Better Busway 2017 - Penn Station

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PENN STATION PITTSBURGH’S TRANSIT PLAZA

BETTER BUSWAY 2017

PENN STATION PITTSBURGH’S TRANSIT PLAZA

BETTER BUSWAY 2017

Project Leadership Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group Chris Sandvig 1901 Centre Avenue #200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Kathryn Schlesinger www.pcrg.org Abhishikta Pal

Consultant Team evolve environment::architecture Christine Mondor, AIA, LEED AP 6020 Broad Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Elijah Hughes www.evolveea.com Chris Guignon, LEED AP Delta Development Group 2000 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 www.deltaone.com

Lynn Colosi

BETTER BUSWAY 2017 Penn Station is a focus area of PCRG’s Better Busway 2.0 study and should be considered a strategic priority for Pittsburgh and the region.

Support for this study provided in part by the Hillman Foundation.

4 | Better Busway: Penn Station

Contents Introduction

07

1

Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza

11

Existing Conditions: Solving the last 1/4 mile A vision for Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza

Quick and Agile Prototyping

2

Anchor to the Golden Triangle

Always a Transit Node

Part of National Network

3

Penn Station By the Numbers

A typical weekday at Penn Station

Local, Regional, and National connections

33

39

Better Busway: Penn Station | 5

Acknowledgements Support for Phase I of PCRG’s Better Busway Study was provided by the Heinz Endowments. Support for Phase II of PCRG’s Better Busway Study, which included Penn Station, Herron Avenue, Neville Street, and Wilkinsburg Station, was provided by the Hillman Family Foundations.

Our process included conversations and involvement with many of Pittsburgh’s thought leaders and change agents. We would like to thank the following groups for sharing their knowledge and ideas.

Envision Downtown Pittsburgh Department of City Planning Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership Pittsburgh Parking Authority Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

Special thanks go to our colleagues at the Port Authority of Allegheny County. The input and insights provided by Breen Masciotra and Andrea Elcock of the Authority’s Planning + Evaluation Department were invaluable and demonstrate the Port Authority’s commitment to the communities it serves.

6 | Better Busway: Penn Station

Introduction Transit has always been the backbone of life in Pittsburgh. Our pride-inducing, compact neighborhoods would not exist without the vast streetcar and bus networks of the past. Even today, despite population loss and service contractions, many urban business districts would not be economically viable without transit. Oakland and Downtown would not be such economic powerhouses without throngs of people coming and going on buses and trains. Our low- and moderate-income communities would not be able to access basic life needs. Congestion would be worse, parking even more invasive, and neighborhood revitalization seriously curtailed. Jobs and housing would leave the urban core and perhaps the region altogether. Plainly and simply, Pittsburgh needs transit to survive and thrive.

Across the country, cities two to three times Pittsburgh’s size are investing billions to build transit that we already have. It’s part of a nationwide movement; Millenials and Boomers alike crave spaces to convene, shop, work, learn, and recreate without needing to drive there. While we have the transit, and we can rebuild communities, Pittsburgh largely hasn’t successfully connected the two. To compete, our 47 miles of rapid transit busways and light rail – must facilitate community building, not just transport people from one place to another. Hence the research, visioning, and advocacy project: Better Busway.

Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, a member-based advocacy organization of over 50 place-focused nonprofits, sees the MLK East Busway as the best place to start. The project focuses on four key station areas’ connectivity and development opportunities. PCRG is convening its members and key stakeholders to help steward the visioning process toward in-depth planning and on-the-ground projects. We hope that this process becomes replicable at other stations an on other lines.

While this concept is new to transit, it’s not new to Pittsburgh; similar approaches have helped us rediscover our rivers, create bike infrastructure, and revitalize neighborhoods.

Our region has solid transportation assets. To compete globally, and provide equity, sustainability, and opportunity locally, we must view them differently. Better Busway extends Pittsburgh’s heritage of nonprofit-driven stakeholders visioning and stewardship to transit. It is already yielding results. We hope that it leads to more transit-focused initiatives in the near future.

Chris Sandvig, Director of Policy Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group

Better Busway: Penn Station | 7

SWISSVALE ROSLYN

HAMNETT WILKINSBURG

HOMEWOOD

EAST LIBERTY FIFTH

NEGLEY

E

LL

CENTRE

I EV

N

HERRON

PENN STATION

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1 Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza Penn Station is Downtown’s portal to the East End. This major regional node of a national transit network performs many of the same functions it has for almost a century and a half. Today, however, this area is a hole in Downtown’s fabric that most people simply pass through. Local, regional, and national transit stops and stations are disengaged from the CBD and each other. Very few people recognize that local, express, and regional lines are steps away from national services such as Amtrak, Greyhound, and Megabus.

This section details ways to pull these assets together into a new transit plaza that reconnects Downtown to this historic intermodal hub, and the hub to places near and far.

Previous spread: Penn Station in the context of existing and proposed transit assets.

Source: Based on Landsat image via Google Earth Facing page: Pittsburgh’s Penn Station circa 1910.

Source: Detroit Publishing Company via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Chapter 1: Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza | 11

AMTRAK ENTRANCE IS HIDDEN AND UNPLEASANT

DISENGAGED LANDMARK UNSAFE AND UNCLEAR SIDEWALK

GREYHOUND TERMINAL DISCONNECTED FROM AMTRAK

DIFFICULT PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS

PLAZA DISCOURAGES PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY

Based on Landsat image via Google Earth

12  | Better Busway: Penn Station

Existing Conditions: Solving the last 1/4 mile The intersection of Grant Street with Liberty Avenue and 11th Street is familiar to most people passing through Downtown. It is the northeastern portal to the city, contains significant architectural features, and has major transit infrastructure on its periphery, including: NATIONAL BUS AND TRAIN ROUTES at the Greyhound (Grant Street Transportation Center, or GSTC) and Amtrak stations, and the Megabus kiosk under the David L. Lawrence Convention Center LOCAL & REGIONAL/SUBURBAN BUSES at the East Busway’ Penn Station AUTOMOBILES private and on demand and PEDESTRIANS The richness of these resources is counteracted by their lack of physical or psychological connections, and the prioritization of auto expediency over pedestrian friendliness. This occurs at many scales. Plazas have large planters that obscure views and inhibit visibility, making them uninviting or seemingly off-limits to pedestrians. The lack routes of visual unity, likewise, invite pedestrians to do no more than leave the area as quickly as possible. Major intermodal stations are far apart from each other. Intersections are wide due to turning radii and islands that encourage speedy traffic.

In places there is no sidewalk and pathways are not clear. Finally, the Busway’s Penn Staton is hidden from town, causing most riders to offload at the first stop “in town,” – congested Liberty and 11th where fast traffic and a narrow sidewalk create unsafe conditions.

BUSWAY ENTRY IS AMBIGUOUS AND UNWELCOMING

The entries to the national carriers are close enough to be considered a transit center, but are not related to each other. Greyhound and Amtrak are not visible, especially in relationship to each other. Megabus, under the Convention Center, is completely invisible altogether. It could be connected through a more visible interior arcade that exists in the Federated Building or moved into the GSTC. Amtrak, as well, could be moved into the GSTC. There is no signage directing people to the various stations, terminals, or bus stops and what little welcome or information centers exist are outdated.

Each station or stop is responsible to create its own sense of arrival, which none do particularly well.

DIFFICULT PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS

The Amtrak station is in need of significant repairs and improvements and is difficult to access by pedestrian and vehicles, let alone see. Cars often queue onto the roadway while waiting for passenger pick-up. In addition, the terminal currently operates only four times Chapter 1: Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza | 13

UNCLEAR CONNECTION TO CONVENTION CENTER

EXCEESSIVELY LONG CROSSWALK DISTANCES

FE

116 FEET

82

72

FT

ET

92 FEET

GRAND PROMENADE FILLED WITH PARKED CARS

0

61 ET

FE ABANDONNED LIGHT RAIL LINE

Based on Landsat image via Google Earth

14  | Better Busway: Penn Station

BUS STOP IS OVER 200 YARDS FROM THE STREET

100 FEE

T

a day, when trains are in the station. The flush of passengers crowds the terminal, but at other times the site usage is very low.

There are underutilized commercial properties that bound the plazas. None activate their sites and many are closed to the public or not well signed, creating a “no man’s land” feeling to the open spaces.

The Pennsylvanian (formerly Pennsylvania Station) is a historic landmark that is inaccessible and somewhat hostile to pedestrians with closed sidewalks and few amenities. There are opportunities to engage businesses in the lobby (similar to Union Station in Denver) or to repopulate vacant storefronts on the lower parking lot.

Similarly, the Liberty Center lobby enters from the plaza but is not very welcoming with large planters blocking visibility and little view into the space. The building’s commercial arcade has recently improved its entry and placed café seating on the plaza, suggesting future opportunities for additional commercial enterprises to bring life to the plaza. CBRE is currently undertaking a plaza renovation project.

72

FT

Lastly, the Federal Building does not have a strong public presence on Grant or onto the Busway area.

Future improvements could examine an entrance from this area and possible ground floor activation. In addition, the entry to the underground parking creates a large curb cut, extending the crosswalk an extra 25+ feet.

The legacy parking area in front of the Pennsylvanian, detracts from the character of the building. This lot’s entry and exit is ambiguous because it is shared with the Busway. At minimum, narrowing the curb cut and more effective signage would create safer and more attractive conditions.

Grant Street, while not deficient, is likely to need a restructuring in the near future to deal with parking issues and to reconfigure the raised planters.

Pittsburgh’s major transit systems meet at a newly reconceived Penn Station Plaza. The plaza creates a pedestrian friendly destination, adding significant open space amenities and a destination feel to northeastern Downtown. It welcomes travelers to the city and invites city dwellers to discover new things to do in this new gateway.

BUS STOP IS HIDDEN FROM VIEW

The plaza functions as an intermodal urban transfer node between national carriers Amtrak, Greyhound, and Megabus, and regional/suburban and bus service, or walk/bike to and from the plaza. For local travelers, Busway Chapter 1: Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza | 15

P

P

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A Vision for Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza Pittsburgh’s major transit systems meet at a newly reconceived Penn Station Plaza. The plaza creates a pedestrian friendly destination, adding significant open space amenities and a destination feel to northeastern Downtown. It welcomes travelers to the city and invites city dwellers to discover new things to do in this new gateway.

The plaza functions as an intermodal urban transfer node between national carriers Amtrak, Greyhound, and Megabus, and regional/suburban and bus service, or walk/bike to and from the

plaza. For local travelers, Busway stops, on-street routes, and the T (Pittsburgh’s light rail) are all highly visible and easily accessible. Transit rider queuing that currently overloads Liberty Avenue has a place where it can expand and more effectively function for pedestrians, bus riders, adjacent businesses, and drivers.

Penn Station Plaza accommodates on-demand vehicle queuing to serve both local and long distance customers, especially during national carrier departures and arrivals. Active modes are also accommodated, with improved bike share visibility and access to nearby bike lanes. Nontraditional travel can be celebrated here as a point of origin for

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18 | Better Busway: Penn Station

ROAD DIET Realign the intersection to create safer pedestrian passage. decrease crossing distances, and calm traffic.

Short Term Strategic Planters Painted Lane Narrowing Long Term Remove Islands Curb Relocation

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IMPROVE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS Create safer crossing through highly visible crosswalk materials that extend the plaza and with signalization that allow for a car-free zone.

Short Term Strategic Planters Painted Crosswalk Long Term Remove Islands Curb Bumpouts Embedded Crosswalk Lighting Improved Signalization © evolveEA

CONNECT STATIONS AND STOPS

Key Strategies

Bring all stations within view of each other, combine facilities where possible, and create clear psychological connection with signage and a unified public space.

Short Term Wayfinding Signage + Maps Relocate Bus Stops Long Term Combine Amtrak+Greyhound+Regionals Establish Bus Shelters at New Locations Integrate Megabus Extend T to Penn Station, Connect to Hill

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UNIFY AND ACTIVATE PLAZAS Shift the perception of multiple individual parklets to a more connected plaza that is a destination and a bookend terminus of Liberty Avenue.

Short Term Allow Food Trucks on Plazas Special Events for Plazas + Parking Lots Long Term Reconfigure Private Property Plazas Redesign Parking Lot for Public Use Reactivate the Pennsylvanian as a Public Asset © evolveEA

Chapter 1: Pittsburgh’s Transit Plaza | 19

TODAY

© evolveEA Today’s Penn Station streetscape benefits from forward looking improvements by Envision downtown, including bicycle lanes on Penn Avenue, a new shelter at Liberty and 10th, and a traffic calming crosswalk at Penn and 11th. The streetscape continues to have room for improvements and remains challenging for pedestrians to safely navigate.

bicyclists beginning or ending a Pittsburgh-to-DC journey on the GAP and C&O trails. Pedestrians have safer routes and more pleasant places to linger and shop, making the open space both a path and a destination.

The Penn Station Plaza concept opens up opportunities to reinvigorate adjacent properties and existing open spaces. The Pennsylvanian could fill vacant spaces and have greater utilization of its now private lobby space and residents could partake of new open space amenities.

Liberty Center’s interior arcade could

Times Square streetscape prototyping. These lawn chairs were a temporary test of Broadway as a pedestrian oriented public space.

Source: Parksify.com

20 | Better Busway: Penn Station

1-3 YEARS

© evolveEA Using little more than paint and planters, Liberty Avenue and 11th Street can be strategically narrowed to create safer pedestrian crossings, dedicated bus lanes, and dedicated drop-off zones for Greyhound and Amtrak users.

connect the Convention Center to Penn Station Plaza and create a more hospitable path for conference goers to connect to national transit and East End communities, hotels, and amenities, expanding the DLCC’s ability to host larger events.

Plaza programming would welcome the surrounding commercial building tenants to spend time and money with local vendors. More permanent investment in the buildings would have a higher return, building on shared successes.

Example of paint, furniture, and planters being used to create publc open space within excess right-of-way.

Source: NACTO

Better Busway: Penn Station | 21

Quick and Agile Prototyping Public Space in the Right-of-Way Recent public right-of-way improvements by the City, Envision Downtown, and property owners can be leveraged with temporary prototyping of more permanent improvements. With a palette of paint, planters, kiosks, signage, and stop relocations, use patterns can gradually be shifted to test future alignments at a relatively low cost.

NACTO’s Guidelines define Interim Public Plazas as roadways that use “low-cost materials, such as epoxied gravel, movable planters, and flexible seating” to “allow the community to build support for and benefit from the public space in the near term before major capital construction.”

3-5 YEARS COMPLETE STREETS

© evolveEA As experiemental improvements prove to be effective and valuable, they can inform permanent improvements to the surrounding streetscape.

22 | Better Busway: Penn Station

EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY INVESTMENTS TWO WAY BIKE LANE ARTISTIC CROSSWALK STRIPING RELOCATED BUS STOP & SHELTER

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RIGHT-OF-WAY IMPROVEMENTS 1-3 YRS

Phasing of Public Realm Improvements

TWO WAY BIKE LANE ARTISTIC CROSSWALK STRIPING RELOCATED BUS STOP & SHELTER PAINT ON-DEMAND LANES ON 11TH STREET INSTALL HIGHLY VISIBLE INFO KIOSK PAINT DESIGNATED BUS LANE ADD SHORT TERM SHELTERS ON LIBERTY RELOCATE ADDITIONAL ROUTE STOPS

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RIGHT-OF-WAY IMPROVEMENTS 3-5 YRS TWO WAY BIKE LANE ARTISTIC CROSSWALK STRIPING RELOCATED BUS STOP & SHELTER PAINT ON-DEMAND LANES ON 11TH STREET INSTALL HIGHLY VISIBLE INFO KIOSK PAINT DESIGNATED BUS LANE ADD SHORT TERM SHELTERS ON LIBERTY RELOCATE ADDITIONAL ROUTE STOPS

*

PAINT REALIGNED CURB GEOMETRY DEMOLISH CONCRETE ISLANDS CONTINUE ARTISTIC CROSSWALK STRIPING

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PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS ADJUST STRATEGIES AS NEEDED AND CREATE PERMANENT ALIGNMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS COMPLETE BUSWAY IMPROVEMENT TO LEVERAGE PRIVATE PROPERTY OPEN SPACE INVESTMENT COMBINE AND CENTRALIZE AMTRAK, GREYHOUND, MEGABUS, AND REGIONAL CONNECTIONS.

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Better Busway: Penn Station | 23

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Create a “super connector” that connects the Busway, the T station, and even the Lower Hill.

Pull the transit assets together into a landmark piece of architecture, a “super connector” that leverages other city infrastructure investments Relocate the outbound busway station to a highly visible location, with safe pedestrian crossing, and close connection to the T station.

The T station may involve reactivating the non-functioning spur that already exists, or could involve the construction of a pedestrian tunnel to Steel Plaza. This would give Pittsburgh’s light rail system a front door onto Penn Station Plaza

Bus Terminal, Hamburg, Germany Source: Architizer

Integrate the stations with a rooftop garden plaza and path that connects to the new I-576 highway cap. This connection would put the lowest parcels of the Lower Hill within a 5 minute walk (0.25 mile) of the East Busway, Greyhound, and Amtrak.

Create a safer, highly visible, pedestrian priority zone.

Realign the Grant-Liberty-11th intersection to eliminate unnecessary islands and lanes in the streets.

Enlarge sidewalks and minimize existing curb cuts to shorten pedestrian walking distances across streets.

Design a pedestrian path that clearly connects transit assets within the plaza.

Install ample signage to show major landmarks, bus stops, and neighborhood districts.

Adjust signalization to allow for a “car-free” crossing on Grant-Liberty between the Greyhound Station and the Federal Building.

Creatively mark the intersection as a continuation of the plaza and give it a new name (neither Grant nor Liberty).

Pennn Avenue at 11th Street, Pittsburgh, PA Source: Wall-to-Wall Studios

26 | Better Busway: Penn Station

CONNECTION TO LOWER HILL

CONNECTION TO LIGHT RAIL

NEW OUTBOUND STATION

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PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY ZONE

© evolveEA ENLARGED URBAN CROSSROADS

Relate the plazas with common design elements to unify the various levels.

Use canopy trees to scale an outdoor room.

Integrate green infrastructure where possible, and decrease the urban heat island effect.

Program events to activate the space. This could include a consistent location for food trucks, festivals, or small vendors. Semipermanent vendors in key locations could contribute to a sense of safety and help control undesirable activity.

Connect the upper and lower levels at the Pennsylvanian. Historic photos show there was once a grand stair connecting the two.

Forth Worth Food Truck Park, Fort Worth, TX Source: Michael Underwood Ellington III

Redesign the Liberty Center Plaza to bring together the tower and GSTC. Remove planters and other above grade elements that limit visibility. Increased visibility will make the plaza more inviting to cafĂŠ activity, vendors, or other amenity uses.

Design the plaza in zones to allow for an active, high-traffic zone at the arcade entry, a less active zone at the tower entry, and a more transient area for on-demand vehicle loading and sidewalk traffic. Remove large bulkhead along the curve of Liberty Avenue.

Create a wider crosswalk and consider upgraded paving materials along 11th to extend the plaza feel to the front of the Transit Center.

Reconsider the dormant corner wayfinding kiosk as a potential art installation.

Central Wharf Plaza, Boston, MA Source: Charles Mayer Photography

28  |  Better Busway: Penn Station

REACTIVATED VACANT RETAIL

FOOD TRUCK COURT CONNECTED LANDSCAPED PLAZA

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TRAFFIC CALMING

IMPROVED SIGHTLINES ON DEMAND STAND

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Activate the Libery Center Plaza with transit amenities.

Move the Liberty and 11th stop to the side of the hotel tower and widen the sidewalk to accommodate the pedestrian use.

Design an upgraded bus station to integrate into the building and to be highly visible.

Possibly use a cantilevered canopy similar to that at the Wood Street Station on Liberty Avenue.

Take advantage of increased pedestrian traffic by upgrading the interior arcade that connects to the Convention Center. Consider redesigning the entrance to increase visibility.

Encourage outdoor cafĂŠ seating, and vendors that may have an outdoor grab-and-go offering as well as a more formal indoor offering.

Campus Martius Park, Detroit, MI Source: Michael Underwood Ellington III

Redesign the tower entry to better address the plaza with visibility, overhangs, or other elements. .

Integrate the slopes and ramps to unify upper, middle, and lower levels.

Design parking into a public space amenity.

Currently there are two parking lots that could continue to allow for limited parking and loading while appearing to be a landscape plaza.

Integrate both functions by using pedestrian paving materials in the auto area to slow traffic. Use traffic control elements to contribute to the design even when no cars are present.

Extend the existing Federal Building parking deck to create a rooftop connection between the Upper Hill sites and the Transit Plaza.

Celebrate this as an urban landscaped path and integrate living material and trees to create a pleasant experience.

Allow for ADA access with an elevator tower.

High Line Park, New York, NY Source: New York Times

30  |  Better Busway: Penn Station

REACTIVATED INTERIOR ARCADE

NEW INBOUND STATION BIKE SHARE

ON DEMAND STAND

ENLARGED SIDEWALK AND STATION ENTRY ACTIVATION

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IMPROVED ENTRY SEQUENCE

P T

P T

GREENER PUBLIC SPACE © evolveEA

2 Anchor to the Golden Triangle Penn Station is Downtown’s Portal to the East End. Once a node in a robust national transit network, today local, regional, and national transit stops and stations are disengaged from Downtown and each other. Few locals or visitors recognize that local, express, and regional lines are steps away from national services such as Amtrak, Grayhound, and Megabus. This section details ways to pull these transit assets together into a new Transit Plaza that can anchor the Convention Center district and connect to places near and far.

Facing page: View up Liberty Avenue circa 1914. Penn Station, partially obscured by the smog of industry, is in the background.

Source: Shorpy.com

Chapter 2: Anchor to the Golden Triangle | 33

Map circa 1835 showing the alignments of the Pennsylvania Canal in downtown Pittsburgh.

A basin for loading and unloading of barges was once located at the site of Penn Station.

Source: Esri PeopleMaps

Always a Transit Node Early in Pittsburgh’s history, the Penn Station site was an important transit node.

The Pennsylvania Canal, running parallel to the Allgeheny, crossed an aqueduct built in 1829. Canal barges loaded and unloaded their goods at Penn Station where a basin was constructed before entering a tunnel under Grant’s Hill and joining the Monongahela at a series of locks. As steam engine and steel rail technology developed, railroads replaced canals as a more effective means for distribution of goods and transportation of people.

Located at the point of inflection where Downtown folds into the Strip District, the Penn Station site was ideally located for both commercial freight and passenger

34 | Better Busway: Penn Station

service. Over the course of the mid to late nineteenth century, the Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line expanded aggressively along the Strip District.

Part of a National Network The economic history Pittsburgh, and of Pennsylvania, is deeply entwined with the development of a comprehensive transportation network. Even before Pittsburgh discovered its potential as an industrial powerhouse, it was a crucial node in a broader network. In 1826, the Commonwealth’s legislature passed a series of legislation called the “Main Line of Public Works” to invest in canals and railroads that would access markets throughout the state. By 1831, Pittsburgh became a key commercial gateway for

Woodcut depicting the burning of Pittsburgh’s Union Depot during the Railroad Strike of 1877.

Source: Harper’s Weekly via Wikipedia

freight traveling from eastern cities to the western frontier. By 1854 Pittsburgh was connected to Philadelphia by a continuous rail line built and operated by the venerable Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Pennsylvania Railroad brought goods, jobs, and moderate wealth to Pittsburgh which served as the system’s anchor for the western half of the state. Following the Civil War, the PRR constructed the Pittsburgh Union Depot on the site of today’s Penn Station. It was an impressive structure for its time with a small colonnade and large windows for the offices. In the same way that Pittsburgh served as an anchor city for the larger Pennsylvanian System, the Union Depot served as an anchor for downtown Pittsburgh. Liberty Avenue

funneled goods to the Depot from warehouses in the industrial Strip District and was joined by Grant St in funneling goods from Downtown.

The Depot was an asset for the city and the region, but its service was cut short when it was burned during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Pittsburgh was the focus of a violent rebelion in response to economic depression. Enraged by the rioters, the Pennsylvania Railroad vowed to punish the city for destroying the depot.

The Railroad replaced the depot with a much more modest structure, the type that would not be fitting for any city of worldly stature.

From 1877 to 1900 Pittsburgh grew in population, industry, and economic power

Chapter 2: Anchor to the Golden Triangle | 35

PENN STATION

WABASH TERMINAL STATION

BALTIMORE & OHIO STATION

PITTSBURGH & LAKE ERIE

Map circa 1890 showing the locations of major rail terminals in downtown Pittsburgh.

Source: G.M. Hopkins via Esri PeopleMaps

at a historic pace. Driven largely by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, also one of the first superintendants of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh Division, Pittsburgh became the Steel capital of the world and one of wealthiest cities in human history. By 1900, the PRR was not the only railroad in the city, and many of the competing railroads had invested in impressive terminals in the city. PRR, then one of the largest companies in the world in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, decided to build a new terminal that would fundamentally restructure its corner of Downtown.

Early photograph of Penn Station showing pedestrian staircase connecting the rotunda to Liberty Avenue.

Source: Terapeak.com

36 | Better Busway: Penn Station

The Pennsylvania Railroad hired Daniel Burnham to design what was to be called Union Station. The terminal included a

1929 aerial photograph of Penn Station looking north. A pedestrian bridge connects the station to an on-street platform for street-car service on Liberty Avenue. Connections to the Lower Hill District exist at multiple locations including a footbridge in the right foreground and a funicular incline in the right background.

Source: Brady Steward Studio Inc.

broad, sweeping ramp that elevated passengers above the freight below and joined seamlessly with Liberty Avenue. A large rotunda served as a taxi stand until the building’s renovation in 1988.

Streetcars entered the complex at the Liberty Avenue level, where Amtrak parking is today, and passengers would access the train station via a grand staircase. The terminal served all of the PRR’s Pittsburgh routes.

In 1968, the PRR merged with New York Central to become the Penn Central Transportation Company. In 1976, following the collapse of the railroad industry, the Penn Central became part of the Federally created Consolidated Rail Corporation.

In 1983, the Port Authority of Allegheny County opened the Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway, establishing a Penn Station stop between the building and Bigelow Boulevard overpass. Its light-rail system, known as the T, also terminated at Penn Station.

In 1988, after years of uncertainty, the former Union Station building was renovated into apartments and offices, thus preserving the building from demolition. Today, the building is known as the Pennsylvanian. Adjacent to The Pennsylvanian are two Penn Stations one for Amtrak and the East Busway, respectively. Amtrak’s Penn Station, not directly connected to Port Authority’s station, serves its Pennsylvanian and Capital Limited trains.

Chapter 2: Anchor to the Golden Triangle | 37

3 By the Numbers On Port Authority routes alone, over 10,000 passengers pass through Penn Station on a typical weekday. The area surrounding Penn Station is also home to 6 suburban and regional bus lines, 2 national bus lines, and 2 Amtrak routes.

Additional modes of travel include 2 bike share stations, 2 car rental stations, and numerous on-demand transportation options.

Despite these assets, Penn Station is the second least used station on the East Busway. 89% of riders at Penn Station bypass the station entirely. Lack of amenities, ease of use, and connectivity all of a measurable impact on ridership at this stop.

Facing page: Inbound busses stop at Penn Station on the MLK East Busway in 2007.

Source: David Wilson via Flickr

Chapter 3: By the Numbers | 39

SYSTEM ANATOMY

4

,P

P1

G2

,2

8X

PENN STATION

2 ,P

TO

54

AI

RP

OR

T

PURPLE LINE TO WILKINSBURG, SWISSVALE GREEN LINE TO CARNEGIE RED LINE TO BEECHVIEW, SOUTH HILLS VILLAGE BLUE LINE TO OVERBROOK, LIBRARY 28X AIRPORT FLYER PROPOSED BUS RAPID TRANSIT

40  | Better Busway: Penn Station

71B

71A

91

54, 93

54

, 71A

82

, 82

71B

P1

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2,

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, 71

71C

82

71D

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61A, 61B

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61

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61

D

Chapter 3: By the Numbers | 41

RELATIVE STOP USAGE

PENN STATION

42  | Better Busway: Penn Station

Chapter 3: By the Numbers | 43

A TYPICAL WEEKDAY AT PENN STATION

89%

4%

OF BUSWAY RIDERS BYPASS PENN STATION COMPLETELY

OF EAST BUSWAY ACTIVITY OCCURS AT PENN STATION

The majority of riders pass through Penn Station.

Reconfiguring the station area could improve its value to users both as a destination and as a multimodal transit hub.

71 EMBARKING 866 DISEMBARKING

4,494 PASS THROUGH

INBOUND

5,431 PASSENGERS

OUTBOUND

5,465 PASSENGERS 27 DISEMBARKING 262 EMBARKING

5,176 PASS THROUGH

P1 + P2 Weekday Stop Activity Grant at US Steel A 1412 5%

Swissvale 1769 6%

Rosslyn 1141 4%

Hamnett 944 3% Hay Street Ramp 71 0%

Smithfield at 6th 6506 22%

Wilkinsburg 3979 13%

Homewood 1290 4%

Liberty at 10th 5530 19%

East Liberty 3362 11% Penn 1267 4%

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Herron 350 1%

Negley 2136 7%

Weekday Penn Station Activity by Route 10,000

6,566

1,000

944

760

544

204

200

165

579

389

330

284

213

131

100

441

188 116

107

71 44 35

36

31

25 17

5

11

10

11

11

10

9

13

6

20

3

14

17 14

7 5

5 2 1

Ons

Offs

Passing Through

Weekday Penn Station Activity by Time of Day 350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0 5AM

6AM

7AM

8AM

9AM 10AM 11AM 12PM 1PM Inbound Ons

2PM

Inbound Offs

Penn Station weekday statistics based on Port Authority data from 06 November 2015.

3PM

4PM

5PM

Outbound Ons

6PM

7PM

8PM

9PM 10PM 11PM 12AM

Outbound Offs

Chapter 3: By the Numbers | 45

PENN STATION: PITTSBURGH’S TRANSIT CENTER

GO ICA CH TO AK TR AM

ND L A SES A N U TIO L B NA IONA G RE

T T ON EN R M RF P VE ELO I R EV D RE

AK

TO

NY

+

DC

TR

AM

Y

TO

R

WA

US ST B

DL

INE

TL RM

AN

LOWER HILL REDEVELOPMENT

DO

RE

ML

KE

AS

TB

US

IGH

WA Y

TR

AIL

CO NN

EC

WE

HIGHWAY CAP

AN

DB

LU

EL

INE

46 | Better Busway: Penn Station

LOCAL, RAPID, AND EXPRESS BUSSES

NATIONAL CONNECTIONS

REGIONAL CONNECTIONS

BIKE SHARE

CAR RENTAL

ON DEMAND

Chapter 3: By the Numbers | 47