by Guest Contributor Alex Torok, Morningside/Stanton Heights Livable Streets

UPDATE — Public Meeting Scheduled about traffic calming and bike lanes on Stanton connecting Morningside, Highland Park, East Liberty, Larimer

A safer cycling experience on Stanton Avenue has been on the minds of neighbors for a long time. Capital budget requests for bike lanes and traffic calming requests go back years. The city is finally taking action, and your voice can influence the outcome.

A public meeting has been scheduled for March 13th at 6pm where people can review DOMI’s proposal for traffic calming and bike lanes along Stanton Ave and share feedback about the designs. The meeting will be held at Mt. Ararat Community Center (745 N Negley Ave), and dinner will be provided. Registration is appreciated (but not required) by emailing neighbor@pittsburghpa.gov or calling 311 so City Staff can prepare the right amount of food and seating. See more details on the City’s Engage Page.

Bike and pedestrian advocates who live in the area will also be holding a “Public Comments 101” virtual session on March 6th at 7pm (zoom link TBD). This session is for you if you’re curious about how public meetings work and would like to learn how to give a public comment. You’ll learn how you can use storytelling techniques to get your point across and leave a memorable impression on decision makers in city government.

Do you support bike lanes and traffic calming on Stanton Ave?

Background

In Fall of 2022, the city installed uphill “climbing” bike lanes and speed tables on some sections of Stanton Ave that pass through Stanton Heights. Much to the pleasure of cycling activists who have been pushing for these improvements for years, the climbing lanes were installed in a relatively short period from project announcement to installation.

The climbing lanes and speed tables have made it so much safer and pleasurable to travel through Stanton Heights on bike and foot, but only represent a fraction of the length of Stanton avenue.

Just in the past few years, a student at Obama Academy was struck by a car while crossing Stanton at Highland, and East Liberty neighbor Will Theisen was struck and killed while cycling on Stanton Ave. Students and families deserve to have a safe cycling route to schools, parks, and shops. More needs to be done on Stanton Ave beyond Chislett Street because our neighbors should not fear for their lives when commuting to and from work.

What does the community need?

This past year, members of the Highland Park/East Liberty Bike & Pedestrian Committee have been pushing for more to be done on Stanton. Through conducting a walk audit, performing parking impact counts, and sending out a feedback form, they have collected feedback from over 40 residents about dozens of issues with road safety along Stanton.

Bike lanes on Stanton Avenue are important to me for so many reasons.

Children should be able to safely bike to school and Highland Park (the park, not neighborhood) amenities. Highland Park has an amazing public pool, beach volleyball courts, a brand new playground, a stocked pond that many families fish at, and so much more. All of this should be safely accessible by bike.

Bike lanes on Stanton would mean a connection for hundreds of households to the existing bike lanes on Negley Avenue and the Euclid Neighborway. This would provide safe cycling access to groceries, medical centers, and the rest of the city’s existing bike network.

While I would personally love to see a rapid installation of bike lanes, it is not the right way for the city to operate as it makes infrastructure changes. Residents on Stanton Ave who weren’t plugged-in to the goings on of city infrastructure projects felt blindsided by the rapid climbing lane installation last Fall.

The city did not post signage in the neighborhood about the climbing lane project or perform any literature drops to houses on Stanton Ave. To those who weren’t involved with the years of effort pushing the city to install climbing lanes, the climbing lane installation felt like an overnight change that involved removing street-side parking that they had become accustomed to always being available. The press interviewed and covered the story of neighbors frustrated over the rapid change.

Coming Soon

The city has their eyes on the lower section of Stanton Ave between Chislett and Heberton that connects Morningside, Highland Park, East Liberty, and Larimer (via Meadow St). The feedback collected from residents is being used to inform decisions about much needed traffic calming interventions.

The mayor’s office has said that they will definitely be installing traffic calming measures along with some intersection improvements. They hope to begin the installation some time this Fall.

The city is also considering installing bike lanes in addition to the traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures. Before they decide to do this, they plan on having a public feedback session to hear from the community. It is my belief that they are (rightfully) taking a more measured approach for this phase of the project due to some of the pushback that they received after the somewhat hasty climbing lane installation further up Stanton.

Community feedback is critical, but we cannot get stuck in a cycle of endless feedback sessions. It is our duty to ensure that the city hears our voices loud and clear when they are evaluating these projects and asking for our feedback.

Your voice will make a difference in the city’s decision to install bike lanes on Stanton Avenue. 

Will you sign the petition to show your support for installing bike lanes on Stanton Ave?

Alex Torok is the current head of the Morningside/Stanton Heights Livable Streets group. He wants to see Pittsburgh become a premiere biking and public transportation city, even if it only happens one block at a time.