Reconfiguration adds bike lanes, preserves parking
Feedback and Outreach
- 7/15/21: Construction could begin as early as the week of July 19
- 6/8/21: The designs for the California Ave Bike Facilities have been approved and are due to be installed this summer
- Project Factsheet (search Brighton)
- Notices on City’s website
- Included in the Bike(+) Plan
- June 6, 2020: Allegheny West Civic Council General Membership Meeting
- June 23, 2020: DOMI hosted a virtual public meeting (recording here) about the project. You can view the presentation slide deck here for a more detailed look at the proposal.
- August 13, 2020: DOMI hosted a virtual public meeting about the project (recording here), based off of the original feedback. You can view the presentation slide deck here for a more detailed look at the proposal.
The Project
Brighton Road is a key missing piece in the expanding Northside bike network,and was identified in the Allegheny West Rejuvenation Plan as well as the City of Pittsburgh’s 2020 Bike Plan (+) as a needed north-south connector. Two blocks of Brighton Road, from Ridge Avenue to W North Avenue, are a part of this initial project. This project will connect to the existing bike network along W Ohio Street in Allegheny Commons Park and the two-way protected bike lanes around Allegheny Circle, that eventually connects to Downtown. It will also provide safer access for bicyclists entering the business district along Western Avenue, as well as to Community College of Allegheny County.
Bike(+) Plan Network for the Central Northside. Solid blue are bike lanes, dashed blue are proposed.
Brighton Road is a two-way street with parking on both sides from Ridge Avenue to Western Avenue. From Western Avenue to W North Avenue, Brighton Road continues to be a two-way street but with two travel lanes in each direction. An inconsistent parking demand on the street leaves a wide driving area for motorists, a condition which has shown to increase speeding. Additionally, we’ve recorded 24 crashes, over the past five years along the corridor.
The City is proposing a Parking Protected Bike Lane on the park side of the street, and a buffered bike lane on the residential side, while providing motor vehicle lanes in each direction, with turning lanes where appropriate. Parking will remain and be added along the corridor on the park side. A Parking Protected Bike Lane is a lane for the exclusive use of bicyclists that is housed between the sidewalk and parked cars. Quite simply, the parking lane is preserved, but moved away from the curb to make room for a bike lane. This type of bike lane is used all over the country, and currently exists on Schenley Drive in Oakland, as well as East Ohio St in the Northside.
FAQ’s about the project
What is MoveForwardPGH?
MoveForwardPGH is a collaborative program between the City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), Bike Pittsburgh, and Healthy Ride to help rapidly implement the new Bike(+) Plan, as well as market how less stressful roadways are beneficial for everyone, regardless of how they use our streets. See the https://wordpress-722047-2402996.cloudwaysapps.com/ website for more information.
Why Brighton Rd?
The Allegheny West Neighborhood Rejuvenation Plan initially identified Brighton Road for a “road diet” (ie. lane reduction) to slow traffic, increase safety, and create more functional uses of the roadway. Additionally, the corridor was identified in the City’s Bike(+) Plan as a north-south connector for the bike network. Brighton Rd sees approximately 4,000 cars per day, and per Federal Highway Administration guidance streets with less 20,000 cars per day are eligible for a road diet.
What is going to happen to the parking?
There are currently 32 legal parking spaces on this stretch of Brighton Rd, four (4) of which are residential permit parking . We plan to remove the metered parking on the park side of Brighton, between Ridge and West Ohio St, and maintain 15 parking spaces on the residential side with additional parking between Western and North. Some residential permit parking will remain along the project’s extents, the amount of which is to be determined. Our initial review of parking data for 2018 shows a utilization rate of 14% at these meters during periods of pay parking. We are working on gathering more recent data (2019) and determining usage during events (Football games, events in the park, CCAC events). Additionally, there are currently 51 parking spaces within 300’ of the Western/Brighton intersection.
How do the Parking Protected Bike Lanes make it safer?
A Parking Protected Bike Lane is a lane for the exclusive use of bicyclists that is housed between the sidewalk and parked cars. Quite simply, the parking lane is preserved, but moved away from the curb to make room for a bike lane.
While the parked cars physically separate bicyclists from moving traffic, that means that bicyclists may be hidden behind these cars when approaching an intersection. We are following Parking Protected Bike Lane design standards in order to allow for enough space and time for bicyclists to be seen by drivers who need to turn across the bike lane. The NACTO standard design guidelines specify the distance between the last parked car and the farside intersection to be at least 40 feet in length based on the speed limit of 25 mph.
Do you have (crash/traffic/background/other) data about this project?
According to PennDOT, there were 24 crashes between Ridge and North over the past five years. It’s worth noting that not all crashes get reported, and we are not able to capture “near misses.” Crashes are not only life altering and costly for those involved, they are also expensive for the city, and we would like to reduce their frequency.
We do our best to collect baseline data regarding projects to help evaluate equitable, transparent and inclusive engagement. Please see the following links for more info.
If you have further questions, email: