BikePGH Message Board Archive

Pittsburgh to hold BRT transit meetings for eastern neighborhoods - 5/5 & 5/6

Two public meetings next week will gather input on transit improvement and development in Oakland and Uptown neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. The first meeting will be from noon to 2 p.m. next Tuesday at Duquesne University's Power Center Ballroom, 1015 Forbes Ave. The second will be from 6 to 8 p.m. May 6 at the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Student Union, 3959 Fifth Ave. The city will give an overview of "coordinated planning efforts in the corridor along Fifth and Forbes avenues, including Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, and other East End neighborhoods," including bus rapid transit and the EcoInnovation District planned for Uptown. The district is modeled on the nonprofit EcoDistrics approach to redevelopment and is intended to create a "revitalized Uptown community, which is both environmentally and financially sustainable while promoting equity, and public and private sector innovation." http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/04/28/Pittsburgh-to-hold-transit-meetings-for-eastern-neighborhoods-next-week/stories/201504280182?utm_campaign=echobox&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook

benzo

2015-04-29 09:52:45

I don't know whether this would be the appropriate time to also bring up bike connection between downtown and oakland, since it would be ideal to make these improvements in tandem with streetscape changes needed to support BRT.

benzo

2015-04-29 10:05:58

Here's the mayor's press release: http://pittsburghpa.gov/mayor/release?id=4394

jonawebb

2015-04-29 15:31:52

There are bike lane configurations as part of each on-street BRT alternative. The transition areas have not been worked out yet, but bike and ped accommodation has been part of the complete streets approach to it. There will be cross sections available at the meeting. The title referring to eastern neighborhoods is a bit misleading. The footprint of on-street improvement alternatives is essentially limited to between Downtown, Uptown, and Oakland.

p-rob

2015-04-29 16:41:42

Did anyone go to the meeting today and see what they're considering for bike infrastructure on the fifth/forbes corridor?

romo

2015-05-05 17:54:31

PortAuthority put out a "scooping booklet" on the proposed BRT options here: http://portauthority.org/PAAC/Portals/0/BRT/DUO_ScopingBooklet.pdf. Both of the options posted have bike lanes. I'm kind of surprised protected bike lanes are only in one of the options and only in Uptown (with the rest being buffered or unbuffered). With the heavy traffic in Oakland there will be a very strong inclination for people to park in the bike lane. Not putting up some kind of barrier would probably result in a much worse version of the bike lane on 6th. It looks like they are accepting comments until june 4th. What do you guys think about the proposed options?

romo

2015-05-06 21:57:20