John, Visitor

“Making Penn Ave a single lane will keep people from wanting to visit. If the plan is to put in a single lane with a bike lane, there is a dedicated bike lane one street over”

Angela, Business Owner

“There are no shortages of places for people to safely bike and walk around the strip with the current layout. Bike lanes are clearly marked that allow bikes and vehicles to comfortably share the road and sidewalks are plentiful for pedestrians . Additionally, there are many side streets, where traffic is extremely light, that anyone who takes the time to learn the city, can easily navigate on their bicycles. The small businesses, which have been the heart and soul of the strip, would drastically suffer. Parking is already at a minimum and receiving truck loads is extremely challenging as it is.”

Richard, Visitor

“Added congestion will choke businesses that have been here for 120+years. There is not another HISTORIC shopping district in this city. Please stop this woke mayors plans immediately!”

Dana, Business Owner

“The project would create a bottle neck for anyone coming in or going out. It could be a huge safety issue costing hundreds of lives, if their we a fire, flooding, or any emergency, because first responders can’t get in, people can’t get out. Huge occupancy of renters in the high rise complexes. Plus regular traffic and deliveries.”

James, Visitor

“This is a crazy idea and to what benefit? Penn should remain as-is. A single lane will clog it and take away the charm/businesses in the area. This mayor has come up with a lot of bad ideas but this the one of the worst, which says an awful lot.”

Paula, Visitor

“Pittsburgh would not be the same without the Strip District!”

Anita, Visitor

“I am a Pittsburgher, frequent visitor to the Strip, and I cyclist BUT oppose Penn Ave being reduced to one lane for bike traffic. Now that Railroad is developed and open, I easily use that street for access into/through the strip district with no problem.”

Emily, Resident

“I am all of these things. When I drive into downtown every morning I get so frustrated at the stanwix street light at Liberty because of the lane consolidation. Even with the bike lane, the city is still not walkable or bikeable, we need better planning, don’t just close lanes, and then pat yourself on the back, actually put the work in and put a plan together that makes sense for more than one group of people.”

Eric, Visitor

“I cannot say more strongly to leave the strip district as it is and follow the lead of the business owners and residents.”

Samantha, Visitor

“I have a catering business and shop in district often. It’s congested as is. I can’t imagine 1 lane. It would defiantly push me to avoid the area and get products elsewhere.”

Nicholas, Business Owner

“It will make it much more difficult for customers & employees to get to & from our location. Loading & unloading will be more expensive. With only one travel lane when any vehicle stops or double parks traffic comes to a halt. That includes buses, trucks and cars.”

Cory, Business Owner

“It is proven that the best way to make changes to complex systems to avoid unintended negative consequences is an incremental approach. The default position should be to start with least invasive/smallest scale change possible and measure the results. In this case, if pedestrian/ vehicular safety is the concern, adding stop signs, cross walks and more policing/enforcement of traffic laws would be the best place to start. Narrowing the road, creating curb bump outs and adding bike lane will restrict traffic and create back ups issues for anyone using Penn- ultimately making it more difficult for customers to access the Strip.
Based on accurate crash and accident data, this is an outsized solution to solve an almost non existent problem.
Taken in conjunction with plans for Liberty avenue, the proposed changes will suffocate the Penn Ave business district.”

Sue, Resident

“The existing bike lanes on Smallman Street appear to be under utilized so it is not clear why Penn Avenue needs this. This is also creating animosity between a biking community and a non-biking community, In addition to threatening the vibrant activity and commerce in the strip district. It is already difficult to drive down Penn Ave., find parking, ensure the safety of pedestrians, etc. Limiting traffic to one lane will only harm the rest of the strip district and increase bottlenecks on every other street. Valuable infrastructure in this part of town should include parking, not biking.”

Crystle, Visitor

“We love coming here. We come at least 8 times a year. Stop destroying the Strip”

Anthony, Visitor

“Restricting Penn Ave to a single lane in The Strip will make an already congested, over-developed mess into an untenable disaster. Right now, the *only* easily navigable part of The Strip is Penn Ave. Restricting it to one lane will make restocking the businesses along it unnecessarily difficult, cause massive backups in already over-trafficked areas (like the intersection of 21st & Smallman), and turn a historically rich and culturally relevant neighborhood into a parking lot. The Strip is already losing its identity to rising property costs and an influx of outside wealth. Breaking it up further with this stupid idea is a death sentence.”

Olivia, Resident

“Traffic is already bad enough, why reduce to a 1 lane road? I’ve also heard a Trader Joe’s is opening in the strip (seems odd given that there are plenty of grocery options here), but would increase traffic even further.

Also, having more paid parking lots (at insanely high rates) isn’t a solution to increased traffic either. I’m not sure what the purpose of the single lane road is, but if it is pedestrian safety I think there are more innovative options in 2025 than reducing lanes.”

Dan, Business Owner

“This project will reduce access and cause congestion. There are other ways to accomplish traffic calming that will not impact the Strip on Penn.”

Joyce, Visitor

“Please do not add bike lanes to Penn Avenue. There is already limited parking and traffic and this will just add to it and will make our valued strip businesses suffer tremendously. We need those businesses in our city!”