[PRCo] Re: Streetcars in the Strip District?

[Fred Schneider]

Please introduce yourself to those of us who have been on the list for years.   I never saw the name Paul Steven before.

Fred Schneider
Lancaster, PA
(Ex patriot Pittsburgher ... ex in 1949)



On Aug 28, 2011, at 6:42 AM, Paul Steven wrote:

> So you guys are thinking of putting streetcars back in the Strip?
> 
> "Consultants wanted for streetcar plan
> 
> By Bill Vidonic
> PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
> Friday, August 26, 2011
> 
> Pittsburgh is looking for consultants to help plan a streetcar system and 
> other transportation improvements within the Strip District, which could 
> include an incline connecting the Strip with the Hill District.
> 
> "I'm hoping this will be realistic as possible," said Becky Rodgers, executive 
> director of Neighbors in The Strip. "Will everything that's in this study come 
> out? You don't know, but it's a great starting point."
> 
> The city hopes to hire consultants by November. They will spend six months 
> devising transportation plans and how to pay for them. City officials have 
> said a streetcar system could cost at least $25 million.
> 
> Consultants will be paid up to $345,000 by the city and PennDOT through the 
> Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative.
> 
> That planning work likely would tie into the bigger Allegheny Riverfront 
> Vision plan. The city in February announced that project, which aims to 
> reconnect the Strip District, Lawrenceville, Morningside and Highland Park to 
> 6.5 miles of redeveloped riverfront.
> 
> "We've seen a lot of positive movement recently in the Strip District," Mayor 
> Luke Ravenstahl said in a prepared statement. "New transportation improvements 
> will build on this momentum by providing residents with better transit options 
> and more bike/pedestrian-friendly ways to get in and around the neighborhood."
> 
> The initiative is focusing on the Strip District between 11th and 40th 
> streets, and possible improvements include the streetcar system, the incline, 
> bikeway work along Penn Avenue and a new transit station for development along 
> the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway at 21st Street.
> 
> The deadline for consultants to submit qualifications to the city's Planning 
> Department is noon Sept. 23. The detailed qualification request is available 
> at www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cp."
>