Submitted by MWBartko t3_10mst1r in pittsburgh

What infrastructure or amenities do you dream of Pittsburgh having?

First, given current reality what do you whish was a realistic priority?

Second, If funding and political will miraculously came through what would be your dream infrastructure or amenity improvements?

Third, full on sci-fi what do you hope the future of Pittsburgh looks like?

19

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

[deleted] t1_j650qze wrote

A nice amenity would be the return of a non-stop flight into the EU. We lost our Delta flight to CDG a while back, and our current flight to LHR requires customs/immigration stops twice to get into the EU.

17

nsairwinpa t1_j651v89 wrote

A monorail down 30 and 376 from greensburg to the airport

11

ballsonthewall t1_j652jjf wrote

Can we just do some of the real common sense stuff? Take a look at optimizing some bus routes, a few more protected bike lanes to connect the network, pedestrianize Market Square, Walnut Street, etc. and then do some cheap traffic calming and tree planting.

Price tag on all this would be very palatable and create a noticeable QOL increase.

12

PGHxplant t1_j65bg71 wrote

A few completely realistic ones off the top of my head:

  • A highway interchange in all directions between 28 and Parkway North would go a long way in unclogging North Shore surface streets. Having to go through four lights to get from 28S to 279N is absurd.
  • A ramp from Veterans Bridge inbound directly to Bigalow Blvd eastbound would alleviate huge amounts of traffic around Crosstown Park, which is only going to get worse with the Lower Hill redevelopment.
  • 100% of intersections with traffic signals should have modern pedestrian walk signals and countdown timers.
  • The intersection of Shady Ave and Forbes Ave in Squirrel Hill should have three phase light timing: green Shady, green Forbes and a four-way walk (like Negley & Centre or Penn & 6th). It's safer in general, but also pedestrians crossing Forbes often prevent turns off of Shady from both directions and gum up Shady traffic terribly.

Pie in the sky: Fully complete all segments of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, at least within city limits. Use eminent domain if necessary to connect downtown to Upper Lawrenceville, get the South Side trail off of industrial side streets, etc.

14

mckills t1_j65dacm wrote

BRT to the airport.

Protected bike lane network (yes - remove street parking)

Bump out/elevate/cover all bus stops

Expand POGOH network

Frequencies on key bus/T lines to under 10 minutes

27

[deleted] t1_j65dbqn wrote

Raw sewage treatment rather than dumping in the river

1

timesuck t1_j65ge1j wrote

A very doable one is citywide composting.

20

leadfoot9 t1_j65jku7 wrote

Airport Rail.

Reduction in excessively-wide car lanes in favor of literally anything else... [wider] sidewalks, bike lanes, rain gardens.

Better rail connections to other Eastern cities.

Reduced (and enforced) speed limits to 20 mph within the city (although the reduced-width lanes would largely accomplish this automatically).

Making the Wabash Tunnel bikes only and/or restoring pedestrian access through the Liberty Pubes.

Some separated bike paths that aren't just cannibalized rail rights-of-way meandering through the woods but actually more direct routes than the cars get, like in Europe.

Modernized rebirths of the Knoxville and Penn inclines.

Neutering the Bigelow Boulevard meme road by adding speed limits, adding more crossings, narrowing lanes, etc.

Moving 376 somewhere else.

7

jeancyborg t1_j65k52i wrote

Flying to LHR/any other UK airport was always a pain pre-Brexit as the UK was never part of the Schengen zone.

And as someone from a less-sexy part of the EU, moving out to Pittsburgh and having a potentially 3-leg flight to visit family was definitely high on my list of reservations. I haven't gone yet but I'm dreading it.

2

hypotenoos t1_j65m256 wrote

Light rail from Cranberry down 79 and 279 to downtown.

15

pierogie_65 t1_j65xtju wrote

commenting to support the pedestrian amenities. there’s a lot of hostile architecture in pittsburgh and a lot of unsafe / un-walkable areas. so much is centered around cars. some areas in pgh have improved this and others are just so behind.

12

TenguMeringue t1_j6606cv wrote

larger (here mostly meaning longer)/nicer/more connected parks along the rivers

I lived in Busan, SK for a year which actually has pretty similar geography to Pittsburgh (except it's coastal, not inland) and their parks were just incredible. We have a lot of decent parks in Pittsburgh, but it kills me that the parks along the water are so short and disconnected by comparison. Not only are they disconnected from each other, but the riverfront parks are a little isolated themselves from the city, or there isn't a whole lot of development around them. In Busan the parks were expansive with thoughtful landscaping, many flowering trees, and often sites of events that encouraged sightseeing and walking along the river in warmer months.

22

pmp412 t1_j6633xn wrote

The T extended north to cranberry and east to monroeville

8

Moogottrrgr t1_j664xlo wrote

My dream is to have high-speed rail, that will go from Columbus, Wheeling, maybe Morgantown, then Pittsburgh and from Pittsburgh go to Youngstown, maybe Meadville, Erie, Jamestown, NY, and Buffalo, NY. Full-on Sci-fi would take that to Toronto. If you remove Columbus and Buffalo, we'd make the most amazing megalopolis.

Once that becomes super successful, they will connect it from Erie or Youngstown to Cleveland, Toledo, maybe Detroit, and then eventually Chicago.

19

skumps814 t1_j667ddm wrote

I don’t like the chance of protected bike lanes when residents on Stanton ave complained about losing one side of street parking to put in the new bike lane there.

4

PGHxplant t1_j66c9hc wrote

Pretty much what I was getting at. The highways are already built and important, and we’re not going to just wish them away. But getting pass-through traffic off of surface streets with some minor improvements without building more highways seems like a no brainer.

2

mikeyHustle t1_j66cbfu wrote

Oh, um. I'm just gonna list dreams, I guess? I'm honestly not sure what's pragmatic / "realistic." Probably none of it, or some of it would have happened by now.

  • A huge, outdoor amphitheatre downtown that has free shows all the time, like the one in Chicago's Millennium Park

  • A riverwalk, too, while I'm stealing from Chicago -- with vibrant business running along at least one of the rivers

  • Buses that run to/through downtown that pass through all of our neighborhoods every 20-30 minutes, at least

  • The train to run through the North Hills, and not just the South.

  • Snow removal as reliable as the surrounding suburban areas have, where they run all night and you're ready with a drivable road in the morning

7

Lassuscat t1_j66iagn wrote

Reliable bus service outside of the east end would be a good start. Rapid transit to the airport and underserved parts of the county would make commuting easier for everyone, too.

3

Low-Ear-2171 t1_j66kpc5 wrote

A train system like they have in England and Europe would be really nice!

2

OrangeDelicious4154 t1_j66qopg wrote

Expanded light rail into more relevant areas of the city and surrounding counties.

High speed rail to other major metropolitan areas.

A community market downtown a la Faneuil Hall.

More mixed-use in our high rise buildings.

Public music art!

Put something in the lot next to PPG Arena. Please?

18

unenlightenedgoblin t1_j66rnnw wrote

Trains everywhere. To the point where people would laugh at you for being unreasonable if you were to suggest driving anywhere in the metro area

14

SteamDome t1_j66sl3s wrote

A rail connection to the airport would be nice. I wish the T was never converted the light rail. Full sized regional rail as it was would have been way better

12

PGHxplant t1_j687a49 wrote

You may be right but I've never noticed it. Probably about 2-3 weeks since I last drove through. All it takes is one car trying to turn right from Shady southbound to Forbes westbound to really gum things up on Shady. I suppose an alternative for Shady southbound would be to make it a no left turn at Forbes (not a ton of cars do that anyway), make the left lane straight only and the right lane a dedicated right turn lane.

1

DaleGribble312 t1_j687jte wrote

High speed rail to connect places a 2 hour drive apart with barely any traffic anyways? In the travel hot spot of the deadest parts of the rust belt?

​

Sounds like something PA would do.

−4

DaleGribble312 t1_j687uyy wrote

I wish someone would attempt to time traffic lights, at all, just one time. See what happens, what could it hurt?

2

Trooper-Man1776 t1_j68bq2r wrote

Expand the T. Restore the Brown and Green lines and the old "street car" lines. Then expand the existing system throughout the whole county by creating new lines and/or putting any disused older rails back into service.

2

brows19 t1_j68hwlg wrote

PUBLIC TRANSPORT ZIPLINES!! From mt Washington to the point and from PPG to station sq…make future transportation fun

3

ididacannonball t1_j68r2va wrote

Reality: 61C at 10 min frequency

With funding: City-wide subway system

Sci-fi: No cars, everyone uses very reliable and affordable public transit

2

hypoplasticHero t1_j68si1u wrote

  1. Light rail/busway from downtown to the airport.
  2. Expand the T/put in a busway from downtown to Oakland/Squirrel Hill/Frick Park
  3. Expand the T/put in a busway from downtown up the Strip/Lawrenceville/the zoo
  4. Expand the T/put in a busway on the north shore at least to the observatory
  5. A network of protected bike lanes connecting every neighborhood in the city.
  6. Dutch-style traffic signals.
4

BetesBurgh t1_j6952p6 wrote

Basically more trains - light rail and commuter rail. More public restrooms and water fountains. Repair of the steps/placing more city steps in the places people live now

1

AngryDrnkBureaucrat t1_j6973de wrote

What we currently have - but without having to worry about bent rims and collapsing bridges and whether my bus driver showed up to work today and thinking about detours every time it rains.

1

ColumbiaWahoo t1_j699ku7 wrote

  1. Upping the frequency of the bus lines

  2. Adding a long acceleration lane on the Squirrel Hill on-ramp on the 376

1

username-1787 t1_j69dgrg wrote

More efficient allocation of public space on our streets.

More and more comfortable outdoor seating, mores street trees, pedestrian only commercial streets (market sq, walnut, penn in the strip), an actual cohesive network of safe bike paths (not just painting a bike symbol in a 2 foot wide gutter), bus only lanes on busy routes

It’s a lot to ask, especially since selfish and entitled as f*ck car owners may be asked to slow down a bit or take a slightly different route or park 1 block away from where they used to, but even a few of these incremental improvements to our public streets would genuinely transform the city

2

ToonMaster21 t1_j69en9i wrote

I’d like to be able to just drive through a tunnel without congestion.

0

leadfoot9 t1_j69h3sf wrote

Specifically, the segment along the Mon.

  • Reclamation of land for productive development.
  • Elimination of a massive, miles-long barrier that makes crossing the Mon even harder than it needs to be.
  • Reduction of noise pollution along the bike trail and around Mt. Washington (the sound carries across the water).
  • Elimination of hilariously dangerous blind urban on-ramps that highway "engineers" squeezed in wherever it looked like it would fit on their little 1:100 scale black-and-white 2D drawings.
  • Reduction in the number of unnecessary bridges to be inspected and maintained (elevated highways and ramps are bridges).

A comically expensive undertaking, to be sure. Hence its position at the bottom of the list. The more logical solution would be to have never put it there in the first place. Now it's gone all metastatic into the regional fabric.

3

chrishent t1_j69taoj wrote

I'd start with bus routes that connect the South Side with Squirrel Hill, and one that does South Side-North Side without going through Oakland and Bloomfield. Longer term, perhaps completing the West Busway into downtown, and extending the East Busway.

I'd love a bike trail that goes along the Ohio River from downtown until Coraopolis and Sewickley. Also, protected bike infrastructure for going into the South Hills and the West End.

1

Ok-Web-6095 t1_j6bczj2 wrote

A high line/elevated park like many major cities have

1

sebileis t1_j6c1lnt wrote

Dream: Restore the entire streetcar/interurban/commuter rail network we had pre-1950 and expand on it, prioritize public transit over private automobiles, cancel the remaining portions of the Southern Beltway and Mon-Fayette, push for more sustainable zoning laws/parking minumums, and electrify the mainlines used for passenger rail.

Realistic: Fucking rail to Oakland. Maybe up the Ohio River as far as Sewickley with the airport as an eventual goal. Bus routes that don't all run from a suburb to downtown. Restore Allentown and Penn Station rail service. Modernize our water/sewage/utilities. Build some developments in the Lower Hill that will actually benefit current residents. Fix up our sad excuse of an Amtrak station and expand on the existing services.

Future: See dream above.

2

Responsible-Type-392 t1_j6cchpi wrote

Everyone is talking about high speed rail or light rail or parks. But I am a simple man with simple needs.

Nice brick sidewalks lined with trees and more bike paths. Its so realistic it seems almost impossible.

2

Askarus t1_j6crwpx wrote

Paved bike lane following the t from south hills to downtown

1