From potholes, to public transit, to bike lanes, the possibilities of transportation reforms in Pittsburgh are endless.
As part of a monthly conversation with Essential Pittsburgh, Mayor Bill Peduto explained his vision for better transportation and who he's working with to make those plans possible.
“I told (Allegheny County Executive) Rich (Fitzgerald) this, ‘You know, you want people to build a statue for you, you take care of three things. You create a green way to address the combined sewer overflow problem that puts Pittsburgh on the map as being innovative, you make our airport a hub once again for flights throughout the country and internationally, and you build out a light rail system that goes north, south, east, and west with a feeder system of busses that creates a world class light rail system.’”
Many local Pittsburgh residents weighed in and told us their vision for Pittsburgh transportation, and Peduto responded.
@esspgh @billpeduto @905wesa BUILD THE “T” EVERYWHERE! Pittsburgh deserves modern transportation! The time is now.
— Joe Morgano, Jr. (@joemorgano) March 12, 2014
Peduto agreed with Joe, but pointed out one problem.
“Without a local match, and you can’t say, ‘Well just use the taxes we have,’" he said. "That’s not an option, what you need is a dedicated fiduciary account, an amount of money that is raised and used specifically for one purpose.”
“I agree 100 percent, and design is a component of making things safe. If you don’t use the design at the beginning it just doesn’t work," Peduto said "The bike lane on the busway is one of the areas we’re looking at with this. But you have to understand that once you get past Neville Street there is no room for a bike lane. I know everyone keeps saying, ‘You’ve got to take it all the way to East Liberty!’ But literally, ride on a bus and look, there is not space, there is no lane. You have a wall on one side and then nothing, not even a curb spot, on the other.”
Peduto also attempted to clarify reports about discontinuing bus service downtown.
@billpeduto on @esspgh: report on eliminating bus stops downtown is wrong. Current system has less accessibility. Want to create circulator
— Daniel Mason (@D_Mace88) March 12, 2014
Sounding Off on a Single Topic
To tell us what single topic you'd like to hear about in a future monthly discussion with Mayor Bill Peduto, email esspgh@wesa.fm or contact us via twitter @esspgh.
