PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Future of transportation: Could we ever see the ‘T’ go to Pittsburgh International Airport?

By Jennifer Tomazic
WPXI-TV
May 11, 2022

"PITTSBURGH — What is the future of transportation in a city that has long relied on public transportation?

“Our city was built on street cars,” said Katharine Kelleman, CEO of the Port Authority.

But what about T cars, specifically ones that go out to the airport?"

https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/futu...J5KOGEDRPBFTY/

They frame it as a cost issue, but I actually think LRT has no real qualitative advantage over BRT for express airport links anyway. Too slow!

Now, some sort of higher-speed express heavy rail link, preferably integrated into an intercity high-speed train network--which many major European airports have--that would be better than BRT.

But the T was never designed for high-speed runs of that distance, and it is indeed a very expensive way to get something that wouldn't even be that good.

[AaronPGH]

Nice to see a much taller residential tower going up downtown, and hopefully this can maybe inspire other developers to go more vertical in the future.

Also, Southside Works getting quality local retailers instead of national chains should have been the idea from the start. Cater to the neighborhood, not suburbanites. 20 years late, but I'll take it.

[eschaton]

If we were going with T to the airport, my preferred route would be:

1. Start with the stub at Allegheny station (for obvious reasons).

2. Integrate the T line with a comprehensive rebuild of 65 into a surface-level boulevard (opens up Chateau for TOD).

3. find a way to route it through Bellevue/Avalon (highest-density suburbs which lack either T or busway access).

4. Out to Sewickley, cross the river, loop to the airport.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

Also, Southside Works getting quality local retailers instead of national chains should have been the idea from the start. Cater to the neighborhood, not suburbanites. 20 years late, but I'll take it.

Large developers like Soffer who do big projects like this have to recoup costs quickly though to meet profit goals quickly... which means high rents... which means national chains, unfortunately. Local mom & pops just don't fit in that early equation.

[AaronPGH]

I don't actually think the T should be what gets built to the airport. It should be an extension of the busway with express service. As sexy as a train rolling into the terminal is, it's going to get un-sexy pretty quickly if the thing is making a ton of stops along the way from downtown through Bellevue/Avalon/Sewickley. Already, the ridiculous IKEA stop on the 28X can add 20 minutes to the trip during heavy traffic. We need the higher speeds of the busway, and as few stops along the way as possible for this one.

[GeneW]

I'd be fine with a busway to the Airport if it was well-branded, consistent and ran every 15 minutes. They should be painted differently and the route should be called AIR or AIRPORT and not something as obscure as "28X". It should have it's own branded stops and operate as it's own thing and not just another bus route.

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I'd be fine with a busway to the Airport if it was well-branded, consistent and ran every 15 minutes. They should be painted differently and the route should be called AIR or AIRPORT and not something as obscure as "28X". It should have it's own branded stops and operate as it's own thing and not just another bus route.

100%. Add luggage racks, make a big stink out of it.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

20 years late, but I'll take it.

A worthy candidate for official forum motto:

XX Annis Nuper, sed Ego Sumam Eam

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I'd be fine with a busway to the Airport if it was well-branded, consistent and ran every 15 minutes. They should be painted differently and the route should be called AIR or AIRPORT and not something as obscure as "28X". It should have it's own branded stops and operate as it's own thing and not just another bus route.

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

100%. Add luggage racks, make a big stink out of it.

Me three.

As I recall, there is some regulatory issue with using airport money to fund a dedicated airport shuttle. Seems ridiculous to me.

Meanwhile, the state is spending a gazillion dollars on a ring highway to the airport, which will only get used by a few people, particularly outside of rush hour (when going straight through on 376 is quicker).

Not good transportation policy.

[eschaton]

My feelings on busway V.S. T to the airport is mostly "why not both?"

I mean yeah, in one sense extending the west Busway to the airport would be easier - less capital investment, and a faster rapid transit system. I believe unlike the T extension the Port Authority does not have a clear right-of-way in this direction though. There's also the issue that there really isn't anywhere between Carnegie and the airport that would be improved by a stop (I guess you could put one in Robinson Town Center somewhere, but it's not a walkable area, so the stop would be useless. The biggest issue I have though is the West Busway doesn't function properly as BRT anyway, because it spills out on West Carson well above the West End Bridge, and there's no clear/easy way to give it a dedicated ROW into town.

On the other hand, a T extension is more expensive, and worse tech, but we could actually string it along the Ohio River where there's need for better transit, and strong opportunities for TOD. Ending at the airport is honestly an afterthought.

It strikes me though that the easiest possibility might be just combining the T with the west Busway. Allegheny Station isn't that far from where the West Busway lets out. Continue it as an elevated line, and build a bridge parallel to the West End Bridge. Have an elevated stub line which goes between W Carson and the freight lines, then runs parallel the Busway to Sheraden Station, with a terminal stop. Transfer at Sheraden Station from the West Busway to the T, and head into town.

[eschaton]

I don't normally cover the Art Commission projects, but these new plans for Homewood Park and Enright Park are notable enough to link to.

In addition, the June 2 ZBA is now up. Three projects of note.

1. Four new townhouses in East Allegheny. There is no address given, but it's clear from the site map that it's right here, behind Schiller Elementary. I'm glad to see they're being forced to put the parking in the back off of a new common driveway. House design is a bit blah/generic, but I've seen much worse (and it's hidden in what for all intents and purposes is an alley. Really confused why only four townhouses are being built on a site that could easily develop 20 though. Maybe the developer is capital-strapped and needs to sell these before moving on to additional phases.

2. The planned Oakland LGBT senior apartment building. Not a new project to us - been before OPDC in the past. I do really wish they were working with a better parcel, since the constraints of the area due to the (awful) Heiber Pharmacy building mean an L-shaped building and a largely useless area by the corner of Forbes and Coltart used for driveways and landscaping. At least it will have a big street impact coming up Forbes though.

3. Yet another friggin drive-thru bank proposal for East Liberty. I hope this gets defeated - we don't need another curb cut near the corner of Penn and Negley - it's such an awful intersection as it is.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

The biggest issue I have though is the West Busway doesn't function properly as BRT anyway, because it spills out on West Carson well above the West End Bridge, and there's no clear/easy way to give it a dedicated ROW into town.

There was a plan back in the day to take it along the same shelf above Carson as the railroad, then across a new dedicated bridge to Stanwix (these days, I am sure that would at least also be a bike/ped bridge).

As I recall, the railroad didn't like the existing plan, but it seemed potentially doable with some modifications. They were just going to be costly.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

There was a plan back in the day to take it along the same shelf above Carson as the railroad, then across a new dedicated bridge to Stanwix (these days, I am sure that would at least also be a bike/ped bridge).

As I recall, the railroad didn't like the existing plan, but it seemed potentially doable with some modifications. They were just going to be costly.

Seems sensible, but I wonder if the (absolutely awful) redesign of the West End intersection may have rendered that possibility impossible.

[PITairport]

Regarding the Wabash Tunnel and proposed Mon River bridge that would have carried the West Busway in to downtown, here are the alignments that were proposes way back in 1994:




Here were the proposed bridge designs:








The third design was the favorite, it was even included in Unique Media's Pittsburgh map:







The b&w images are from the Final Environmental Impact statement for the project, available here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=lR...epage&q&f=true



Some media reports on the failed project:
https://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_c...ortbridge2.asp

http://https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1998/05/18/story4.html

https://pittsburgh.pahighways.com/busways/wbusway.html




Somewhat related, in 2003 the "Airport Multimodal Investment Study" was prepared for a bunch of stakeholders including the Port Authority. A multi-modal route was identified that would make use of the expressway portion of Rt 65. leaving the city

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by PITairport

Regarding the Wabash Tunnel and proposed Mon River bridge that would have carried the West Busway in to downtown, here are the alignments that were proposes way back in 1994:




Here were the proposed bridge designs:








The third design was the favorite, it was even included in Unique Media's Pittsburgh map:







The b&w images are from the Final Environmental Impact statement for the project, available here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=lR...epage&q&f=true



Some media reports on the failed project:
https://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_c...ortbridge2.asp

http://https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1998/05/18/story4.html

https://pittsburgh.pahighways.com/busways/wbusway.html




Somewhat related, in 2003 the "Airport Multimodal Investment Study" was prepared for a bunch of stakeholders including the Port Authority. A multi-modal route was identified that would make use of the expressway portion of Rt 65. leaving the city

I remember the design competition. The Port Authority chose the basket handle arch bridge. Then the project was cut back. I really wanted to see a new bridge built in downtown.

[eschaton]

June 9th ZBA is up. Items of note.

1. Infill house in Lower Lawrenceville, replacing what was a side yard. The parcel is landlocked, so they're asking for a front-loaded garage. Design is generic but not super-modern - the third story looks weirdly like they plopped the top of a bungalow onto a rowhouse, with the shed roof and shake-like cladding. Meh.

2. Change of use of the Troy Hill Firehouse to pave the way for it to be a retail building.

That's about all of note.

[eschaton]

June 1 HRC presentation is now online. A rather short agenda, but a few things to note:

1. An infill house in Allegheny West. This is a very handsome. historically-styled home which fills in what is currently a side yard. I have no complaints about the design, but I am minorly miffed about the location, as it's within the Western Avenue business district, more or less directly across the street from the Allegheny Sandwich Shoppe. I recognize that in the post-COVID era more retail space may not be needed, but LNC zoning allows higher density than a single-family home here, and every additional unit would make the business district that much more viable.

2. Historic nomination of 412 Boulevard of the Allies. In recent history this was the Art Institute building, and the city is now refurbishing it for offices. Certainly it is of architectural merit.

3. A nomination to expand the Murray Hill Avenue historic district to contain two additional homes, which are described as having been left out of the district due to a "clerical error." One home is owned by a private individual and they are supportive, while the other is technically part of Chatham's campus. I can't help but believe the expansion is another case of "defensive" use of historic nominations to ensure Chatham won't upgrade this area of their campus.

[eschaton]

I missed that this dropped over the weekend: The Warhol is developing some sort of master plan for the area surrounding the Museum, to be called "the Pop District." It's still in its early phases - they haven't chosen an architect yet. The articles I have seen say it's a $60 million project. It even got coverage in the New York Times.

Phase 1 of the project will involve additional public art, and "learning hubs" - some sort of workforce development program in one of the buildings next to the Warhol. In 2024, they will begin construction of a new 40,000 foot live performance/event venue, with seating for 800. It sounds like the museum is moving into more active real estate development however, in hopes it can both spark a revival in the frankly dead area surrounding it and have more streams of income to support itself.

I've always thought the area around the Warhol had the best chance for a revival of anywhere in the North Shore. There's still some interesting surviving walkup buildings (like this one and this one), and more importantly the Stadium Authority doesn't own all the land around there. Hopefully the Warhol doesn't also master plan everything to oblivion.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by eschaton

June 1 HRC presentation is now online. A rather short agenda, but a few things to note:

1. An infill house in Allegheny West. This is a very handsome. historically-styled home which fills in what is currently a side yard. I have no complaints about the design, but I am minorly miffed about the location, as it's within the Western Avenue business district, more or less directly across the street from the Allegheny Sandwich Shoppe. I recognize that in the post-COVID era more retail space may not be needed, but LNC zoning allows higher density than a single-family home here, and every additional unit would make the business district that much more viable.

2. Historic nomination of 412 Boulevard of the Allies. In recent history this was the Art Institute building, and the city is now refurbishing it for offices. Certainly it is of architectural merit.

3. A nomination to expand the Murray Hill Avenue historic district to contain two additional homes, which are described as having been left out of the district due to a "clerical error." One home is owned by a private individual and they are supportive, while the other is technically part of Chatham's campus. I can't help but believe the expansion is another case of "defensive" use of historic nominations to ensure Chatham won't upgrade this area of their campus.

I do agree with you that there should be more multi-family housing but the neighborhood tends to fight anything that's not single-family housing. People are very much against expanding retail on Western because of parking and noise issues. There's a strong contingent that is mad that the area is currently as successful as it is.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I do agree with you that there should be more multi-family housing but the neighborhood tends to fight anything that's not single-family housing. People are very much against expanding retail on Western because of parking and noise issues. There's a strong contingent that is mad that the area is currently as successful as it is.

Yeah, I can understand it being NIMBY central but...higher densities are allowed by right, as the parcel is zoned LNC. Particularly because it's a side lot, I can't think of anything which would stop them from putting say a legal three unit, since there's space for all of them to have off-street parking.

Thankfully there are at least more units (slowly) going in up on W North, so the area will get denser over time.