I've always wondered if they could build the bus way 3 ft wider and run a bike lane.
2012-01-04 23:10:22
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Jan 12: Meeting announced to learn about the bus rapid transit study underway
Just so you know I have been representing bicyclists' interests for the past 6-9 months at the stakeholder meetins. I want to make sure that BRT 1. enhances the safety of bicyclists in the Downtown to Oakland corridor, 2. doesn't make it impossible to implement bicycle infrastructure in the corridor and 3. includes easy access to the BRT for people with bikes. That said, it's an exciting project and bicyclists should be heard at these meetings (besides me). So if you're interested in transportation, BRT, bike infrastructure, etc, please mark your calendars and show up
Informational Public Meeting on Bus Rapid Transit
Get There PGH, a partnership of more than 30 community organizations, is advancing a plan for Bus Rapid Transit linking Downtown Pittsburgh and Uptown with Oakland and possibly other East End neighborhoods.
Bus Rapid Transit is designed to improve reliability and efficiency while reducing travel times and operating costs. In other cities, Bus Rapid Transit has been shown to support community revitalization initiatives and act as a catalyst for development. Get There PGH believes Pittsburgh can enjoy similar benefits from the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit in this corridor.
Get There PGH’s collaborators include innovators, nonprofits, transportation advocates, cyclists, local officials, civic leaders, educators, investors, neighborhood developers and business leaders.
Join us for an informational public meeting on Get There PGH and the ongoing Pittsburgh-Oakland-East End Bus Rapid Transit Study:
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Two sessions: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
University of Pittsburgh Alumni Hall Ballroom
4227 Fifth Ave. (between Lytton & Tennyson avenues) in Oakland
All members of the public are encouraged to attend to learn more about the project, provide ideas and discuss Bus Rapid Transit with project representatives. Brief presentations will be provided at 12:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.
For more information, visit GetTherePGH.org
2012-01-04 21:19:30
RR: No, they can't. East, South and West Busways all have narrow pinch points. West has a long tunnel, too. However, East already DOES have a bike trail beyond Wilkinsburg (except for in Edgewood).
I will try to make it to this meeting. I just wish I'd known about this a day sooner, as I would have asked more about it at yesterday's ACTC meeting.
2012-01-05 08:21:20
Related: There is a January 11 State House Policy Committee Hearing at Point Park regarding Transportation Funding.
Two members of the Policy Committee, Dan Frankel of Squirrel Hill and Mike Hanna of Clinton County are pushing a Comprehensive Transportation Funding Bill
2012-01-05 10:55:59
Stu, Unless I am missing something, there is no such bike trail on the east busway. There is a narrow sidewalk for a stretch before the Swissvale station that I've used to avoid the odd intersection at South Braddock and Edgewood Ave. There is also a wider section of sidewalk from the Herron station towards Wilkinsburg station, but I don't even think it reaches the Wilkinsburg station. Maybe I missed something?
2012-01-05 14:39:43
It's a sidewalk, continuous from Hay and South in Wilkinsburg to near Hamnett Station, on the Wbg/Edgewood line, then picks up on the other side of Edgewood, at the corner of Edgewood Ave and Lacrosse St, continuing to the Roslyn Station in Swissvale.
2012-01-05 16:12:17
If the sidewalk were that narrow the entire way it would not be a viable bikeway. I use it for a couple hundred feet to avoid a busy intersection and there is barely room for a bike and pedestrian to pass safely. Just want to call a spade a spade.
2012-01-05 17:44:51
Such were the amenities one was lucky to get when one asked for them in 1997. In 1992, when the West Busway was being laid out, we were supposed to get a bike path. Didn't happen. Such were the amenities you got when you asked for them then. So we're making progress.
Back on topic, this BRT thing will significantly change the way people move in the 61ABCD/71ABCD corridor. Actual bus stations. Come out, find out what's going to happen and how. This is the first time in two generations, since rubber tired buses didn't have to follow rails in the street, that anything really changes in the area of public transportation.
2012-01-05 18:13:55
Stu, did you make it to this?
2012-01-16 16:43:57
I did. I didn't learn much I didn't already know. This was more a public unveiling of current project plans and gathering public input, much in the same format as the West Carson rebuild project a month ago, only done much better. Surveys, intelligent discussion, several people from Port Authority known to me & who I trust.
2012-01-16 21:13:21