In October, state and local elected officials gathered with corporate and nonprofit leaders, private developers, foundations, organized labor and artists to announce an ambitious 10-year, $600 million strategic revitalization plan for downtown Pittsburgh.
This could be a golden moment for the city’s Golden Triangle, writes Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania Executive Director Chris Sandvig in the Pittsburgh Business Times, but only if greater access to safe, affordable and reliable transportation choices is central to any strategic plan rather than an afterthought.
“It may be hard to visualize what all these investments mean,” he writes. “What is clear is that downtown will have more residences, more commerce, more culture, more livability … and more people. As our city and civic leaders begin to move from plans to projects, figuring out how all these people get to, from and around downtown must be part of the equation.”
Mobilify is the Pittsburgh region’s foremost leader, convener and champion of a multimodal transportation vision, working to unify regional stakeholders who share a common goal to expand transportation options and opportunities and make them a reality.
Mobility improvements in the city already are underway, but there is so much more to do, especially with a revitalization plan that reimagines downtown housing and focuses on mixed-use residential developments. It stands to create or preserve 1,000 residential units. More than 3,500 construction jobs will be needed to support the buildout.
Sandvig writes that with this plan, now is the time to “reimagine mobility throughout the Pittsburgh area and ensure residents, visitors and workers benefit from this extreme makeover by expanding their access to safe, affordable and reliable transportation choices – equitable for people of all ages and abilities.”
Read his entire Pittsburgh Business Times piece HERE.
