Send in your thoughts about parking and living Downtown

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Send in your thoughts about parking and living Downtown

What is your view?

Sunday, October 22, 2000

By Douglas Heuck , Post-Gazette Business Editor

It's difficult to mistake where the epicenter of regional development effort has been for the past several years:

Downtown.

The events have been many and included the following:

A dramatic transformation of the Cultural District, with new theaters, shops and clubs.

An increasing real estate commitment on the part of many of Pittsburgh's best-known companies, among them Alcoa, FreeMarkets, Heinz, Mellon and PNC.

The creation of the Riverlife Task Force, the group of leading Pittsburgh citizens and institutions and riverfront property owners dedicated to capitalizing on the opportunities along Pittsburgh's three rivers.

Two new stadiums and a new convention center. Though controversial in their beginnings, the signature structures will become new icons of Pittsburgh.

The arrival of Lazarus and Lord & Taylor and plans for a new retail/entertainment center along Fifth and Forbes avenues. The latter project, which would include Nordstrom and other commercial tenants, awaits approval.

If you throw in Point State Park, a few new hotels, and architecture that ranks Pittsburgh among the very best American cities, the mosaic that emerges has few missing pieces.

In the minds of many, one of those missing pieces is Downtown living. It exists in the Golden Triangle only in a couple of big buildings and small lofts.

Do you think it's important that people live Downtown? Do we need more of it? Is it a necessary component in the plan to make the elements of the Golden Triangle shine? What's necessary to stimulate it?

Another element that many believe to be in short supply is parking.

Let us know what you think about either or both topics. Write us with your thoughts and ideas on how to improve Downtown housing and parking.

We will publish responses in our final PG Benchmarks of 2000 on Dec. 31.

Please send us your thoughts by Nov. 22. E-mail is preferable, but regular mail will work also. Please send e-mail to business@post-gazette.com and regular mail to PG Benchmarks, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, 15222.

After you've presented your concepts to a million Sunday readers, you never know where your ideas might lead.