“Misguided Gainey! There is a constant flow of traffic down the two lanes ofPenn Avenue into the Strip District. Traffic flow is already congested on weekends to the point that I avoid going down there on Saturday and Sunday. Please do not make these changes. How about you put the money towards opening the two bridges that are strangling the flow of traffic into an out of squirrel Hill and Oakland!”

PENN AVENUE IS ALREADY A NIGHTMARE TO NAVIGATE WITH TWO LANES. CUTTING IT TO ONE IS ABSURD!!

“Horrible idea”

“I would be extremely reluctant to visit the Strip if parking and driving was more difficult.”

“This is the most absurd thing I've seen!! Do you want EVERYTHING in this city to shut down!! Gainey, you are pushing people OUT of the city instead of building a better city!! Open your eyes to whats going on!! How many bicycles do we really have compared to the cars?!?! How about we make the bikers follow ALL the laws of the road if they are going to take our roads over?!?!?!

“Other options should definitely be explored. I don't feel that Pittsburgh is enough of a biking town to warrant adding a bike lane to Penn Avenue.”

“I am a lifetime City of Pittsburgh resident and find this change will ruin Strip access. I stop often unplanned when passing through.
This would increase traffic and I may as well just loop around on Rt 28 as thousands others will do. Honestly, the bikes have more options than vehicles in the Strip (and the City) and do not justify a lane on Penn. If you really want to make progress insure that all new housing has 100% parking spots for all residents within the development. This will get resident parking off the streets and allow more room for businesses to thrive. DOMI move onto some other un-bright idea.”

“Whoever is doing this study has obviously never been on Penn Ave on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Making Penn Ave one lane would cause massive gridlock to an area that is already congested with two lanes. I am terribly sad to say that this change would make me think twice about my regular (at least one a month) trips to the Strip, where I regularly spend a couple $100 per trip.”

“The entire fabric of the Strip District has changed over the years. There is little left of the history, culture, and flavor of Pittsburgh. It has become "Yuppie-ville." It is not a place for local Pittsburghers, but rather, it has become an upscale location for the upwardly mobile. If it is to retain ANY of its historic value the few ethnic businesses which are left must remain supported. Changing traffic flow on Penn Avenue will ultimately destroy them. You bet, such a change will absolutely frustrate visitors that will not return! It's already a hassle to find a reasonably priced place to park. Why can't anything good in the City of Pittsburgh just be left alone!?!”

“I work with The Midwife Center and I can only imagine how much stress this will cause pregnant families and people who are in labor trying to navigate a possible lesser known area of town for them with only one way access to the birth center.”

“We fear delivery trucks with our medical supplies and ambulances will have difficulty reaching our facility. If it is one lane then traffic must stop every time someone parallel parks. Clients in labor will have undue traffic.”

“The Strip District is historic and any changes to that area would be a shame. It has worked for many many years so why change something that is a Pittsburgh tradition.”

“This is one of a long list of horrible ideas from the current administration. It takes but simple logic to understand the negative impact this would have on residents, businesses and customers. What a shame that we have to fight against fixing things that aren't broken, while so many things in our city ARE broken. It appears that this administration is AGGRESSIVELY against business.”

“Please do not make traffic a bigger nightmare for drivers and pedestrians. One lane would seriously be an emergency nightmare.”

“This would create absolute chaos. As a pittsburgh native I’ve gone to the strip virtually every weekend to shop, eat or work. Cutting Penn ave to a single lane would be idiotic. There is already significant traffic and limited parking. I’ve seen EMS, police and fire vehicles stuck, unable to get through to get where they need to go and with the increase in delivery services trucks delivering goods and local food delivery employees need to be able to work without shutting down the street. This money can be better used in other areas. Traffic can be controlled with stop signs, traffic lights and speed bumps. I have plenty of relatives and friends who live in the strip as well and this would cause a major headache for all of them. Side note stop burns and scalo from commercializing the neighborhood.”

“There is no reason to change something that has been such a beautiful asset, and draw for tourists !!!! Is is special because it has been preserved in its original state. You need traffic cops here if people are irresponsibly crossing and getting hurt. Not change the entire flow for fools!!”

“I've been visiting the strip my entire life and its my favorite part about the city. The benefits of the proposed plan seem marginal. Sometimes in life, you have to accept things that arent perfect. The Penn Ave traffic flow might not be perfect, but neither is the proposal! I dont understand why anyone ever considered doing this, given the history of the strip. It is unthinkable to me that such a drastic change could occur and businesses we all love could blink out. I hope this proposal fails.”

“NO BIKE Lanes in Strip. That would be very dangerous for pedestrians & the bikers. Leave this GEM of Pittsburgh alone, it’s survival depends upon it.”

“I enjoy coming here so much! There is so much history and culture in the strip, I’d hate to see it go away/change!!”

“We like it just as is! Its a fun place & has a lot of interesting vendors You can shop all day then relax @ a restaurant The business of the area makes it what it is If you do this the vendors will most likely raise prices to make up for lost business as it’s being renovated”

“Pittsburgh is my home away from home. I try to make it down at least 6 weekends a year. No matter how many times I visit, the Strip remains one of my things to do on a Saturday or Sunday morning. It completes the trip for me. Please make the strip a Historic District. Then you can get grant money specifically for historic placss, and federal commercial historic tax credits for developers. It's a won for the businesses, the city, and tourism. Thank you”

“Do not hurt the Strip. It is the number one tourist attraction in the city. Do not be short sighted. Thank you.”

“Please leave Penn Ave. alone. You can make all of the changes you want to Smallman but leave Penn as it is. Smallman already has a bike lane. I can't even imagine the traffic especially on the weekends if you change this.

How will deliveries be made? A lot of times trucks have to double park to make a quick delivery. How will they do that if it goes to one lane?

I speak to tourists all day, everyday and The Strip seems to be the number one place for them to visit. Don't mess with it!

There is a lot of downside and not a whole lot of upside to this plan. I haven't spoken to one person in favor of these changes. You should listen to the people.”

“There is a bike lane on Smallman, which is only one block over from Penn. Let people use that bike lane. This overall plan is going to hurt the Strip, the businesses and keep people away from visiting this unique neighborhood.”

“I feel this would be a huge mistake. I have personally called 911 several times over the years for elderly pedestrians who have tripped on the sidewalk on a busy Saturday. Traffic is at a crawl on Saturdays and emergency responders have been delayed.

The other issue is so often traffic is backed up because people can’t parallel park well. Imagine trying to parallel park with a bike lane. This is dangerous to those on bikes.

I would love the mayor to spend a few hours on a busy Saturday and see how this would have a negative impact. As someone who rides a bike, I would say Smallman would be the better choice.”