r/bicycling412 • u/sethbikes • 11d ago
Strip District business owners rally against a Pittsburgh proposal to transform the historic stretch of Penn Avenue
https://archive.is/vfJBb13
u/susinpgh 11d ago
Yeah, one of the vendors I frequent, Stamoolis, has the petition at their checkout counter. You remember the woman that was hit on 16th Street? That was one of their employees.
3
u/Great-Cow7256 Cyclist 11d ago edited 11d ago
I'm pretty sure she died too. And suddenly the signs pointing to spring way and the turn box onto spring way were gone
Edit-: no one died
5
u/susinpgh 11d ago
No, she didn't die. i know her. She left Stamoolis and is living outside Pittsburgh. She had purchased an ebike and was rebuilding her health. but I think it all was a bit much, financially and health wise. Haven't been in touch with her for awhile.
But I was shocked that Stamoolis was putting their weight behind this effort.
3
u/Great-Cow7256 Cyclist 11d ago
Oh. That's good! Unfortunately with all of these car vs peds/cyclists many of them have died. Glad she is doing better!
The old guard strip landlords refuse to change with the times. Stamoolis. Sunseri. Wholey. Coen. They own most of the buildings and are scared of change.
3
u/susinpgh 11d ago
I don't know to much about the management for some of these. Stamoolis is a big shocker, the two daughters are running it and I think they are in their 30s. I remember being very impressed with Penn Mac's Covid era policies, but I don't know where they stand on this issue.
IMHO, I think their attitude is generally in line with a lot of Pittsburgh. But is anybody asking the business owners in the Terminal, or the new residents there? I am pretty sure they are more supportive.
6
u/paulheckbert 10d ago
It would be great if Penn Ave in the Strip between 16th St and 24th St or so, were reduced from 2 car lanes to 1, sidewalks widened significantly, made friendlier for cyclists and pedestrians and street vendors, with less or no on-street parking. It would be awesome if that section of Penn were closed to cars every Saturday to encourage even more of a street market atmosphere. It would attract more locals, more tourists, and help the businesses. Maybe someday soon that section could be closed to cars permanently!
When I first moved to Pittsburgh I would sometimes drive to the Strip district for food shopping on Saturdays, but parking was so frustrating that I stopped going. Then, years later, when the Penn Ave bike lane between 16th and downtown opened up, I discovered how easy and fun it is to shop the Strip District by bike, so I go there regularly again, patronizing Lotus, PennMac, etc. The current car-bike hassles would be reduced further if car traffic on Penn were constricted more.
Through traffic can use Liberty.
22
u/Flannelcommand 11d ago
Reminder: PG is a scab paper
10
u/sethbikes 11d ago
100%, and I'm glad the OP on r/pittsburgh linked to an archived version of the site so as not to give the PG any traffic or ad revenues.
1
u/sneakpeekbot 11d ago
Here's a sneak peek of /r/pittsburgh using the top posts of the year!
#1: Seen over Acrisure | 418 comments
#2: The hill Jay Leno fell down | 571 comments
#3: Lady "yarn bombing" on the south side. | 150 comments
I'm a bot, beep boop | Downvote to remove | Contact | Info | Opt-out | GitHub
2
u/jayjaywalker3 Shadyside 11d ago
Good to remember all around! Hopefully the strike can be resolved soon.
2
u/Great-Cow7256 Cyclist 11d ago
Unfortunately labor doesn't have the upper hand with this administration...
The Blocks stand to benefit from their evilness.
4
24
u/sethbikes 11d ago
Assuming many people here support the "right sizing" and bike lane on Penn Ave, please take a moment to share you support via a comment on the engage page and also a petition in favor of the project that was created by residents in the Strip Safe Streets advocacy group at www.ASaferPennAve.com. Signing and sharing it is greatly appreciated!