There are pros & cons for each option. Give your feedback on the plan for creating a safe corridor at this vital connection in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood

While still in the planning phase, the City is looking to improve the corridor in the Boundary St /S Neville St. Streetscape Enhancement Plan for non-motorized transportation and to better connect to the universities and the trail. 

The City just posted two options for the plan, and there’s a Public Meeting on October 28th at CMU (register here!) where they will share what they’ve already heard, as well as get your feedback on what they still need to consider. You can also give your feedback on the survey here.

Background

Neville and Boundary serve as the primary connection to and from the Junction Hollow Trail, and currently lacks sidewalks. Even with the traffic calming on the street, riders contend with fast moving traffic along with pedestrians, who don’t even have a sidewalk. 

The road is currently closed to motor vehicles, but open to bikes and peds, offering the perfect experiment to see what reallocating some of the space will do. 

Let’s Discuss the Options

Good news: both options have a climbing lane from the train tracks to Fifth (yay!).

The debate is over the section from Joncaire to the tracks. In the uphill direction, should there be (Alt 1) no sidewalk on the left, and a 10′ shared use path on the right, or (Alt 2) an exclusive bike lane on the right with a ped-only sidewalk on the left.

There are pros and cons for each. Most downhill bicyclists will likely skip the sidepath as they’d have to cross the street to enter it (unless they are coming from CMU), so both scenarios will likely be share the road (downhill) anyway. Uphill, bicyclists will have to share the sidepath with peds (however few there are), but riders will be going slower, and there will be a wider separated area (10′ vs 5′) for when the inevitable debris and overgrowth happen. Snow and debris removal in a wider sidepath will also likely be more frequent.

Considering all of this, please take a look at the plans, leave your feedback on the survey on the Engage Page, and think about joining the Public Meeting on the 28th to share your thoughts!