“Existing bike lanes are often empty. Stop the madness!! The roads must be able to accommodate the traffic from cars and buses. Especially when many high rise apartments are still being built!”

“Preserve the strip I’ve been going to the strip most of my life. I worked at Metropole for years. I worked at Altar bar.. bicycle lanes have ruined everything people on bicycles do not obey rules!!!! Penn Avenue is already one way smalllman needs to be a two-way street!. It’s already too much. People need to watch where they’re walking. They need to obey rules when they’re walking we’re adult learn how to cross the street. It’s already hard to park in the strip. We don’t need to make things harder. My daughter lives 25 blocks up she may move because of everything they’re doing to Lawrenceville and the strip district. Modern is not always the best. Let’s leave some nostalgia in our city.”

“I play music in local venues in the strip and visit the strip often outside of working there. Traffic is already difficult to navigate.”

“I understand Pittsburgh wants fresh new stuff. But let us focus on all the old lead pipes in city etc and roads first”

“I have been a lifelong customer of the strip district as it has evolved. First because it was a bargain, and now because it’s an eclectic, vibrant social scene for both prepared food and diverse ethnic groceries. Nowhere else in the US comes close. I see little to gain, and so much to lose by moving forward with this destructive project”

“Pedestrian safety matters, but there are ways to do it that don’t involve decimating access to local businesses & ignoring business owners.”

“All for bike lanes but this plan doesn't make sense, and will ultimately do far more harm than good. Put bikes lanes on Smallman or Railroad, and add speed bumps to Penn. That solves the problems without destroying businesses.”

“Please stop over developing the strip. This is a useless, wasteful project- as there are numerous bike lanes on many parallel streets to penn. Another waste of funds that could be used to fix infrastructure. No one in this city planning dept has ever played the Sims and it shows. Zero concern for what's best for the residents, visitors and those to work in the strip.”

“Residents from outside the city bus routes have no choice but to drive for shopping, dining etc in the Strip District. Please do NOT go ahead with this awful plan to make that impossible for us.”

“I worked at Cioppino from 2008-2020. I LOVED working in the strip and LOVED the history, you could feel the history when visiting. The best part of working in the strip was access to small businesses for products. It was always nice to take a walk to Penn Ave and shop for my menu. I don't enjoy it as much as I used to and it will only be worse.”

“The Strip is a vital part of Pittsburgh. It should be an area the city celebrates the small business owners who attract tourism and bring money into the city. The city should want people to spend more time there. Looking at ways to do that should be more of a priority. A bike lane is a nice idea for the strip, the location is just wrong. Why not improve a street like railroad that is plenty wide and would extend the strip where business could develop there as well. Also it makes more sense with trail access there as well.”

“Restricted lane access will keep locals, living to far to walk/bike to visit the Strip and spend money. This is an economic disaster. Listen to the local businesses.

Make the mayor and DOMI explain why they insist on this measure.”

“Pittsburgh is being ruined with all these adjustments to vehicular traffic. I'm a resident on Stanton avenue in highland Park and our road was destroyed and parking was taken away. Trying to stop the city from destroying more of Pittsburgh.”

“I am a Pittsburgh native born and raised with Pittsburgh steel town in my blood. As someone who now unfortunately lives out of state, I always look forward to coming back to visit especially the Strip district which is one of my favorite spots. The old charm, small shops, and friendly family businesses are what make it so special. To see there’s a possibility of driving up costs and driving out these smaller businesses not only breaks my heart but makes me feel like the city is de-valuing something that makes Pittsburgh so unique to be replaced by generic probably overpriced housing plans. I stand with the citizens of Pittsburgh when I say preserve the Strip! Preserve the culture and community that we are proud of. our Pittsburgh Pride.”

“If the residents don’t want it, what else do you need to hear?”

“No one wants this.”

“This is dumb as hell and is only going to inconvenience like everyone. Have you even thought about how this will affect this city, local business, or residents long term…. Probably not. So as Randy Jackson says “it’s a no from me dawg.””

“Don't continue to strip the strip of it's history, authenticity, and uniqueness!”

“This plan is ridiculous there is bike acces along the river”

“We cannot continue to drive out small business. We need them and they need us. We love the intimacy of the different boutiques and places to eat.”

“The strip is fantastic just like it is. Leave it alone.”

“The Strip is one of the main reasons I moved to Pittsburgh over a decade ago. Please do not destroy this thriving business district.”

“How dare you be an elected official and IGNORE your constituents?!?! This is a horrible plan. Scrap it and figure out another plan that doesn’t KILL BUSINESSES!!! Stop this immediately.”

“Listen to the people!”

“Terrible idea!”

“My family had a business on Smallman for nearly 30 years. Change is inevitable but not all change is good and can drive out the small businesses that build a community and make it so special. Please keep Penn a double lane!”

“Please do not ruin my favorite Pittsburgh Neighborhood☹️”

“I’ve yet to see one compelling argument as to why making Penn one lane isn’t profoundly stupid.”

“Westmoreland resident. Been going downtown my whole life for shopping for anything ranging from holidays to just whims. The entire city is becoming impossible for my parents and I to visit. My mom has knee and mobility issues and cannot walk far. The Strip was the last truly accessible section of PGH for her, as everywhere else requires too far of walks for anyone with limited mobility. And to replace handicap parking with bike lanes is an insult upon injury, quite literally. We have already vastly reduced our Pittsburgh spending due to difficulties getting in and out of town and how far you have to walk nowadays, and killing the Strip will ruin the economic impact of thousands of families who will no longer shop in the Burgh.”

“This will cause a potentially fatal blow to our business. Listen to the locals.”

“Please don’t do this.”

“Who is this supposed to benefit? It sounds like somebody is receiving money to do this because this has no benefit to residence, visitors, or business owners.”

“Support local businesses and act in their best interests! They are the backbone of this city.”

“This is a horrible idea. Businesses have struggled enough between covid, tariffs and economic uncertainty.”

“This plan is not only asinine, it's patently unsafe, not to mention damaging beyond potential repair for local business owners. For the sake of the community, please cancel these plans. As a longtime and very regular visitor to the Strip, proceeding with these plans will result in my no longer patronizing the area. I, and many others, count the days until a change of leadership takes place in the Mayor's office.”

“I am a former resident and visit often. This is a terrible idea. The strip is the heartbeat of our beloved city.”

“This plan is ridiculous. Please reconsider.”

“Please do not change the number of lanes in the Strip. It will make it nearly impossible to visit the area.”

“The historic aspects of this city are invaluable to not only the visitors, but long term residents too. It is so disheartening to see the continued gentrification and sub-par "remodeling" occurring in our city. This isnt LA, this is Pittsburgh. SO many people have fought long and hard to make Pittsburgh what it is and maintain it's historic value. Enough is enough!”

“As a longtime resident of Pittsburgh, a visitor to the Strip for most of my life, a historian, and friend of local business owners, I cannot imagine a worse idea for the Strip District. Whether considering the impact on the historic landscape, the effect on business owners in the face of rising visitation to the area, or the impact on emergency services, the current plan will devastate this city gem.”

“As a concert and event producer that works with venues like The Original Pittsburgh Winery, changing Penn Ave to one lane will hamper the business by making parking and travel to the businesses incredibly challenging to a business by impeding the ability to effectively park vehicles, patrons, etc.

This move will also create frustration with the general traffic flow that will deter patrons from ever making the trek to the Strip District.”

“I was a resident of downtown Pittsburgh and a Resident of the greater area for a long time. Restricting access on Penn Ave would be devastating to the community.”

“Infrastructure should be designed thoughtfully to provide the best quality of life for all. Restricting motorized vehicles has taken on an almost ideological bent among urban "planners" who think they know best. Yet they ignore the expressed preference of the vast majority.

Fiddling with a unique and vibrant part of a community should have to clear a very high bar that addresses an overwhelming problem. The "problem" that this purports to solve is not nearly as acute as the proponents claim, and the "solution" will create a cascade of community issues that will be significantly worse.

Transportation planners do not get to dictate how people *should* live their lives according to the planners' utopian visions.”

“For the love of all that is holy, please stop pandering to an outspoken, small but loud minority of the Pittsburgh community that thinks everyone should bike everywhere, and respect the views of all the residents — families with young children, wounded veterans, the blind, and other mobility-impaired people, the elderly, among others, for whom bicycling is not and never will be a preferred mode of transportation even in the best of weather — and stop driving businesses away and thereby harming all Pittsburghers by lowering the tax base. This should not be a hard call.”

“We visit constantly. If you restrict the Strip to one lane, we will be forced to no longer frequent the area. That's just not ok. It's too busy most of the time already and not being able to go around stopped vehicles with a second lane is ridiculously stupid.”

“It is absolutely insane to make the strip more difficult to visit and make the traffic and parking worse. The city has already eliminated so many metered parking spaces leaving only very expensive lots to park in. The strip is one of the nicest most iconic areas of the city, why ruin it like you did in the south side by restricting roads and travel? It’s insane”

“Bike lane do not contribute to the economy, charm and history of the Strip District. Bike lanes will not decrease accidents in my opinion it will increase the chances of collisions. When I worked in Shadyside I witnessed bicycles total disregard for traffic laws…cyclists not stopping for stop signs…traffic lights etc.
As per the local vendors and small business owners concerns, this decision will drive small businesses out. Pittsburgh cannot afford to lose any more business that provide a tax base for the city.
Once again this decision is an example of the voter majority being overruled by special interest groups.”

“I come to the Strip District weekly to shop and eat. I try to plan when I come down, as the traffic is already an issue. I can't imagine what it would be like with one lane coming down Penn from the east end. I would likely find alternative shopping opportunities near my house in the east end.”

“The Strp is a Pittsburgh Icon!
Don’t destroy it!!!
Run your bike lane in another street!”

“We are elderly and do our grocery shopping at the strip car accessibly is essential. Limiting cars to a city is a thing of the past now with electric cars pollution is non existent nor noise. Public transportation is very limited to the area. Shops like Pennsylvania Macaroni Co.which were common before in large cities like Pittsburgh and New York city closed, so it should be nurtured and treated like a national treasure, since there are so few left in the US. It is a zone alive with traditions not a tourist attraction but a veritable link to our past. Reduced access will put in peril its survival so why risk it when downtown is floundering!
It is in your hands to preserve the heritage of this city there is enough tearing down and replacing why not leave this which works beautifully alone?”