Our ideas for Oakland include:

Adopt a street program: have businesses, scouts, civic groups, students volunteer to adopt a street and clean up litter on a weekly basis.

Pressure wash the Cathedral of Learning and other dirty buildings. This is the keystone building in Oakland and still makes us look as if the steel mills are pumping out pollution.

Landscaping: more trees along the sidewalks, hanging baskets to keep us attractive.

Facade/storefront embellishment with a subsidized program.

More pedestrian friendly: Bigelow Boulevard should be car free!

More public transportation that is not on the roads and polluting the air: light rail from Grant Street. through the Hill , Oakland and, eventually, Monroeville.

Bike paths on Forbes and Fifth for students and others.

Improved streetscape lighting.

Banners representing the various colleges in Oakland and environs. Give us a more campus-like appearance.

Finally, a signature event. Shadyside has a fair, Mellon Park has arts and crafts. Oakland needs an event:

Our ideas : Forbes Field Days, or it could be called Nationality Days: It would be a collaborative event with businesses, Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, Chatham, the Carnegie, WQED, the medical community and Carlow.

Possibilities include ethnic food and folk dancing, sponsored by the Nationality Rooms; events sponsored by student groups ; motor-less races; and music.

Oakland community groups could have a softball game in old fashioned uniforms. Probably a good time for such an event would be late September or early October, when students are around.

Martha and Ray Raak, Greensburg

The promise and the magic of the city is fulfilled when our youths are enraptured by its complexity and vitality and, by experiencing the city, they are able to realize what they want to do with their lives.

Oakland is already a special place. Few cities in the world can claim a cultural and institutional center of such significance and vitality and with such a dynamic quality. Should the area be given the appropriate attention and guidance, it has the potential to become one of the truly great urban centers. In order for the full potential of Oakland to be realized, in order to encourage the optimum, if not the ultimate, development, Oakland needs a master plan.

A master plan is a framework for growth and development. A good master plan first establishes an appreciation for the best of that which already exists. Second, it recognizes the inherent potential or the optimum growth and development of the place. Third, it accommodates both. A master plan does not try to dictate the details, but provides a comprehensive framework within which good things, appropriate and advantageous things, have the freedom and the encouragement to happen.

Oakland presently consists of significant educational and cultural institutions, a world class medical center, diverse residential neighborhoods, and active commercial districts. All of these, along with other activities, contribute to the character and vitality of the place. The presence of one of the great urban parks can not be overestimated. Schenley Park was the initial attraction for locating many of the cultural institutions of Oakland.

What then are the major concerns and the salient components of the master plan?

1. Identify, appreciate, and enhance the best of what exists and encourage other necessary elements to develop and improve.

2. Provide the means for people to efficiently get to and get out of Oakland, and for those having no business there, to get around Oakland and not clog the streets while trying to get somewhere else.

3. Create an environment in which people want to be and where there are places for events to happen, where we go not only to learn, to heal and to cultivate ourselves, but where we go to celebrate life.

The master plan herein presented was developed from 1966 to 1968 by architects and planners Guy Dellicour and Antoni de Chicchis, while attaining a master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University. This plan, An Oakland Study, was exhibited as part of the Our Environment exhibition at the Carnegie Institute in 1968 and was later presented to the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning.

Much has changed in 32 years. The present proposal is to create a new master plan in the spirit of the ‘68 Study.

The essential planning elements of the Oakland Study are the following;

1. A public transit link with the Golden Triangle, with strategically located stations to serve the medical center and the universities, as well as the residents.

2. A comprehensive system for vehicular traffic creating a hierarchy of movement, separating regional from local traffic and providing parking for regional commuters accessed from expressways and by-pass roads with no need to congest local streets.

3. A comprehensive system for the movement of people in which private vehicle, public transit and pedestrian traffic become complementary and non-conflicting.

4. Reasonable use of limited land resources and the creation of new, highly accessible sites.

5. Space for institutions to grow and space for new activities to occur or develop.

6. The presence of Schenley Park is emphasized by Schenley Plaza, for the plaza, ideally situated between the institutions, becomes the gateway to the park, functionally and symbolically, and an expression that leisure is the basis of culture.

There are those who will ask, "How much will this cost?" These are people who need to be educated to what a master plan represents. The plan itself is an investment of creativity, ingenuity, and reasoning, not tons of money. Should we proceed without a plan, we will spend much more in the long run, for we will make mistakes. We will build the wrong thing or build in the wrong place. The plan gives us the guidance to proceed deliberately and with minimum error. When the time comes to build the Oakland crosstown highway, we will know where it should be located. When the time comes to provide public transit, we will know where the stations should be placed. When the time comes to build public parking, we will know where that should be situated. When the time comes to develop Schenley Plaza, we will know that it is destined to be a great urban plaza.

The study for the master plan can be implemented in a number of ways. It may well be funded by a government or foundation grant. It may be organized as a competition among some of our greatest architects. It is of the utmost importance that the study be conducted by a knowledgeable, creative, and independent architect and master planner. This master planner would then research and coordinate the work with all the relevant agencies, public and private, and report to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission, the council and the mayor. Once the plan has gone through the critical path of public scrutiny, it must be adopted as the official master plan for Oakland. The Oakland Plan would include land use designation through zoning, public highway and parking, public transit proposals, and public open space.

Antoni de Chicchis, architect and urban planner

I think Oakland could be majorly improved with the building of two very prestigious institutions -- Dunkin’ Donuts and Taco Bell.

A Dunkin’ Donuts would serve the breakfast and caffeine needs of university students, library and museum employees and anyone else who’s just looking for a place to get a quick cup of coffee and a fresh, cheap donut. Should I have to travel downtown or to Wilkinsburg just to experience these guilty pleasures?

And as for Taco Bell, I think the construction of one of these fine dining outlets in Oakland would be every Pitt student’s dream come true. Sure, they’d probably charge $3.50 for a 7-layer burrito which normally costs $1.75, but I’m sure there’d be lines out the door of hungry students and those just looking for a quick meat-from-a-bag fix.

A Craig Street location for both of these would be ideal, but I’d be willing to walk a little down Forbes or up to Fifth to patronize either of these fine establishments.

Erin Scioli A Carnegie Library employee who could really go for some fried dough.

I recently took a business trip to Atlanta with a co-worker for two weeks. The suburbs of Atlanta reminded me of Silicon Valley: new modern buildings, CLEAN streets and high-tech companies headquartered there.

One of the more up-beat parts of Atlanta is called Buckhead. Oakland could be something similar to this part of Atlanta, having CMU and Pitt in the middle of Oakland. I think somebody should investigate this.

Peter Polando, network systems analyst
Electronic Information Network, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

In the industrial era, many people from all across the world viewed Pittsburgh as the destination for their goal of living the American dream. Immigrants of every ethnic and religious background came to Pittsburgh. Even as the industrial era has faded, the diversity of peoples’ backgrounds has made an ever-lasting impression on the Pittsburgh region. But now Pittsburgh has entered a new phase in history: one that is driven by education and information.

However, while the numbers do not rival the immigration of the industrial era, Oakland and its surrounding communities still represent a place where people from all over the world come together. Whether it be for research in health care or robotics, getting a first-rate education, or starting a technology company, Oakland is often Pittsburgh’s window to the world.

With a rich history of various groups of people and a proven ability to continue drawing a spectrum of people in mind, my concept for Oakland is to create a physical landscape that embraces this diversity in order to share it, enrich it, and celebrate it.

Imagine: You’re traveling into Pittsburgh for a convention concerning consumer applications of robotics. You arrive on Sunday at the airport and get on board the high-speed train that takes you into Downtown (I could not resist the plug for a modern, efficient and clean mode of regional transportation). After checking into your hotel, you decide to explore. The hotel concierge hands you a guide to Pittsburgh’s Window to the World Tour. You decide to begin your tour by getting an overview of everything by visiting the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh. After looking around, you decide you will give Scotland a try since the weather today seems to match that found in Scotland. As you enter the district (perhaps Craig Street), you hear bagpipes playing. You see a shop were people are getting fitted for their very own kilts. Plaid is everywhere. The Scottish cultural center’s marquee describes upcoming events.

This is just one example of a cultural district that could be created. Obviously, where possible, existing ethnic population centers could be used as a starting point

Critical mass -- Obviously it would be impossible to implement a huge cultural district for every culture on the planet at the same time. But if a commitment is made to take on a few districts in a first phase, and these are done in a complete and authentic way, the energy that these districts create will help create momentum for future districts.

Brian D. Smith, Arlington, Mass.

Please take a closer look at finding more theater venues in Oakland. As a young man I recall seeing Henry Fonda in "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" in the Carnegie Lecture Hall, an unusual site for a play but one that turned out to be well adapted to that particular presentation.

Carnegie Music Hall might lend itself to plays mounted on a small scale. On this theme, I would like to see showings, even at already-existing sites, staged on both weekend days. Those who do not possess cars are not, in several outlying areas, able to attend Sunday performances for lack of PAT buses

Even Saturdays are not available to some suburban passengers, because the buses don’t run late enough to accommodate the "going home" portion of theater trips. Afternoon or early evening starts would solve the Saturday problem for everyone.

Dan Studebaker, Plum

My mother’s cousin and family lived in Oakland. It was a very nice residential community at that time.

Oakland has fallen by the wayside in many respects, but it can come back.

Many times when I come through Oakland on the Trafford bus, I have thought of ways to improve the community.

One way would be to acknowledge the young people who reside there -- the students who go to the universities.

I would like to have Friday evening programs at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall. It would be for young people to get together. It could even have a religious connotation. I inquired at the hall and was told it would cost $900 for one evening. After I get through with my Social Security check, I’m lucky I have 900 cents.

I would like to have Oakland become neater in appearance. The many stores, so close together, could be lettered in gold lettering. This could take place in selected blocks. The merchants would be requested to bring their storefronts up to standard. .

Since Oakland has the wealth of the universities, Carnegie museums and the many businesses, it could be worked together to make the community as nice as it once used to be -- and even better.

Nancy Plyler, Braddock Hills

Oakland is the center of Pittsburgh’s intellectual community. It is already home to many world-renowned academic institutions, research facilities, hospitals and technology companies. This proposal seeks to further invigorate Oakland by developing mixed-use technology districts within the existing urban fabric.

A new technology corridor will run the length of Panther Hollow, following Boundary Street, the railways and bike paths. Connecting the university campuses with the riverfront research centers, the development of this area is the missing link for Oakland to become the region’s premier research location. Augmenting this, other research spaces will also be available in many new mixed-use developments, which are to be built on underutilized blocks between Fifth and Forbes avenues in Oakland’s central business district.

These new structures -- built among the existing historical buildings -- would contain smaller tech spaces, offices, housing, retail and entertainment facilities. Like a giant urban circuit board, the proximity and overlap of academic, research, commercial and residential functions will encourage exciting collaborations, in the hope of generating energetic results.

To ensure that the architecture and urban planning foster these interrelationships, the Boundary Street technology corridor and the Fifth/Forbes mixed-use corridor will be linked with integrated new technologies wherever possible. In this way, Oakland will become a living laboratory -- a prime test-bed and proving ground for new technologies.

For example, plasma-display monitors could provide information about current activities throughout Oakland. Directions to those activities could be displayed along the street by paths of light defined by color-tuned light-emitting diodes. Intelligent traffic control devices -- manufactured with electro-luminescent polymers -- could optimize traffic patterns on-the-fly to reduce traffic congestion. Linear induction motors could drive a new public transit monorail would connect the Boundary Street and Fifth/Forbes corridors.

Each technological application is meant to increase one’s sense of awareness of the interconnectedness of Oakland’s urban fabric -- to make Oakland feel smaller and friendlier. Ultimately, the point is to make Oakland Pittsburgh’s pre-eminent technology research center.

Art Lubetz, Arthur Lubetz Associates Architects, president, Preservation Pittsburgh