Redesign would reshape Penn Avenue traffic
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
What Penn Avenue could look like between 31st and 22nd streets in the Strip. Image: Courtesy of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure
Pittsburgh wants to trade a traffic lane for a bike lane on one of its most iconic roads — and not everyone's on board.
Why it matters: Penn Avenue is one of the city's most beloved streets — a weekend shopping mainstay that's now increasingly dangerous. City leaders want to redesign it before tragedy strikes.
Context: City leaders are looking to "rightsize" a stretch of Penn Avenue in the Strip District by reducing one lane of vehicle traffic and adding a protected bike lane.
- Penn Avenue has two lanes moving in one direction toward Downtown.
- The redesign would preserve both parking lanes.
- The project would span from 31st to 22nd streets — stopping short of the Strip's busiest blocks, between 22nd and 17th, which would remain two lanes.
Between the lines: Penn Avenue is the least-traveled corridor in the Strip District, but it has the second-highest number of crashes, according to city data.
- That's because the road is often empty and has two wide travel lanes, enabling drivers to reach high speeds with few places forcing them to slow down, said Eric Boerer, advocacy director for nonprofit Bike Pittsburgh.
- Penn Avenue saw 13 crashes involving pedestrians between 2018 and 2022.
What they're saying: "The city's models have shown they can reduce to one lane and still serve the same amount of cars," said Boerer.
Friction point: Some Strip District business owners are opposed to the change. They have started a "Preserve the Strip" group that has placed billboards and signs opposing the redesign.
- The group claims the change would worsen access to the neighborhood's businesses, increase traffic, and create loading-zone issues for that stretch of road.
State of play: Adding a bike lane to Penn Ave is a secondary benefit of the redesign, said Boerer, who said the city is mostly focused on making sure the neighborhood is safer for pedestrians, who have been increasing as the neighborhood adds more housing.
- The Penn Avenue bike lane would run one-way toward Downtown.
- An outbound bike lane has been proposed for Smallman Street, but it is part of a different project.
Yes, but: The fix would be a boon to cyclists, who lack infrastructure running through the Strip and are often relegated to the Spring Way alley or Railroad Street, which has seen more vehicle traffic over the years.
- Boerer said cyclists have been advocating for more than a decade for better infrastructure in the Strip, which could help make riding from the East End to Downtown safer and help cyclists access the many grocery options in the Strip.
Flashback: Pittsburghers often have a contentious relationship with new bike lanes. Former Mayor Bill Peduto faced a "bikelash" after pushing for more protected lanes about a decade ago.
The bottom line: The project is still in the design phase, said city spokesperson Jacob Williams.