I'm excited about the cross town deck but am not impressed by the preliminary design. It will probably cost more that 20 million by the time it is finished. And yet it is basically a square or grass surrounded by busy roads. To really link downtown to the hill, it needs to carry the dense, walkable and pedestrian scale of downtown across the interstate to the hill.
As it looks in this render, what we'll end up with is a nice looking median. And it will be a median in an area of the city that is so unpleasant to be in as a pedestrian, that everyone avoids it. This is a result of the broader lanes, and highway like infrastructure that gives this area the feel of a highway on-ramp rather than a vibrant city block.
I'm not sure what the solution is though. In my mind this deck is about the only way to get the urban fabric to expand out of downtown and into the hill. But perhaps the design can be modified to better accomplish this. For instance, the outer sidewalks can be improved. A lawn and some trees aren't what makes this project valuable to pittsburgh. Instead it is the link between two neighborhoods that makes it valuable. That link absolutely must include sidewalks that are as inviting and safe as those downtown.
In summary, I hope this project is more than just a landscaped median between the two roads. And hopefully the sidewalks are more than an afterthought along a high speed road.
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