Partnership in the news: Pittsburgh transit center moves forward with implementation plan

Pittsburg's East Liberty Transit Center. Photo via Pittsburg Gazette
Pittsburg’s East Liberty Transit Center. Photo via Pittsburg Gazette

Last year the city of Pittsburgh, PA received a $15 million U.S Department of Transportation TIGER IV Grant for the construction of a multi-modal transit center in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. The transit center will serve as the hub for nearly 1,000 bus arrivals and departures per day.

The board of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) recently adopted a Transit Revitalization District Implementation Plan which calls for future real estate tax revenue to secure bonds to finance infrastructure improvements in East Liberty, furthering the city’s transit oriented development goals.

Improvements for the transit center include a two-level station linking bus rapid transit service with street level bus service as well as realignment and reopening of streets, sidewalks, landscaping, a replacement road bridge, adaptive traffic signals, and a bike and pedestrian access bridge.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says, “This important development advances our shared vision for job creation and population growth. By connecting people with jobs and providing transportation access, we will continue to further Pittsburgh’s third renaissance.”

Among other development projects along the transit corridor, local developer The Mosites Company will construct a mixed-use project including 366 new apartments and 54,000 square feet of retail space and connecting the Shadyside neighborhood to the new transit center by a pedestrian bridge.

Construction on the new transit center is expected to begin in mid-2014. This project will enhance the city’s existing public transportation system and attract new businesses and residents to the neighborhood.

Funding for the East Liberty Transit Center was made in part through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to help communities improve access to affordable housing, increase transportation options, and lower transportation costs while promoting sustainable practices.

If you support the partnership and other similar programs, ask your congressman to fund these programs today!

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