Cochran to build new Audi dealership in the Strip (Pittsburgh: 2014, to buy)

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

BMW Dealership Manhattan, Queens & New York City Area | BMW of Manhattan <-- Used to have a location in the financial district, looks like they closed that one.

Chicago Exotic Car Dealer | Exotic Cars for Sale | Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce & Bugatti for Sale

Seems like Chicago and NYC are both pretty urban.

I have also seen car dealerships in Manhattan and the River North/North Side of Chicago. Even in highly urban areas, the large majority of upper class people still own cars no matter how good the public transit is.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by Merge

I understand what you are saying and agree with your assessment of the current situation. But I wonder what other cities have car dealerships that close to downtown. It seems especially wasteful given how much of downtown's perimeter consists of rivers.

It's true that there is very little "urban" about the stretch of Liberty. It has a storage complex, a "gentlemen's club" and now a car dealership is coming. It's a wasteland. I think that this area could eventually be developed into something more appropriate for its proximity to downtown. But a car dealership, even a high-end one, is not a good step toward that end.

your ideal pittsburgh is so out of reality sometimes it is ridiculous. progress is good.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

BMW Dealership Manhattan, Queens & New York City Area | BMW of Manhattan <-- Used to have a location in the financial district, looks like they closed that one.

Chicago Exotic Car Dealer | Exotic Cars for Sale | Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce & Bugatti for Sale

Seems like Chicago and NYC are both pretty urban.

To be fair, the dealer in Chicago is ingrained to the street with a very urban design.

https://goo.gl/maps/Ly5a2yJzag52

You'd never know it was a car dealership walking down Rush street unless you look at the Lambo through the window.

Edit*: As soon as I typed that, the tune "How much is that Lambo, in the window...how much is that Lambo for salleee" popped into my head.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Merge

It's true that there is very little "urban" about the stretch of Liberty. It has a storage complex, a "gentlemen's club" and now a car dealership is coming. It's a wasteland. I think that this area could eventually be developed into something more appropriate for its proximity to downtown. But a car dealership, even a high-end one, is not a good step toward that end.

I don't think Liberty will improve until automated cars are widespread enough to dramatically alter the needs of our local road network. it is a "car sewer" for Downtown, and likely to stay that way. Better we focus on making Penn Avenue through the entire strip into a more pedestrian-friendly corridor.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

your ideal pittsburgh is so out of reality sometimes it is ridiculous. progress is good.

The very word "ideal" suggests something outside of reality, plus you notably provide no indication of your own opinions on the subject (other than to express an irrational fear of having your car in Lawrenceville (!)). Naturally I'm writing your comment off as a garden variety flame... and not even a particularly imaginative or meaningful one at that.

But thanks for sharing!

[Merge]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I don't think Liberty will improve until automated cars are widespread enough to dramatically alter the needs of our local road network. it is a "car sewer" for Downtown, and likely to stay that way. Better we focus on making Penn Avenue through the entire strip into a more pedestrian-friendly corridor.

That makes sense.

[SteelCityRising]

I walked home from my office near PNC First Side to Polish Hill via Liberty Avenue today to see if it would be quicker than my usual Penn Avenue route. It shaved literally less than five minutes off my door-to-door walking commute (46 minutes via Liberty vs. 50 minutes via Penn), but it was horribly unpleasant. I started walking up the southern side of Liberty as I left Downtown and didn't realize the sidewalk stopped abruptly at the tunnel by the Amtrak station, so I had to run across four lanes of traffic to access the sidewalk on the other side. I then proceeded up Liberty on the northern side of the street without incident. I was puzzled by the presence of a "No Pedestrian" sign at Liberty & 16th, yet there was no other way to navigate around so I continued my journey outbound. The sidewalk became narrow as I continued outbound, and I was pelted in the face with dust and rocks as buses and trucks flew past me just a foot away. When I hit 26th Street I decided to cross to walk on the sidewalk in front of those ugly Buncher buildings. I then got to 28th Street, and, once again, the sidewalk stopped abruptly, forcing me to jaywalk over to a little traffic island and then run like a maniac across that dangerous intersection where 28th, Liberty, and the parking lot exit for the PNC side of the Buncher buildings all meet.

I agree with Merge on a lot of issues, but outrage over adding what will look like a very sleek glass-heavy car dealership to an empty parking lot adjacent to the Buncher buildings along what is an extremely pedestrian-unfriendly corridor the way it is seems nonsensical.

Eschaton has the right idea. Liberty Avenue being a multi-modal "complete street" fantasy land corridor is an idea that is dead. Let's instead focus on continuing to improve the much better Penn Avenue a block away. I wish the business corridor would extend all the way up to Doughboy Square instead of having so much "dead space" in between, and I'm hopeful that with UBER expanding, Apple's new digs, and all the new apartments and condos going up nearby on Smallman and Railroad that we'll see some new businesses from the old public market space northeastwards to 33rd Street in the coming years.

[corpgypsy]

Originally Posted by Merge

What a terrible use for an urban space this close to downtown. A waste.

Why? Cochran is a Pittsburgh area business that has been around since 1965 when Mr. Cochran opened a dealership in Braddock. Bringing jobs and retail back into Pittsburgh proper sounds like a "good thing" to me.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by corpgypsy

Why?

Maximizing density as you progress toward Downtown would make the city, as a whole, a more vibrant and active place. Locating businesses with large footprints in these areas that are so close to Downtown discourages density and therefore helps create a "dead zone". As it is now, that stretch of Liberty Avenue is more like a highway than an integral part of the city. This dealership is just going to reinforce that condition. There are plenty of places further out that would make a lot more sense for an Audi dealership.

City planners and developers have been trying to restore a residential neighborhood in the Strip. A lot of progress has already been made toward that transformation. This is a step backward in my opinion. As Eschaton mentioned above, Liberty Avenue through the Strip is merely a "car sewer" for downtown. If you think that's a salutary use for this stretch, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by corpgypsy

Why?

because some people think pittsburgh is nyc.