New redevelopment plan unveiled for Uptown... (Pittsburgh, Oakland: apartment, houses, neighborhood)

[eschaton]

See here. It's pretty long, but worth the read. It's very attractive and ambitious. I particularly like on page 98 where they unveil the new zoning for Uptown - which will result in a new high-density "mixed-use" zone closer to downtown with no parking minimums.

Probably the most controversial part of their plan is the long-term vision for Boulevard of the Allies, transforming it from a highway in all but name back to a surface boulevard, with a sidewalk overlooking the riverfront.



These changes will result in greater traffic on Bouevard of the Allies, both because the sidewalk will require the elimination of one lane, along with changes to intersections to make them more pedestrian friendly resulting in lights and crosswalks. The attitude of the planners is basically that we should see if the BRT system lowers congestion on BoA first, and then make a decision.

[RonSantoRules]

Here's the Post Gazette story on this:

City plan aims to entice investment Uptown, West Oakland | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From potentially slowing down Boulevard of the Allies through lane reductions, to creating more public green spaces and pumping about $215 million in infrastructure investment as part of the Bus Rapid Transit system between Downtown and Oakland, the plan aims to end a legacy of disinvestment in the area. It will rely on funds from public, private and philanthropic groups.

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The plan also addresses concerns of driving out the over 130 long-term landowners in the area. Not wanting to price them out, the high-density mixed-used development will focus around the west of the neighborhood closer to Downtown leaving much of the center and eastern sections as low-density residential areas. It will also encourage developers to build affordable housing and discourage building demolitions.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by RonSantoRules

Here's the Post Gazette story on this:

City plan aims to entice investment Uptown, West Oakland | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

this sounds like a great plan. but wouldn't giving landowners tax break be better than halting progress though? i also wonder how many of these landowners are individuals that occupy residences.

[PghYinzer]

I love it, but changing BofA into that amazing looking streetscape will go over about as well as a bike lane. I can already hear the cries of "I can't drive 75 mph anymore!!" It would take some careful planning and speed mitigation to get travelers going west off the parkway to slow down before hitting BofA, but what a wonderful view that would be from that sidewalk.

[tyovan4]

Insanity. City leadership hates drivers and hates people that can't easily hop on a bus to get to their destination. Screw anybody who doesn't want to live in the East End Center of the Universe.

Uptown is already walkable! Why are folks coming up with solutions in search of problems?

There's no problem walking down Fifth Ave from the Hill to Downtown through Uptown. I do it every day - and every day back to the Hill. The only problem for me is risking my life every day by crossing Diamond Street - but that's a downtown problem - not a "we should take out a lane on the Boulevard to screw those evil commuters so I can walk next to the river".

[Faer]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

this sounds like a great plan. but wouldn't giving landowners tax break be better than halting progress though? i also wonder how many of these landowners are individuals that occupy residences.

Idk. So much of Uptown is still more or less land banked by speculators. I don't think giving them a tax break would encourage them to move on at all.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Insanity. City leadership hates drivers and hates people that can't easily hop on a bus to get to their destination. Screw anybody who doesn't want to live in the East End Center of the Universe.

Uptown is already walkable! Why are folks coming up with solutions in search of problems?

There's no problem walking down Fifth Ave from the Hill to Downtown through Uptown. I do it every day - and every day back to the Hill. The only problem for me is risking my life every day by crossing Diamond Street - but that's a downtown problem - not a "we should take out a lane on the Boulevard to screw those evil commuters so I can walk next to the river".

Imagine living a city that's home to the state's second and third-largest business districts, and being upset that the city wants to eliminate the blight between the two.

[norcider]

The Boulevard was at one time full of store fronts, as was Bigelow. It wasn't always Pittsburgh's Nurburgring.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

this sounds like a great plan. but wouldn't giving landowners tax break be better than halting progress though? i also wonder how many of these landowners are individuals that occupy residences.

The idea behind "protecting homeowners" is basically that the upzoning is limited to the western side of the neighborhood - the corridor around Fifth Avenue. They want to ensure that the infill in the zone which still has a lot of rowhouses remains at rowhouse density, so that the land speculators who have bought up a lot of the rowhouses (and demolished countless more for parking) don't just knock everything down to build new high-density apartment buildings, effectively pushing the homeowners out.

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Insanity. City leadership hates drivers and hates people that can't easily hop on a bus to get to their destination. Screw anybody who doesn't want to live in the East End Center of the Universe.

Uptown is already walkable! Why are folks coming up with solutions in search of problems?

There's no problem walking down Fifth Ave from the Hill to Downtown through Uptown. I do it every day - and every day back to the Hill. The only problem for me is risking my life every day by crossing Diamond Street - but that's a downtown problem - not a "we should take out a lane on the Boulevard to screw those evil commuters so I can walk next to the river".

Uptown is sort of walkable, but there are significant improvements which could be made to sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure. Perhaps more importantly, there's not much to walk to. Discounting Duquense students and those who live in the county jail, there's only around 1,000 residents, which is far too little to support a viable business district. This is why they've come up with a master plan to add 2,000+ units of housing into the neighborhood (mostly closer to downtown).

If you read through the entire master plan, it seems clear that the BoA redesign is nice to have, but not essential. Much more is focused on the restoration of the Fifth Avenue corridor to a vibrant urban streetscape and filling in the blight. I do think at minimum something needs to be done with Boulevard of the Allies from Van Braam to Senaca though. Lots of buildings directly front on it (including rowhouses) and they'll never be more than slum housing in the current configuration of the street.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by eschaton

The idea behind "protecting homeowners" is basically that the upzoning is limited to the western side of the neighborhood - the corridor around Fifth Avenue. They want to ensure that the infill in the zone which still has a lot of rowhouses remains at rowhouse density, so that the land speculators who have bought up a lot of the rowhouses (and demolished countless more for parking) don't just knock everything down to build new high-density apartment buildings, effectively pushing the homeowners out.



Uptown is sort of walkable, but there are significant improvements which could be made to sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure. Perhaps more importantly, there's not much to walk to. Discounting Duquense students and those who live in the county jail, there's only around 1,000 residents, which is far too little to support a viable business district. This is why they've come up with a master plan to add 2,000+ units of housing into the neighborhood (mostly closer to downtown).

If you read through the entire master plan, it seems clear that the BoA redesign is nice to have, but not essential. Much more is focused on the restoration of the Fifth Avenue corridor to a vibrant urban streetscape and filling in the blight. I do think at minimum something needs to be done with Boulevard of the Allies from Van Braam to Senaca though. Lots of buildings directly front on it (including rowhouses) and they'll never be more than slum housing in the current configuration of the street.

that makes sense. how will building high density buildings push homeowners out though that wouldn't happen with the increased desirability of the area?