Ideas to Reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh (Duquesne, Lincoln: home, neighborhood, pharmacy)

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by anthony_c55

A Bakery Square in the burbs would be more suburban office park. I guess it could incorporate a neo urban design, but as you mentioned, that's kind of its own thing.

The point is they're doing this in other metros, like Denver and DC. Take a big undeveloped property formerly occupied by a failing office park or strip mall, and make it a mixed-use development with some apartments, some office space, and some retail.

Hell, there's plans to add some new residential to the Waterfront which can walk to that "lifestyle center" so it's starting here as well. Of course the kind of people who prefer the suburbs over the city won't want to live in the Homestead area, but still.

Originally Posted by statecw

Those are definitely pluses, especially for those who live near Cranberry or whatever burb their job is in.

Yeah, but the central issue is that suburb-to-suburb commutes also suck for most people. Cranberry isn't bad if you live in the North Hills, but it's hell if you live in Murrysville or Upper Saint Clair. Anyone who was making that commute pre-pandemic and was offered a WFH option will not want to come back in person, period.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

....

Downtown may never recover. I am struggling with the decline in the Arts Festival. The times are changing.

low attendance? decline in artists willing to display...? the last time i went was maybe 4 or 5 years ago now, but i am not aware there has been a decline in the quality of the Arts Festival.
it is a permanent thing (maybe people just don't go crazy for Arts Festivals anymore)?

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

low attendance? decline in artists willing to display...? the last time i went was maybe 4 or 5 years ago now, but i am not aware there has been a decline in the quality of the Arts Festival.
it is a permanent thing (maybe people just don't go crazy for Arts Festivals anymore)?

this year was completely different with the venue being moved to the cultural district. It has both positive and negatives to the new location, but a completely different feel for sure.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by jea6321

this year was completely different with the venue being moved to the cultural district. It has both positive and negatives to the new location, but a completely different feel for sure.

i did not have a desire to go mainly BECAUSE of that. I had been to arts festivals when they were corralled along a strip / street, and i did not like it.
At, in and around Gateway Center and the Point, you can enjoy the time with having room to breathe and stepping away from the masses when you wished.

Kipona comes to mind, if that still exists in Harrisburg. It was so ridiculously crowded because it was laid out on a strip, along a one way roadway.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I've worked in Cranberry and downtown, and I preferred Cranberry by a very large margin. More restaurant choices, shopping choices, no traffic, no parking costs. I'll take suburban office park over downtown every day of the week.

Yeah no sorry... Cranberry is trash. It's designed 100% for cars and cars alone, and it shows. There is no town center either, it's just an ugly amalgamation of strip malls and cul-de-sacs. The food options are mostly chains and fast food joints too so that's a poor comparison. Also, seriously... no traffic? In a crowded suburb with no other transportation options besides driving your own car? I'm there often and the traffic is just as bad as anywhere in the city.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by airwave09

Yeah no sorry... Cranberry is trash. It's designed 100% for cars and cars alone, and it shows. There is no town center either, it's just an ugly amalgamation of strip malls and cul-de-sacs. The food options are mostly chains and fast food joints too so that's a poor comparison. Also, seriously... no traffic? In a crowded suburb with no other transportation options besides driving your own car? I'm there often and the traffic is just as bad as anywhere in the city.

Except there’s sidewalks in much of Cranberry these days, unless you’re talking Rt.19 or parts of 228, and even then there’s stretches of sidewalks…and the only traffic is during morning and afternoon commutes, or on Friday’s when folks are going out to dinner or getting away for the weekend. As far as our own cars, we prefer it that way. We don’t choose to live in an area where pedestrians are constantly crossing streets, intersections, etc…, and making excessive traffic.

LMAO!!! Cranberry traffic isn’t even close to being near what it is in the city. If it was I and many others wouldn’t live here.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Except there’s sidewalks in much of Cranberry these days, unless you’re talking Rt.19 or parts of 228, and even then there’s stretches of sidewalks

Thanks for proving my point, the main roads that actually take you somewhere besides just over to the next housing plan all have no sidewalks. Partial sidewalks don't count.

…and the only traffic is during morning and afternoon commutes, or on Friday’s when folks are going out to dinner or getting away for the weekend.

This sounds exactly like the city to me. Unless there's some big event happening traffic is really only during rush hours. Plus you can always easily take modes of transport not affected by traffic such as bikes, walking, scooters, busways, and the T.

As far as our own cars, we prefer it that way. We don’t choose to live in an area where pedestrians are constantly crossing streets, intersections, etc…, and making excessive traffic.

That's called living in a place with a real community-friendly design. Before cars every city and town in the world was designed this way. And... LMAO at the ridiculous logic that leads to someone blaming pedestrians for causing excessive traffic

Cranberry traffic isn’t even close to being near what it is in the city. If it was I and many others wouldn’t live here.

You know what's funny about that? It's all of the suburbanites commuting in and out of the city that is causing the bad traffic that suburbanites then proceed to blame the city for.

Oh the irony...

Also, you might want to educate yourself on the economic ponzi scheme that is unlimited suburban growth that is continuously financially straining the entire country.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Except there’s sidewalks in much of Cranberry these days, unless you’re talking Rt.19 or parts of 228, and even then there’s stretches of sidewalks…and the only traffic is during morning and afternoon commutes, or on Friday’s when folks are going out to dinner or getting away for the weekend. As far as our own cars, we prefer it that way. We don’t choose to live in an area where pedestrians are constantly crossing streets, intersections, etc…, and making excessive traffic.

LMAO!!! Cranberry traffic isn’t even close to being near what it is in the city. If it was I and many others wouldn’t live here.

To each their own. I used to chastise Cranberry but who am I?

This is what I would buy if in Cranberry. A little work making this vintage again ... https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2942722008

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by svband76

To each their own. I used to chastise Cranberry but who am I?

This is what I would buy if in Cranberry. A little work making this vintage again ... https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2942722008

Definitely opportunities like that available. Just gotta look for them and get off the beaten path. Many only see Rt.19 and 228.

[BUILD PENN SQUARE]

Cranberry is not pittsburgh, just like greensburg is not pittsburgh

what happens to be in the "Pittsburgh Metro Area" is irrelevant to this forum