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Can we characterize "busy" downtowns as those with traffic jams on downtown streets at night (after 9 p.m.)? To me, that says something about the popularity and "buzz" of a downtown (unless there's an accident or construction causing that jam).
Right now, Baltimore probably has the busiest downtown, near and around the Inner Harbor, including their new East Harbor area (near Little Italy). This area sprung from nowhere a decade ago, with swanky new hotels, high-end shops, movies and outdoor fine dining.
Cleveland's would probaby rank second. Downtown's buzz had been increasing in recent years, esp around E. 4th street, the Warehouse District and, of course, the sports teams in Gateway (near E. 4th). But the last few months with the new Horseshoe Casino has upped the ante considerably. And really, 2 months since it's opened, the newness is wearing off; the lines to get in appear briefly from time to time, but there are mostly no lines. But the buzz around Public Square and Prospect Ave have been considerable. Nighthawks are coming into town after hours to gamble as the parking on the streets becomes available (since rates at all downtown lots have soared). Major downtown hotels have been booked through the summer, as well.
Right now Pittsburgh has a daytime population workforce that is not matched in either Baltimore or Cleveland....In fact Pittsburgh has a daytime workforce that rivals much larger cities in the Country.
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Pittsburgh ranks sixth in the country in jobs per square mile, behind only Boston, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Pittsburgh -- With its dubious reputation of having the most governments per capita of any county in the nation, Allegheny County's 129 suburban municipalities long have ringed the compact city of Pittsburgh. In the region's industrial heyday, much of the county's employment was spread out in steel towns along the rivers, while today, the city itself has become more of a job magnet for the region, pulling in a net influx of 138,000 working commuters each day.
More than 180,000 suburbanites flow into Downtown, Oakland and other city neighborhoods each day to work, boosting Pittsburgh's population by 41 percent, the fourth-highest proportional "day surge" among large cities in the nation.
Can we characterize "busy" downtowns as those with traffic jams on downtown streets at night (after 9 p.m.)? To me, that says something about the popularity and "buzz" of a downtown (unless there's an accident or construction causing that jam).
You are regularly getting this in downtown Cleveland when the Indians play, esp on Friday and Sat nights - there's people and auto gridlock. Even without the Indians, weekends are crazy all over. E.4th balances off the Warehouse District on the west section of downtown... And now, the 24/7 casnio has put a charge into Public Sq, turning a large, beutiful but vacant Higbee's Dept store building into a hub of activity (sadly, it took the casino to improve the lighting, asthetics and cleanliness around Public Sq/Tower city... but heck, whatever it takes... As evidence of the gridlock, food trucks have appeared around the casino and are there hawking hot dogs and other food until the wee hours... I've never seen that before.
Right now Pittsburgh has a daytime population workforce that is not matched in either Baltimore or Cleveland....In fact Pittsburgh has a daytime workforce that rivals much larger cities in the Country.
Agreed, Pittsburgh feels the most bustling by day (but it really empties out at night). Pittsburgh, unlike Cleveland, was able to hold on to it's huge home-grown corps (Westinghouse, US Steel and PNC Bank, among others). It also helps that Pittsburgh's downtown (the Golden Triangle) is the smallest, tightest and, therefore, most vertical of the 3; the only one that has narrow streets and that's squeezed onto a small, triangular peninsula between 2 wide rivers.
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