“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?”

“I think that many communities made this mistake in the past and have spent millions of $$$ to correct it. South Bend, Indiana, is a prime example. Once they eliminated the one way streets, retail returned and customers returned. Don't waste money making that mistake.”

“The Strip is an essential part of this community and I strongly oppose the Mayor’s proposed plan.”

“After moving here in the '60s and realizing what the Strip District meant to the community, we began shopping there regularly!
Before going to the Strip, finding ingredients for ethnic foods was
almost impossible. So because of the shops there, no ingredient was out of reach. And the place had such a sense of community about it that it made me feel "at home"! Please do not allow it to become something "that everyplace else is"!
Let us remember that this area of the city is a multi-national, multi-generational reflection of early America.
Please allow The Strip to exist as is with the character it has become… without apologies!”

“Please please please reconsider.”

“The Terminal has already made The Strip into a corporate "whitewash". Please leave the authentic and accessible Penn Avenue alone.”

“As someone who has lived, driven and parked in the strip for over 2 years this is a horrible idea! It will cause so much more traffic backing up Smallman, Liberty, and Waterfront Place even more! Drivers do whatever they want now it’s not going to stop just because they restrict a lane! Additional police presence to move traffic along and stop people from doing whatever they please would be a good idea!”

“Please listen to your constituents and to those of us who love the strip as it is. Your plan to restrict Penn ave will only hurt the community. Please reconsider and save our beloved strip district.”

“They don’t listen anyways.”

“I've been coming here for years since I was a child with my parents and the more it changes the less I want to come. The fact that large franchises or national companies are here saddens me. This should be the cultural mixing bowl of the city and not just a touristy place”

“There has been enough development and changes to the strip district at this point I feel that there has been too much residential development which affects the flow into the business area and will also affect the ability for visitors to come to Pittsburgh and enjoy the strip district for what it is-I have shopped there for over 50 years, and I would like to see the essence of what it is remain intact. That is what attracts visitors from other cities to the uniqueness of Pittsburgh.”

“This strip as is draws people and visitors not just from surrounding suburbs and guest from other cities. It’s part of what makes Pittsburgh -Pittsburgh. We don’t need more high rises and over priced apartments. Stop messing with the city”

“If Pittsburgh is going to continue its descent into a bottomless burn pit for my taxpayer dollars, I'd appreciate it if they preserved the only portion of it worth visiting. Maybe spend the millions of dollars of grift money on shipping out the talentless karaoke buskers, and cleaning the streets so they don't smell of urine in the morning.”

“This is a Total Disgrace to our city, I have lived here all my life at 4905 Bayard street, 15213 to sq. Hill to Oakland, Southside, etc.
This is the single most destructive idea the city has ever had, Open Streets is one thing. THIS IS ANOTHER!
I believe wholeheartedly that this will destroy the strip for local business owners who come here regularly for paper products from Schorin, fish from the 2 mongers, trees from stans, which is nice gone. As soon as you turn it into a destination, with all the trappings of the jersey shore, IT WON'T BE!
NOBODY NEEDS ANOTHER STRIP MALL! which is what it will be! There has always been a delicate balance in the strip, Don't destroy it! I worked at Julian pastries years ago as well, Bicycle riders will always go wherever they want, you don't need to crush the local economy so that they have a lane instead of a parking spot to load their car!”

“We want to retire here- keep it somewhat resident friendly!”

“We are here 3 times a week for shopping etc… don't take away our space. PLEASE!”

“The strip is perfect as it is. Please don’t change a thing!”

“Keep the charm of the strip. I can’t imagine trying to park with one lane. You would hold up all the traffic and it would be such a bottleneck nightmare!”

“Keep the strip district as it is pretty please with a cherry on top”

“As a former employee of the City Planning Department, I am shocked and disappointed that the City is ignoring the protests of the business owners along Penn Avenue in the Strip. But then again the City ignored the Highland Park residents when we were against the installation of the roundabouts on North Euclid Avenue. They were a huge mistake as are the plans to make Penn Avenue one lane. Start listening to your constituents!”

“Don’t wreck what’s unique and working!”

“DOMI is nuts. They keep making bad decisions and spending money we don't have.”

“Don't ruin the Strip!”

“This plan for a reduction to one lane in the Strip is absurd. Have any of those proposing this plan been to the Strip on a Saturday? As a visitor, I would think twice about shopping in the Strip if the roads were to become even more congested and parking more difficult.”

“This strip district has been a staple of my family for generations to visit. This is history.”

“The traffic is congested enough without the planned changes. We live in the south hills and dread the trip into the strip on weekends already. Please reconsider the proposed changes.”