SPOTLIGHT: Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee

THIS IS THE SECOND ENTRY IN A SERIES highlighting the work of SHUC committees and their members. The first group spotlighted was the Litter Patrol, in the Spring 2022 issue. This time, we focus on the BicyclePedestrian Committee. The “BikePed” Committee was founded in 2015 just as city-wide efforts to transform the way people move through Pittsburgh picked up speed.

You can get a sense of the conversations the Committee leads and the issues it follows by browsing its Facebook page (facebook.com/groups/ SqHillBikePed). The Committee welcomes your comments and suggestions there. You can also share your thoughts or volunteer to work with the Committee by e-mailing ped_bike@shuc.org.

Here, three members of the committee—Marshall Hershberg, Rich Feder, and Mary Shaw— provide an update on the group’s recent advocacy for safe movement in Squirrel Hill.

Photo: Mary Shaw © 2017

An Eventful Fall and Hopeful Spring

The SHUC Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee continues to pursue our Mission “to ensure that our streets, sidewalks, and paths are safe and mutually respectful, with enhanced visibility and accessibility for all users –pedestrians, bicyclists, bus riders, and motorists.”

FERN HOLLOW BRIDGE

Not surprisingly, the focus of our attention this past summer and fall has been issues relating to the replacement Fern Hollow Bridge and its approaches. As partners in a multi-neighborhood collaborative of advocacy groups, we learned about PennDOT’s and the Pittsburgh Department of Mobility & Infrastructure (DOMI)’s plans for the new bridge, the areas west and east of it, and the adjacent section of Frick Park. We also raised questions and presented our suggestions in written communications and at two City-sponsored community meetings and two regular meetings of our Committee.

Advocacy for the eastern communities was coordinated by the Briar Cliff Road Association, whose primary concerns were improving safe access to Frick Park while protecting its historical structures and character; restoration of the physical environment under the bridge damaged in the collapse; and enhanced connectivity among the nearby trails. SHUC strongly supported those concerns, while our advocacy prioritized safe access for, and separation among, Active Transportation Users (ATU)—pedestrians, bicyclists, micro-mobility device users—on the bridge, on sidewalks and paths on the north and south sides of Forbes Avenue, traffic speed limits, and other ATU infrastructure on nearby Beechwood Boulevard, S. Dallas Avenue and Beacon Street. We have also actively participated in intense, constructive neighborhood discussions regarding the safety and effectiveness of altered usage patterns for vehicles and ATUs through the complex, challenging intersections of that area.

We understand and accept DOMI’s clear necessity to establish some traffic and ATU safety provisions as the bridge reopened in late December 2022. While the full project will be implemented this spring, with adjustments likely to follow as new usage patterns develop, the following near-term operational changes have been put in place or are in-process:

• South Dallas Ave. between Forbes Ave. and Beechwood Blvd. has become one-way southbound. Traffic is not permitted northbound. It will remain a single lane until spring, to keep the intersection narrow. Then, when conditions allow sustainable striping, it will become two southbound lanes.

• Closure of the existing ramp between Beechwood Blvd. and Forbes Ave. to vehicle traffic, allowing continuity and enhanced safety for the planned 2-way cycle track on Forbes and clear connection to existing bike lanes on Beechwood.

• An added stop sign on eastbound Beechwood Blvd.

• Changes in the timing of the traffic signals at Forbes/S. Dallas. and at Forbes/Beechwood to decrease congestion and improve traffic flow at these locations.

• Flashing yellow beacons being added to NEW TRAFFIC PATTERN AHEAD signage and appropriate DO NOT ENTER signage on S. Dallas Ave. to clarify and reinforce the new traffic patterns there.

Additional infrastructure improvements, such as crosswalks, walking spaces, and a concrete Jersey Barrier protecting the cycle track between the bridge and Beechwood Blvd. will be implemented in the spring. Further, the speed limit on Forbes Ave., from S. Dallas Ave. to S. Braddock Ave., will be reduced, consistent with other parts of the Forbes Ave. corridor.

SHUC and our Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee recognize and appreciate the hard work done by DOMI and PennDOT and its contractors to ensure that the replacement Fern Hollow Bridge could be reopened safely within the project’s emergency time frame of one year following the tragic collapse.

We will continue to advocate towards improving the cycle track being implemented on the south side of Forbes between the Fern Hollow Bridge and S. Dallas Ave., so that it better accommodates pedestrians and allows more separation from bicyclists and micro-mobility device users. The current design also engenders circuitous walking paths requiring some pedestrians to cross Forbes Avenue twice in order to walk between Regent Square and Squirrel Hill.

In addition, we will support ongoing efforts by Briar Cliff Road Association to enhance east-west pedestrian connectivity at the bridge. We also understand that a north-south trail connection underneath the bridge is in the works, and we expect more information from the City as that project advances. We will continue to monitor and report on the new traffic patterns of all users on the bridge and its approaches.

OTHER BICYCLE-PEDESTRIAN INITIATIVES

As winter moves to spring and summer, our Committee will sponsor new and exciting activities for pedestrians and other ATUs. These activities will focus on the Beacon Street corridor, from its entry into Squirrel Hill to Shady Avenue; group bicycle rides; and neighborhood explorations using “Walk Squirrel Hill!”— the walking map we recently created. Be on the lookout for specific details on the SHUC website and the newsletter, “In a Nutshell.”

All those activities build on the work of the Committee since its inception in 2015. We assessed bicycle parking in Squirrel Hill and advocated for improvements. Additionally, we identified opportunities to connect Squirrel Hill to the growing network of bicycle infrastructure in the city. This work contributed to DOMI’s establishment of a Neighborway along Bartlett Street, and we continue to advocate for the Run Forward Trail, which will roughly parallel the Parkway (I-376 East) and connect Four-Mile Run to Monitor Street. We will also continue to advocate for improved connections from Squirrel Hill to Junction Hollow Trail as a commuting route to Downtown and the South Side. We worked to bring the HealthyRide bikeshare system (now POGOH) to Squirrel Hill; we were disappointed when they recently reduced their coverage but will continue to encourage them to return. At the beginning of the pandemic, we designed and published a set of short easy bicycle loops between Squirrel Hill and Oakland, to encourage our residents to get outdoor exercise in the local area.

We look forward to ongoing consultation and collaboration with our neighboring communities, DOMI, our City Council Members, and the Mayor’s Office, to sustain the safe enjoyment of the paths, trails, parks, and streets in vibrant Squirrel Hill.

A public meeting with DOMI. Photo: Mary Shaw © 2018.

Another function of SHUC’s Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee is advocacy with the City for alternative transportation infrastructure. Public works projects involve many months, sometimes years, of planning before construction starts. Committee members spend countless hours in meetings and hearings where the plans are developed, reviewed, and revised. These discussions take place with representatives from the City such as our Councilpeople, DOMI, and the Planning Commission as well as with other organizations including the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, HealthyRide (now POGOH), and Bike Pgh. This little-recognized activity lays the foundation for the improvements that eventually benefit the neighborhood.