Plan would make area less safe, affordable

I am responding to the Dec. 1 editorial “Invest in Innovation,” encouraging the implementation of plans for the Mon-Oakland Mobility Project, between Oakland and the Hazelwood Green site through Schenley Park and the Four Mile Run neighborhood.

It is my understanding that flood mitigation plans for this low-lying area will be made more difficult by the construction and upkeep of the shuttle infrastructure. Grassroots groups like the Junction Coalition and Pittsburghers for Public Transit have researched the issue and identified more efficient alternatives, such as providing safe sidewalks, street crossings, accessibility to bike and walking trails, and improved bus service.

Four Mile Run is a closeknit, family-friendly neighborhood of affordable homes that is within walking and/ or biking distance to employment, shopping and medical services downtown, in Oakland and on the South Side. The adjacent Hazelwood neighborhood has long been economically depressed, but with the aid of community groups is improving. Preservation and improvement of neighborhoods such as these should be part of the city’s commitment to green, sustainable infrastructure.

Holding flood control measures hostage to the shuttle plan will make living in “The Run” and in Hazelwood outside the “Green” development site less safe and affordable, forcing residents to look for housing in more peripheral areas and commute, wasting gas, adding to pollution, and following a pattern that has played out in other neighborhoods such as East Liberty.

MARY DAWN EDWARDS

Squirrel Hill