City releases 10-year Bike Master Plan
After five years of development, Pittsburgh’s finalized agenda will add nearly 250 miles of infrastructure dedicated to cyclists
Pittsburgh is poised to almost triple the size of its bike network after the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure released the final draft of its 10-year Bike Master Plan on Tuesday.
The plan is the result of five years of development and consultation with stakeholders in multiple neighborhoods in the city. In addition to bicycles, it accommodates electric bikes, scooters and other methods of personal transit.
The city would add 123 miles of dedicated on-street bike lanes and 27 miles of dedicated bike trails to the existing network for a total of 243 miles of bike infrastructure, according to the master plan. Pittsburgh currently has 93 miles of bike infrastructure; it had 11 miles when the first 10-year bike plan was launched in 1999.
In addition to the master plan, the city announced the launch of MoveForwardPGH, a public awareness campaign that will serve as an umbrella for implementing the master plan. News and resources are hosted on a recently launched website, moveforwardpgh.org. The goal of the plan is to make streets safe for all types of users, said Eric Boerer, advocacy director for Bike Pittsburgh, an organization that has advocated for improved bike networks and carfree policies since 2002. Bike Pittsburgh was a leading adviser to the planning team.
“I think a big part of what we did was spearhead the development of this product. We’ve worked with two administrations now to keep pushing and remind people to keep pushing the project along,” Mr. Boerer said.
As part of the master plan, the city has developed a new kind of street called a “neighborway” to meet the goal of safer streets for all. Neighborways are developed from existing streets by adding speed humps and extra signage to calm traffic.
One such neighborway stretches from the 10th Street Bridge to SouthSide Works on 27th Street, where a special underpass was built below the Birmingham Bridge for cyclists and pedestrians in March.
“I like to think of our streets as complete streets or networks. A bikefriendly network will include a lot of streets, but all kinds of users are accommodated,” Mr. Boerer said. “Streets safe for cars are safe for bikes, for walking, for wheelchairs and so on. You need to think of all these scenarios for people.”
By making streets accessible for different types of traffic, the plan aims to increase mobility for residents at different income levels and provide access to things such as fresh produce without the need for a car.
“It’s not just for bikes; it’s for cars, too. Then, everybody benefits. If it’s safe for bikes, it’s safe for everybody,” Mr. Boerer said. According to MoveForwardPGH, there is an average of 4,500 motor vehicle crashes on city streets each year.
The master plan is a big step for Mayor Bill Peduto, who has long campaigned for improved bike infrastructure in the city.
“Now more than ever, we need resilience and safety in our transportation network,” said Mr. Peduto in a press release. “People on bicycles, people in vehicles and people on foot all benefit from a complete network that logically accommodates travelers of all modes.”
Pittsburgh was recently named as the No. 20 bikefriendly city in the country by Colorado-based advocacy foundation PeopleForBikes, up from No. 170 in the 2019 rankings. The organization gave Pittsburgh three stars out of five for its bike infrastructure.