PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Since there is no Erie thread, I will post this one interesting development for our only other "large" Western Pennsylvania city.

$150 million dollar project on the downtown Erie, PA waterfront. It's basically just some townhouses and apartments + a kinda lifestyle center. It seems feasible too since the owner has been sitting on the prime piece of land for 15 years presumably waiting for the economic conditions to make this redesign feasible.

I like the renderings because it seems like it will be a benefit to pedestrians as well as the residents who will live there.

http://goerie.com/article/20131128/NEWS0...tails-plan-for-Erie-bayfront-development

A floating entertainment barge! Sweet!

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

A floating entertainment barge! Sweet!

Hey, we had one in the strip and it was KINDA cool.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Hey, we had one in the strip and it was KINDA cool.

That was Private 🞵🞵🞵🞵's spot!

[BrianTH]

Queen to Bishop 6, Austin.

Anyway, I think of Erie as being at least loosely in Pittsburgh's orbit, so good news for them is good news for us as far as I am concerned.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Queen to Bishop 6, Austin.

Anyway, I think of Erie as being at least loosely in Pittsburgh's orbit, so good news for them is good news for us as far as I am concerned.

Yes, they are the Pluto of Pittsburgher's solar system. We are currently downgrading Erie from a planet to an asteroid.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Hey, we had one in the strip and it was KINDA cool.

You mean Donzi's? I was there once. I found it terrifying but your mileage may have varied.

[Jonboy1983]

Perhaps Peduto could woo Scott Enterprises. Their plan for Erie's waterfront looks a thousand times better than Buncher's plan for the Strip.

Did I just go there?

Regarding the skinny building, I would love to see it restored to its original splendor and to have someone else come in and put it to a good use. It definitely could be used as a tourist attraction, especially considering Pittsburgh's increase in tourism and tourist-related activities...

[BrianTH]

Nice slideshow in this article about PNC's renovation of the Mellon Bank Branch:

http://triblive.com/aande/architecture/5231615-74/bank-building-pnc#axzz2pPRbqcE4

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Nice slideshow in this article about PNC's renovation of the Mellon Bank Branch:

http://triblive.com/aande/architecture/5231615-74/bank-building-pnc#axzz2pPRbqcE4

Looks like PNC did one hell of a nice job of keeping some of the historic details from the building either intact or at least in visible locations. Nice work!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Steel City Scotty]

A nice article about Bill Peduto...

Peduto steps into office with the promise of a new age
January 4, 2014 11:14 PM
By Moriah Balingit / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
On the night of Nov. 5, fresh off a landslide victory in the Pittsburgh mayor's race, Bill Peduto wound his way through a packed Homewood auditorium, his presence announced loudly by a high school drum line.

On stage, to the roar of an enthusiastic audience, he evoked the Italian immigrant roots of his family.

"It's good to be home," he said. "This is where my family started nearly a hundred years ago, where a young woman named Margaret Antonacci walked these streets, my grandma, and where my family started with a dream of putting a business on Homewood Avenue.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politic...tories/2014010501480000000#ixzz2pYwFt4IV

[Steel City Scotty]

And a not-so-nice article looking back at Ravenstahl's time as mayor...

Ravenstahl leaving tarnished legacy as Pittsburgh mayor
January 4, 2014 9:35 PM
By Moriah Balingit / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The conversations started with his family. He told them he was tired, that he didn't know if he could face another campaign cycle that would inevitably involve mud-slinging and dredging up of past mistakes. And he worried more about the toll it would take on those closest to him -- on his mother, who took each slight and criticism of him personally, on his 5-year-old son, who would be old enough to ask questions about his appearances on the nightly news.

Ten months ago, when Mayor Luke Ravenstahl strode into the mayor's conference room -- that regal space where stern portraits of former mayors stare down from the walls -- he seemed relaxed and comfortable with his decision to drop out of the mayoral race, to end this strange and unintended journey after seven years that had consumed his late 20s and early 30s.

"I feel good, I feel really good. I think I kind of freaked out my staff because this is not a somber day," he said, addressing a room packed with media and members of his staff, some of whom wept. "This is a day that I'm excited about. I'm at peace with my decision."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politic...tories/2014010500520000000#ixzz2pYxDNwXr

[Austinlee]

Neighborhood signs. Are there any more?? These are so cool.

http://pghbox.com/?p=3146

[BrianTH]

Sousa's Braddock kickstarter has made its goal:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/379429428/superior-motors-community-restaurant-and-farm-ecos

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Sousa's Braddock kickstarter has made its goal:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/379429428/superior-motors-community-restaurant-and-farm-ecos

Excellent. Hope Sousa is able to be a spark that might just help Braddock make an eventual comeback!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[dfiler]

I would love to see some Pittsburgh neighborhoods return to people-centric design rather than car-centric design. Perhaps Penn Ave in the strip district would work better as a pedestrian mall. Liberty has more than enough capacity. Or perhaps Oakland could repurpose one lane for bikes and pedestrians.

Some residents of NYC were initially outraged when a few streets were redesigned with more than cars in mind. Now however, the converted areas are popular and businesses there are thriving and doing better than the car clogged areas. Many opponents have now changed their minds. NYC is busy converting many more streets and momentum is building.

This video makes me dream of what is possible if we were to do the same in Pittsburgh.
http://vimeo.com/83173191

I don't know much about Peduto, who is taking office today, but I hope he sees the potential as well. After decades of blindly designing cities purely as car moving infrastructure, people are waking up and realizing that it doesn't have to be that way. When streets are more livable for actual humans, life is better.

[Evergrey]

Pedestrian malls often end up being neither people-friendly or car-friendly, and cities (including Pittsburgh) have moved away from the pedestrian mall concept in recent years. They usually only work in Disneylands and college towns. I would prefer to see "complete streets" that have elements for pedestrians, bikes AND cars... as opposed to segregating automobile traffic away from certain commercial corridors.

http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets

an example of "flexible street programming"

[photoLith]

Pedestrian malls would be huge failures in pittsburgh. The only reason they work in cities like Paris, London, NYC, etc is because they are jam packed with loads of residents and tourists. The only time anything is packed like a street in NYC is a nice Saturday morning in the strip. But that's about it. Now we do need better bike lanes though.

[dfiler]

Can you provide examples of failed pedestrian malls? I'm sure they exist but it seems that many have been successful. I would be interested in reading about the ones that are commonly viewed as turning out badly.

Note though that my pondering only involved a single street in the strip district. There are a few blocks of Penn Ave that are so overrun with pedestrians that there isn't even enough room on the sidewalk. People constantly walk in the street. Granted, that is during peak summer and weekend periods.

But let's not get completely wound up on that subject alone. The video linked to in that post did indeed show "complete streets". That too is what I would like to see.

In my opinion, all options should be weighed. None should be ruled out because they're seen as "disneyland". And no, I don't agree that pedestrian streets only work in college towns and Disneyland. For example, pretty much every city in Europe, South America, or Asia...

The goal is to put thought into the various options rather than blindly focusing only on cars. When Buncher made its plans for developing in the strip, I doubt that any thought was put into complete street design or perhaps even a pedestrian area around the terminal building. The city would be much better off if that sort of thing was actively discussed.

[GeneW]

Pedestrian malls don't have to be permanent. For instance, I'd love to see Penn closed off through The Strip on Saturdays.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Pedestrian malls don't have to be permanent. For instance, I'd love to see Penn closed off through The Strip on Saturdays.

That's exactly the type of discussion I hope becomes common in Pittsburgh!

It isn't about pushing just one agenda such as pedestrian malls, but rather being willing to actually discuss and try out the alternatives.

At first some of the ideas seem crazy and disruptive because people have grown up in America where streets belong only to cars. But when an alternative is implemented, quickly it becomes seen as normal and unquestionable. For example, the closure of the Clemente bridge for Pirates games. Walking across that bridge in a throng of fans is wonderful experience.

Perhaps a few blocks of Penn Ave in the strip district will one day be seen in the same way. Weekend patronage of that business district could easily double.