to go in the rest of the city.
Additionally, our trails networks could use better, standardized and regular signage. I would love to see signage directing you to our business districts for recreational users, and for our neighborhoods for commuters. I’m from Pittsburgh and even I have to spend a good bit of time playing “let’s see where this will take me” until I’m comfortable with new directions.

3. What transportation project in your district are you particularly excited about? How will it benefit people who get around without a car?


Bob Charland – *WINNER*
Democrat
charlandforpgh.com

Right now, there is an opportunity for a developer to build a connection between the South Side neighborway and the South Side Riverfront trail. As it stands, you can only access the trail from the South Side on 4th, 18th, and by the Marina. The hope is that this connection will allow more folks along one of the largest victorian business districts to access one of the greatest features of South Pittsburgh. I look at this development as a great boost for East Carson Street restaurants – we are totally missing out on recreational bikers using the trail who might want to stop and grab a bite along East Carson!

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?


Bob Charland – *WINNER*
Democrat
charlandforpgh.com

The Chute is a clear problem just outside of our district. Another major issue I would like to fix is cars speeding along Bailey Avenue in Mt. Washington. We have records of cars driving up to 77 miles per hour on a residential street! This is particularly dangerous because this is right by Grandview Park, one of the greatest city parks , and is a very popular walking path for all kinds of neighbors. I would also like to see our City look at a more cost effective traffic calming program, like the one underway in Detroit, where we can install hundreds more speed humps than we are doing right now.

5. Why should people who care about safe streets for biking and walking vote for you?


Bob Charland – *WINNER*
Democrat
charlandforpgh.com

I believe I am the only candidate for office who primarily commutes to work by bike. I am committed to building a City that is less dependent on cars, that emphasizes using streets for people and not just for cars, and that is more concerned with where people live, play and work than where they store their vehicles.

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