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Pittsburgh releases planned expansion of bike lanes in city

A lot has changed since Pittsburgh put out its first bike lane plan in 1999, and with new ideas for lanes throughout the city, officials are looking for your input.

Most existing bike lanes can be found in parts of Downtown and Oakland. The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure’s new plan looks to connect those areas and add lanes to other high-traffic areas.

Most notably, the plan would connect Downtown to Oakland via Forbes and Fifth avenues. That bike lane would continue to Squirrel Hill.

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“Forbes is kind of dangerous. We don't have a lot of good ways to get all around the city from point A to point B, so I think it will be good for us a safer option,” said cyclist Becky Arturo.

The new plan also shows some lanes on West Carson Street and other streets on the south side. The proposal also calls for a bike lane to be added around Market Square.

Some motorists are concerned about the affect the new lanes would have on them.

“If they cut certain lanes off, yeah, it might cause an issue for traffic,” said driver Justin Smith. “A lot of these bikers need to be held accountable for their actions. They want to be treated equal as a vehicle on the road when they're not a vehicle on the road. They're swerving in and out of lanes.”

The city says the bike lanes are needed so that people are safer on city streets, so every household has access to fruits and vegetables within 20 minutes of home, and all trips less than a mile can be made easily without a car.

But before the city moves forward, it wants residents’ input at three public meetings this month, including Wednesday night at the Allentown senior center from 6-7:30 p.m.

 

Cox Media Group

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