Port Authority to hold hearings on new T station in Beechview
Phyllis Didiano, president of Beechview Area Concerned Citizens, remembers first lobbying Port Authority for a raised light rail station to served people with disabilities in the mid-1980s, and again in the early 1990s after the Americans with Disabilities Act was approved.
Now, as Port Authority works with Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure on final plans for a station, Ms. Didiano said she wants to make sure the neighborhood gets what it wants.
The authority will hold three virtual meetings this week to hear what residents think about two proposed designs for new stations — inbound and outbound — at the Belasco stop on the T’s Red Line on Broadway Avenue. The options are a 43-foot straight ramp that would more than double the length of the footprint of each station or a switchback ramp that would fill only the length of each station.
“This is much needed and we’ve been waiting for it for many years,” Ms. Didiano said. “It’s important that people take the time to get involved so this is done right.”
Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said the authority also has been working with Pittsburgh Councilman Anthony Coghill and state Sen. Wayne Fontana, both Beechview natives, as it develops the project. Because the design hasn’t been finished, the agency doesn’t have a final cost or time frame for the new stations, but it is committed to following through when funds are available, he said.
Port Authority and the city analyzed potential locations for a another raised station in the neighborhood and chose Belasco mainly because it is in a mostly straight stretch. The nearest stops with raised stations, where passengers can enter without climbing steps, are at Fallowfield, closer to the city, and Potomac in Dormont.
Mr. Coghill and Mr. Fontana said improving the stop is the latest step in revitalizing Beechview, where several buildings on Broadway have been redeveloped recently, including a community center and an office building. Development lagged for more than five years after one developer acquired a series of properties in the neighborhood and never followed through with its plans.
Mr. Fontana said he believes that Beechview, with affordable housing about 15 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, is primed to be the city’s next big growth area. Light rail improvements can only help, he said.
“Ultimately, [a new station is] another part of the streetscape we’re trying to improve,” he said. “I’m very confident that in 2021, once the pandemic slows down, we’ll have a lot more interest in Beechview.”
Mr. Coghill, a developer himself who has invested in the neighborhood, said a new station will be a key.
“To have a new station with handicapped access is just the crown jewel to what we’ve been trying to do,” he said. “I’m hoping for a robust conversation at the hearings.”
The neighborhood still has some things to discuss about the project, Ms. Didiano said. For example, St. Catherine of Siena Church has concerns about parking for religious ceremonies such as funerals, and some residents would like to see the stop moved to another intersection.
“The main concern is that we have transparency,” Ms. Didiano said. “It’s important that people take time to be involved in these meetings.”
The hearings will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday and from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Anyone who wants to participate should register in advance at portauthority.org/BelascoStation.
“We’re really looking forward to more input,” Mr. Brandolph said.