Nice article on Uptown

[szug-bot]

i know LRT vs. heavy rail is a fiery topic now in toronto. but in that city, they can get all the federal funds they want - and they usually blow a lot of it. pittsburgh, like many other mid-sized US cities, doesnt have that gravy train.

i actually prefer subways anywhere. LRTs can be a hassle if there is a problem on the road like an auto accident. plus they are more expensive to maintain over the decades, are generally slower, have less user capacity, etc. but they are cheaper in initial construction cost.

thats why i brought that up - in Uptown, an LRT path can be laid on one of those desolate streets, possibly Our Way, parallel to Fifth, then at some point, crossing Fifth and then running along Watson street. i dont know if thats possible since those are glorified allies, basically (width requirements, etc.) but imagine an LRT line just a block from Forbes/Fifth, parallel to both, but not impeding those major arteries.

thats a simplistic concept, of course, as i sit here in my boxers just thinking it up off the top of my head. but something like that would make it a quaint village-type place rarely seen in north america.

you really just cant throw in a tunnel (our geology isnt the same as torontos - plus, theyre flat). a lot of buildings in uptown might have vaults (basements) that extend to the curb line. a survey would need to be done to determine what will be found once they do start breaking the ground open. the Pgh water and sewer authority will have to be totally involved to replace/relocate lines ,which would be a whole other aspect above the actual subway construction.

i can only think the notion of a subway or LRT would be scoffed at, mathman, but then again i remember they scoffed at Sophie Masloff when she first suggested a new stadium.....

what does it take to get public interest in that? in Virginia, the public PUSHED for a metro rail extension (the 'silver line') when it was dead in the water. they would NOT let that thing die when lots of politicos wanted it to go away because of its expense, and the requirement of having to deal with other public agencies (VA hates MD who hates DC who hates everyone). but they are getting it - because thats how powerful public pressure can be.

Pittsburgh needs to take a long look at how that neighborhood is shaping up. it speaks volumes about this place. people from other cities think this place is a dump because they look up one way and see the decay in uptown, and another because of drab, dead after 5pm downtown. i remember being horrified listening to the sports guys on WJFK in VA years ago - one of them came to pgh for the weekend for some sports event and he joked "man, pittsburgh is a hole!" probably having seen, well, the Hill and Uptown and not much else.

[pman]

I actually agree with you szug, lrt might be the way to go...and you can tunnel where necessary not unlike the current T (or subway surface trolley. taking right of way on one of those streets is an excellent idea.
this article is interesting. you always hear "it'd be cheaper to tear it down and rebuild) but it highlight that's not actually true, at least not to rebuild in kind

Once they replaced the roof and cleaned the place out, they discovered plaster friezes in the archways and carved motifs in the entrance hall behind drop ceilings and drywall of a 1980s commercial renovation....The 110,000-square-foot building at 1800 Fifth Ave. was a high school from 1894 to 1976. Built in the Romanesque-Gothic Revival style, it cost $400,000 to build, $40 million in today's dollars. Mr. Steiner and Mr. Hill, as Impakt Development Inc., have invested more than $10 million, with historic tax credits of 20 percent, to bring it back to life...

Read more: Renovated lofts stay true to Uptown history - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[szug-bot]

pman, you used the term "in kind".....hmmm. im guessing, probably correctly, as to what your area of employment is. chk your email later - want to throw something at you about the topic of LRT in uptown. i think others would be bored with it, hence the email.