PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by George Woods

but if you've ridden both a subway and one of our busways regularly, you know that our busways are far more pleasant.

Completely agree. I had a subway commute when I lived in the DC area, and I have a Busway commute here, and I WAY WAY prefer the Busway commute, in fact for both of the reasons we respectively mentioned.

Most days I take a PXX which picks up a block from my house--in DC (Arlington, actually) there was in fact a shuttle bus I could take to the nearest Metro Station, but I just hoofed it instead because the whole transfer process sucked. And now my daily rides on the East Busway are far more pleasant than the subway experience, particularly with all the new development activity along the Busway.

Of course subways still have their place, such as when there simply isn't any spare surface capacity, and you want to move a very large number of people at peak along the same route. But ironically, all that is actually compromising the rider experience, not improving it.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by George Woods

You gotta pitch the gondola-idea to Peduto. It would be so awesome.

I submitted something through the Talent City idea portal--it didn't generate any sort of response, but it is early days yet, and they are still doing basic things like staffing up.

I also understand that pushing the BRT plan over the line may occupy a lot of attention in the near future. I'm OK with that, in part because in the meantime, there are a lot of cities in other countries which are building or planning gondola lines, and the more of that which has already happened by the time there is any sort of serious discussion about it in Pittsburgh, the better the prospects of the idea getting past the "don't be silly" stage.

[BrianTH]

The Ace Hotel in East Liberty is apparently on track for a Spring 2015 opening:

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/2014/03/10/ace-hotel-underway-east-liberty/

[Gilamonster]

Is this the 4th Avenue parking garage? Whatever it is, demolition has been in full swing on it for at least 2 weeks.

[SkyPittsburgh]

Originally Posted by Gilamonster

Is this the 4th Avenue parking garage? Whatever it is, demolition has been in full swing on it for at least 2 weeks.

Appears to be a parking garage from the boxy-style, but it could also be an old industrial building. Google streetview shows that the building was in deplorable condition, pieces of concrete falling off here and there. The County Website (http://tinyurl.com/kzr3nkd) shows that it was owned by the County, but I haven't heard anything about re-development.

[BrianTH]

That's definitely the building the County had been using as a parking garage before it was condemned, although it was something else originally.

Edit: I misremembered. According to this it was always a garage, originally for the military:

http://www.alleghenycounty.us/uploadedFi...ity%20and%20County%20Parking%20Needs.pdf

Unedit.

Last I knew they were just planning to raze it, without any development plans in place yet:

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/3452854-74/county-council-plan#axzz2veTgmqeG

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/bus...-dilapidated-garage/stories/201304300234

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It would be nice if they did something that didn't require knocking down the houses.

Those houses are beautiful, but I've come around to thinking if there's anywhere historic houses should be knocked down, it's North Oakland.

My basic thought is.

1. The area was already mostly converted away from Victorian grand houses (like Shadyside) and into an apartment district between the 1920s and 1970s. It's basically lost its original integrity, and is more like a West Coast high density area than a streetcar suburb.

2. The houses are generally in poor condition, and there is no serious chance for them ever to be restored to single-family occupancy, and probably not even nicely restored condos. All they can be is run-down student housing, or perhaps converted into civic/nonprofit use.

3. Building more apartments in Oakland eases the student pressure in other neighborhoods, like Highland Park, Bloomfield, and Shadyside. With enough apartments in North Oakland, you might cease seeing many newly subdivided houses over a wide swathe of the city, and some may even begin to be converted back.

[Found5dollar]

If i've said it once i've said it a million times, the real issues is pittsburgh's transit map. The busways act as rapid transit lines so should be on the map. Once a line is declared on a map it is more likely to be used by both residents and tourists.

This is my plan that with very little up front costs would greatly add to transit linkage, understandability, and usage.

1) Re-brand the busways with their already labeled colors. No one says "take the purple line" they say "take the P1 bus." changing the perception from just another bus to a valid transit line will help.

2) Truly connect the busways to the T lines. Bring the buses into the train stops and create a second official platform for them, not just a stop on the street. This can be achieved in many ways, but it has to look like a transit stop, not just a sign like they currently are downtown.

3) Create a closed rapid transit system Use signage and walkways to truly link busway stops and their T stop counter parks. Make them seamless and equal to close the gaps between busways and T.

4) Update the map so the busways are on it. The busways significantly increase the number of transit stops in the city and with the few changes will completely act like a rapid transit line.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by SkyPittsburgh

Appears to be a parking garage from the boxy-style, but it could also be an old industrial building. Google streetview shows that the building was in deplorable condition, pieces of concrete falling off here and there. The County Website (http://tinyurl.com/kzr3nkd) shows that it was owned by the County, but I haven't heard anything about re-development.

That's a really awkward spot for redevelopment, insofar as it's a dead end block in probably the lowest-trafficked part of downtown (regarding pedestrians anyway). Being right next to an active rail line, a highway onramp, and another parking garage makes it a pretty bad place to locate apartments as well.

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by Found5dollar

If i've said it once i've said it a million times, the real issues is pittsburgh's transit map. The busways act as rapid transit lines so should be on the map. Once a line is declared on a map it is more likely to be used by both residents and tourists.

This is my plan that with very little up front costs would greatly add to transit linkage, understandability, and usage.

1) Re-brand the busways with their already labeled colors. No one says "take the purple line" they say "take the P1 bus." changing the perception from just another bus to a valid transit line will help.

2) Truly connect the busways to the T lines. Bring the buses into the train stops and create a second official platform for them, not just a stop on the street. This can be achieved in many ways, but it has to look like a transit stop, not just a sign like they currently are downtown.

3) Create a closed rapid transit system Use signage and walkways to truly link busway stops and their T stop counter parks. Make them seamless and equal to close the gaps between busways and T.

4) Update the map so the busways are on it. The busways significantly increase the number of transit stops in the city and with the few changes will completely act like a rapid transit line.

Really smart, simple ideas. I'd love to see this. I'd also love PAT to do a better job with public perception. MTA ALWAYS talks about all of the things they're doing to improve – in a slick fashion. PAT has successes to talk about, and they need to actually start doing it.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

That's a really awkward spot for redevelopment, insofar as it's a dead end block in probably the lowest-trafficked part of downtown (regarding pedestrians anyway). Being right next to an active rail line, a highway onramp, and another parking garage makes it a pretty bad place to locate apartments as well.

Of course it is also right next to a T stop, which would likely have some appeal. In fact, PMC wants (wanted?) to do apartments in the Robin Civic Building (I'm not sure where that deal stands, as it ran into trouble with some on City Council). I believe the County wants a new parking garage, but I think you could do a cool little complex with parking below and some residences/offices on top.

[Evergrey]

Looks like others share BrianTH's misgivings about the proposed Animal Rescue League HQ in Homewood:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...s-15M-Homewood-move/stories/201403120093

Other Homewood residents are concerned about the effect an animal shelter would have on the neighborhood. At a community meeting about two weeks ago, some said they were worried that the building would bring noise and smells, Mr. Rossi said.

[Austinlee]

I made a Troy Hill thread. I think it turned out pretty good!

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=210196

[Urbana]

I was taking a walk in North Oakland yesterday and took a walk by the Schenley Place development. The foundation seem to have been fully dug so I would think we should be seeing this rise pretty soon. I regret not snapping a picture. The posters on the fence around then site still depicted this design:

[BrianTH]

Shell is still buying properties near its proposed cracker location in Beaver:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...ar-site-of-proposed-cracker.html?ana=twt

That is not a firm commitment, but you would think that means they are still leaning toward yes.

[Evergrey]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthe...nding-to-us-airways-strongholds/6313513/

British Airways hints at expanding to US Airways strongholds

...

Intriguing possibilities on such a list -- but not ones specifically mentioned by Walsh -- could include Pittsburgh or Hartford, two mid-size markets known to be eager to land new trans-Atlantic routes. Each also has a long history with US Airways, though some may wonder if US Airways has burned through its good will in Pittsburgh after dehubbing the city last decade and subsequently downsizing its workforce in the region.

Still, those mid-size markets are also the type that Boeing had in mind designing its 787 Dreamliner, four of which have already been delivered to British Airways. From the start, Boeing predicted the new-age jet would open up new service in "thin" long-haul markets like BA's London-Austin route.

...

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/2014/03/13/Transit-future/stories/201403120007

Transit future: The rising use of light rail shows the way ahead

March 13, 2014 12:00 AM

...

Through their light-rail usage Pittsburgh’s transit customers are saying something momentous. They are voting with their fare cards for the reliability, comfort and quiet of commuter rail, and the Port Authority cannot afford to ignore that message as it looks decades down the road.

...

At the same time, the authority must be forward-looking on other innovative approaches. It should study converting the Martin Luther King East Busway to light rail, a subject that was discussed 15 years ago. It should consider where to extend the North Shore Connector in the future — along I-279 or toward the airport. And it must figure out, in general, how to exit the era of the conventional, unattractive diesel bus.

...

[BrianTH]

A BA flight from Pittsburgh would be awesome. Make it happen!

Converting the East Busway to light rail would be a waste of money. As we briefly discussed above, it already provides a popular service, the buses are actually faster than T-style LRVs, and it allows for transferless extensions of routes off the Busway.

However, one thing worth considering would be electrifying the East Busway for use by trolley buses.

[AaronPGH]

I will figure out some stupid excuse to go to London just to fly on that 787.

[Evergrey]

Some interesting points on the nation's transit renaissance that is seemingly leaving Pittsburgh's bus-centric system behind...

http://nextcity.org/theworks/entry/six-t...the-nations-much-heralded-transit-growth

Six Things to Know About the Nation’s Much-Heralded Transit Growth

...

Buses in Decline, But Still King

The lowly bus route may be in decline — total bus ridership was off 0.1 percent from 2012...

...

Pennsylvania’s Keystone Corridor Takes Off

I’m not sure why it’s listed as a commuter rail corridor since it’s clearly an intercity route, but the Keystone Corridor’s Harrisburg-to-Philadelphia service saw a 33.9 percent jump in riders between 2012 and 2013, growing to 4,200 each weekday. (Between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2013, it more than doubled.) The gains are possibly due to incremental speed enhancements along the line over the past decade: While in 2004 most of the track limited service to 70 miles per hour, trains can now travel along some segments at up to 110 miles per hour. If you haven’t read former Amtrak President David Gunn explain how he upgraded the corridor on the sly, avoiding the bureaucracy that normally comes with high-profile capital projects, it’s worth a few minutes of your time.