Move PGH effort would analyze city's disjointed transportation system
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Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl figures it's possible to get from Brighton Heights to Brookline without a car, but he can't tell you how.
"Would it be easy for one to do that, or would there be an easy way for one to know how to get there? Probably not," he said yesterday. The city's mix of paths and lanes, roads and busways, T lines and inclines "don't work together to the extent that they should."
That's something he hopes to remedy with a process that starts with a meeting today, continues with a study beginning late this year, and may include money from the Centers for Disease Control and the federal Department of Transportation.
"We're trying to put [city transportation planning] ahead of the curve, trying to put ourselves in a better position when that next round of transportation funding comes out," said Planning Director Noor Ismail.
The city effort is called Move PGH, and the first step is a meeting in the mayor's office today for prospective members of a 13-member task force and a 29-member management committee, including city directors and officials from other transportation agencies. Mr. Ravenstahl plans to ask them to help set the stage for the selection of a consultant, who will guide the $1.1 million process of analyzing and planning the city's transportation system.
"No one in the city can [now] say, what is our complete bike system versus our transit system," said city Transportation Planner Patrick D. Roberts. "You need to map out the entire city to show where your conflicts are" between feet, bikes, buses, cars and rails.
Working through the Allegheny County Health Department, the city is seeking $500,000 from the Centers for Disease Control to help pay for the study. The theory is that more walking and cycling would reduce obesity and lower pollution.
There's no guarantee that the CDC will fund the effort, but it has paid for transportation changes before. In Lake Moses, Wash., for instance, the agency helped bring about wider sidewalks and foot and bike trails.
Another goal is to use mobility to spur development, said Ms. Ismail. "There is no real connection between transportation and land use right now," she said, but a study could start to change that by linking the next 20 years of transportation improvements to development goals.
First Published January 27, 2010 12:15 am
