Pittsburgh After Dark

There's been lots of chatter lately about the Pittsburgh's college corridor and connecting Oakland and Downtown via mass transit. The new chief executive of the Allegheny Conference (the new Wizard of Oz as it were) lists the connection as one of the conferences highest priorities.
"In addition to linking the two business centers, a transit link also would provide students access to Downtown, which would make the area more vibrant after dark." But will it?

Temporarily living in Arequipa, Peru, a city known for its urban crime, has given me a new perspective on downtown Pittsburgh. Last night, I ate dinner in a crowded hopping restaurant with purse "leashes" on every seat. The idea is you hook your purse to your seat so that random bag-snatchers have a harder time filching your valuables while you're relaxing over a meal. You'd think that this threat would deter the nightlife. However, central Arequipa is a very bustling shopping and socializing destination. Just this week they installed walk signals on the intersections where their ridiculously long walk-street crosses traffic streets - really an innovative compromise to traffic concerns. Alongside these throngs of people are also lots of police officers. Arequipa appears to be sparing no expense on security.

Reasons crime-ridden central Arequipa is more popular than downtown Pittsburgh?
Lots of events, attractions, and shopping. People need a reason to come downtown.
Lots of cops (without billy clubs). People need to feel safe (but not threatened.)
Lots of public transportation. Peru doesn't have mass transit, but it does have a gazillion taxis and mini-buses.

If a magic subway showed up between Downtown and Oakland tomorrow, do you really think that Downtown would become a great destination? No. Downtown needs a coordinated effort between the theaters, the universities, the restaurants, the bars, the police and public transportation. I head to downtown Pittsburgh regularly for movies at the Harris and plays. But on a weeknight or weekend, almost all the stores and restaurants are closed. Downtown feels like a ghost-town because of all the shuttered storefronts not because of the lack of people. The first time I visited downtown on a weekday afternoon (courtesy of jury duty), I was utterly amazed at how alive and happening the city was and how difficult it was to find parking.

Of course, Pittsburgh does have sure-fire ways to get people Downtown after work. The crowds flock to the city for special downtown events - from Gallery Crawls to First Night to Light Up Night to St Patrick's Day to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. But the saddest thing I noticed? Macy's didn't open up their store on the day of the Thanksgiving Day Parade until after the parade started and the crowds had been milling around for an hour. The day after the busiest shopping day of the year, and my family was waiting for Macy's to open in order to go shopping. They certainly don't stay open late for the quarterly gallery crawls. Where did my family eat the day of the parade? Sammy's Famous Corned Beef. Why? They're good and they're always open.

How about this simple idea? The next time the URA helps fund some new retail development downtown, they can add in a caveat, you must be open on the weekends and on weeknights. That's how to get people staying and coming Downtown.

So, in summation, do I want mass transit between Oakland and Downtown? YES! Do I think it will solve all our problems? NO! Do I think there are steps we can take in the meantime to help solve our problems? YES! What do you think?

Kudos to Kuhn's!

After a shaky "financing" round, Kuhn's is now ready to move forward with constructions plans for a grocery store in the Hill District.

This is really a win-win situation for Kuhn's. Thanks to the URA, Kuhn's only has to spend 15% of the cost of construction and tada! new grocery store. The catch? They have to stay open for 10 years.

According to Google Maps, it's at least a 35 minute commute to the nearest grocery store (Giant Eagle on the South Side) from a central location in the Hill District. No wonder they're clamoring for a grocery store. Those residents have been missing out on those oft-touted benefits of urban living for the past 3 decades. Now they're on target to have a full-fledged pharmacy-bakery-deli-one-stop-shopping-bonanza by 2010.

The real hat-trick will be if this Kuhn's can help revitalize the Hill District while invigorating downtown living. If folks in the new downtown lofts feel comfortable enough to head into the dreaded Hill to do their grocery shopping, that would even be a win-win situation for taxpayers.

Transparency, Oh My

In a city reknowned for its backdoor policy meetings and general nepotism, State Sen. Jim Ferlo is a momentary breath of fresh air. He is suggesting that the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) actually post information publicly on its website when awarding new contracts such as who has bid on the projects and what the final bids were. For a little overhead, that proposal could go a long ways toward cooling tempers and letting everyone know what's happening.

In general, I've found that people tend to get pissed when they don't know why something happened even if there's a perfectly good explanation behind it. For instance, even though the highest-paying parking operators did not get picked for re-lease of all the parking lots in Pittsburgh, the one that was picked promised better final rates for consumers. It's easy to pay a high rent when you're planning on gauging those who park at your lot, and as long as the city is making more money, it's fairly reasonable for them to agree to make less money for the relief of taxpayers.

Of course, at the same time, there's a very valid question that employees shouldn't be fighting for cheaper parking in the garages because odds are the only tax people who park in the garages are paying to the city of Pittsburgh is the tax on parking.

Long live the internet and its potential of information overload!

The URA has done a lot of great things for this city. It'd be a shame if the antics of a particular Mr Ford and some questionable wheeling-and-dealing ruined their good reputation. Here's to Jim trying to shift focus back where it belongs.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08252/910450-100.stm)

Poor Mr Ford

Poor bitter Mr Ford. He's such a professional, and on top of whatever severance package I'm sure he will procure, he's been paid his $117,875 salary since April without doing any work.

I do really pity Mr Ford. He's had from April to August to simmer in his well-paid anger, and all he can come up with is an angry bitter unfounded letter of resignation. There surely is corruption and all sorts of under-handed dealing going on in Pittsburgh government (and it doesn't solely revolve around Mr Ford's antics) but if you refuse to actually name names and state facts, name-calling is just that. We need some sticks and stones, Mr Ford instead of your lawyer telling us we have a "gutless mayor."

And Mr Ravenstahl, please clean up your act. Paid leave for Mr Ford?? How about we sue Mr Ford for that extra $60,000 he'll get by the time his official resignation happens in December? That would show some guts.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08241/907593-53.stm)

Who's Paying?

I really have no opinion on the URA debacle involving Pat Ford. My only opinion involves who is paying Pat Ford's leave salary, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I am.

Pat Ford has been on paid leave since April undergoing a potential investigation from the State Ethics Commission. Since the State Ethics Commission has been unethically dragging their feet in this case, can they please pay Mr Ford's salary for the past 3 months? I'd rather pay for him with my state taxes than my city or county taxes.

Or perhaps we should discuss the ethics of giving someone a three-month paid vacation? Why not investigate him while he's still working? Or if he's that much of a liability, can we please just fire him??

"Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said yesterday he would wait to hear from the Ethics Commission before commenting on the matter." Luke, have you tried giving them a call? Or do you and Mr Ford have a golf outing in the Bahamas you're attending next month?

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08219/902189-100.stm)