Each quarter the Port Authority adjusts its transit schedules and routes to account for rider’s requests, ridership shifts, construction, road closures and/or all of the other unexpected hiccups that might affect Pittsburgh roads. 

Additionally, Port Authority’s new Bus Stop Consolidation program aims to eliminate 20-30% of stops in the entire system. PPT’s feelings about this program are complicated, but every quarter PAAC plans to announce plans for stop consolidation on two new routes. We’re also going to begin including information about this program in these quarterly service adjustment blogs.

In case you missed it, the most recent set of service adjustments went into effect on Sunday, November 24th, 2019. You can check Port Authority’s website to follow these quarterly service changes.

The @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline is a volunteer-run twitter account that gives riders updates on Port Authority’s daily happenings. The Hotline has no official connection to the Port Authority (again, it is a volunteer-run twitter account) but the updates are helpful nonetheless. The Hotline is a big supporter of PPT, and an enormous advocate for public transit. We’re thankful for they’re support and happy to share this rundown of the Q3 service changes compiled by the @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline.

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Rundown of quarterly Service adjustments, with takeaways from the @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline

The @Bus_Info_Hotline’s overall takeaway from this quarter’s changes:

Hard to believe that the next quarter is already upon us, but yes! Its time for the Q4 service changes. This Quarterly Service Changes Update isn’t super Wow – no big changes.

However, with the Port Authority launching their new bus stop consolidation program. We’ll begin watching and commenting these changes as well.

Remember that riders can give any input or requests to the Port Authority’s Customer Service via twitter, the website or a phonecall: 412-442-2000

Route changes below went into effect on Sunday, November 24th 2019:

1-Freeport Road – Some time points have been removed, though the schedule has not changed.

28X-Airport Flyer – Buses will now drop off passengers at the commercial departures curb of the landside terminal. Buses will continue to pick up passengers at the commercial arrivals curb at door 6 of the landslide terminal.

@PGH_Bus_Info Hotline’s takeaway:

For an airport route to drop-off at departures and pickup at arrivals, sure makes a lot of sense. We approve. Though this routing isn’t so new, this was the original 28X format. Sometimes whats old is new again.

67-Monroeville – Some time points have been removed and schedules have been adjusted.

P67-Monroeville Flyer – Some time points have been removed and schedules have been adjusted.

69-Trafford – Some time points have been removed and schedules have been adjusted.

P69-Trafford Flyer – Some time points have been removed and schedules have been adjusted.

77-Penn Hills – Some time points have been removed and schedules have been adjusted.

P10–Allegheny Valley Flyer – Regular routing will no longer serve RIDC Park in O’Hara. The P10 Limited will serve RIDC Park. Schedules have been revised to reflect this change. + P10–Allegheny Valley Limited – This modified routing will operate between Downtown, East Busway, and RIDC Park.

@PGH_Bus_Info Hotline’s takeaway:

Positive that reverse commute trips have finally been restored after over a decade of people in the Valley asking for it.

Also positive is that the P10L will be making its debut .

Unfortunatly, this is a sloppy execution of a good idea. These reverse commute trips will start inbound by looping RIDC PARK then running into town. In the PM Rush, these routes will run via RT 28 Washington Blvd and the busway into town rather than giving the entire valley or Harmar folks reverse commute access.

Conversely, AM P10L WILL ONLY run between Town and RIDC PARK also via the E Busway Washington Blvd and RT 28 again leaving a part of the valley out of the reverse commute equation.

Also this change needlessly and unfairly takes away existing commuter options for RIDC PARK Riders via the normal P10 non-limited service. A proper execution would’ve benefitted ALL Riders and we (PBI and the writer) hope that this erroneous and inequitable execution will be improved at a later date.

P16-Penn Hills Flyer – Service will be re-established to Hulton Road, Hulton Arbors, Oakmont and Harmar once Hulton Road reopens. For Hulton Road detour information or service updates, please call Customer Service at 412-442-2000.

@PGH_Bus_Info Hotline’s takeaway:

Service has thankfully been fully restored albeit in the same limited capacity to Hulton Arbors in Penn Hills and Harmar following Port Authority refusal and supposed previous inability/unwillingness to detour around a aoadwork project this past Spring and Summer. This effectively stranded those riders ALL of summer, part of spring and part of fall. Not great customer service…

We imagine folks will be glad to have their service restored. Unfortunately, service now ends slightly earlier and there appears to be 1 less Hulton Arbors + Harmar trip…

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Rundown of Quarterly Stop Consolidation, with takeaways from the @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline

@PGH_Bus_Info Hotline’s takeaway:

On November 24th, the Port Authority consolidated stops on the 16 and 51 after announcing their plan in early September. Although the first draft plan and progcess was meh, we’re glad that residents in the North Side and Carrick were able to speak up and keep their stops.

The Port Authority’s next round of stop consolidation will happen on the 88 and 48. However, because lots of other buses use the same roads, nearly 3,000 riders on the 88, 48, 71C, 74, 77, 82, 86, 89, 54, 91, 43, 44, 51L, 75.

Port Authority has made some big changes to their process after riders and PPT spoke up about ways it could get improved. We’re glad that they were responsive, but people should deinatly review the plans and get their feedback in asap.

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Port Authority Customer Service can be reached via twitter, the website or a phonecall: 412-442-2000

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The @PGH_BUS_INFO Hotline can be reached by phone @ 412-759-3335 ONLY When PortAuthority Customer Service is Closed/unavailable 

Or via Twitter anytime: @PGH_BUS_INFO

The PGH Bus Info Hotline will be back on PPT’s blog in for the next set of Quarter Service Adjustments. See ya then! (And if you want, you can check out Q3 changes here, Or Q2’s changes here)

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Pittsburghers for Public Transit is looking to ride with 200 new supporters before the end of the year. Support at any level, even the cost of a $2.75 bus pass will help! Make your contribution today. #SolidarityNotCharity

On Monday some 100 residents and organizations attended and testified at a City Council Public Hearing demanding increased transparency and accountability through the City of Pittsburgh’s Budgeting Process. A rally was organized by the Economic Justice Circle to propose a series of improvements to the City’s budgeting process. It provided the perfect platform for residents to continue highlighting concerns they’ve raised for years around the lack of transparency surrounding the Mon Oakland Connector project.

Residents demanded that the public money going to construct the multi-million dollar MOC roadway through Schenley park instead be invested in the solutions put forward by the community. These solutions focus on transit improvement, pedestrian safety, and bike connections. More than 20 organizations and 650 residents have signed on to this plan titled: Our Money. Our Solutions.

Through this advocacy, residents were successful in moving Councilmembers O’Connor and Strassberger to commit to introducing a resolution to examine the cost of these solutions. Once costs have been identified residents will continue working to move money away from the MOC and towards their needs.

See these news stories for more background on the action, the project, and resident demands. Reach out to get involved:

• WESA report by Margaret J. Krauss: ‘It’s A Moral Document’: Pittsburgh Residents Want City Budget To Be More Accountable
• City Paper story by Ryan Deto: Hazelwood and Greenfield need flood protection and pedestrian infrastructure, not a multi-million dollar driverless shuttle, say residents and advocates
• Post Gazette story reported bg by a Union Worker: Activists seek to sway city budget process
• PublicSource story by Nicole Brambila: Pittsburgh City Council is considering the first city budget in more than a decade without state oversight
• WPXI story by Mike Holden: Opponents testify Monday over Pittsburgh mass transit project

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Pittsburghers for Public Transit is looking to ride with 200 new supporters before the end of the year. Support at any level, even the cost of a $2.75 bus pass will help! Make your contribution today. #SolidarityNotCharity

Residents and Community Groups Affected by Proposed Mon-Oakland Roadway release Letter Calling on City Council, Foundations, Academic Institutions, and Public Agencies to Fund Alternative Transportation Proposal Entitled “Our Money, Our Solutions.”

December 6, 2019 – Pittsburgh, PA – As the City of Pittsburgh continues to advance the “Mon-Oakland Mobility Corridor,” a controversial roadway project that would cut through Schenley Park, 23 community stakeholders in affected neighborhoods—as well as more than 600 City residents—have issued a letter calling on City Council to reallocate the $18–23 million of roadway funding toward accessible sidewalks, bike trail connections, expanded transit service and safe pedestrian crossings on busy streets. 

Hazelwood resident and father of four Eric Williams says, “I’m a commuting cyclist, and I do a lot of walking through these neighborhoods—both by myself and with my children. There are numerous broken, missing, unsafe, and illegally parked-on sidewalks, as well as unsafe crosswalks in Hazelwood where my children and I have nearly been run over several times. I know my neighbors have unmet public transportation needs, too, such as weekend bus service gaps. Has the City asked residents if this project is really the best solution to meet their needs? Did they check its alignment with the Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan? I’m not convinced they have.”

Requests for these critical mobility and safety investments have been documented in countless studies over the years, including in the recently approved Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan and in the recent SPC 885/2nd Ave Corridor Study. Time and time again, the public has been told that there is no money to make these investments a reality. Yet now a project costing more than $16 million dollars is being put forward instead of community solutions. The Mon-Oakland roadway would instead host unspecified privately-run transportation modes—leaving a plethora of open questions such as usage costs, disability access, hours of operation, passenger-carrying capacity, safety for other park users, and impact on adjacent neighborhoods and the natural environment. Because of these concerns—and the Mon-Oakland Corridor’s dubious utility in addressing the communities’ very real transportation and pedestrian safety needs—the proposal has been met by considerable opposition. Funding these priorities instead would be in line with Pittsburgh’s 2016 adoption of the Complete Streets ordinance.

Four Mile Run resident Barb Warwick says, “We need flood mitigation, not a roadway that would degrade Schenley Park, and one that would drive through the heart of our community. Public money should be used for public good, and we are proud to collaborate with our neighboring communities to enhance the transit, bike and pedestrian connections between us—in an equitable and effective way.”

Dozens of Four Mile Run, Hazelwood, Greenfield, Panther Hollow, and Oakland residents will testify along with other stakeholders on Monday, December 9 at 10 a.m. at the Tax, Budget and Citizen Participation Hearing at City Council to raise concerns about the proposed roadway and its transportation utility, environmental consequences, safety impacts for cyclists and pedestrians, traffic and affordable housing implications, and whether it’s a responsible use of public funds. They will call for the “Our Money, Our Solutions” plan to be funded instead.

You can speak up for community-generated mobility solutions over the top-down Mon Oakland Connector Project. Sign the petition today. Join us at City Council on Monday, 10am at 414 Grant St, to testify in support.

Calling all transit lovers! Ride with us! Rise with us!

It’s PPT’s end-of year celebration, and we want to get down with you all. 2019 has been quite a ride, kicking off with our #FairFares push, bringing Port Authority board members on the bus (and throwing one under the bus), a kick-ass organizing fellowship cohort and rider-led planning effort to build better transit #BeyondtheEastBusway.

We’ve led the fight of People over Robots with our “Who’s Driving this Thing” AV paper, and been mobilizing with the Mon-Oakland communities to claim “Our Money. Our Solutions.” Now we’re leading the charge with our partners at Pittsburgh United’s Housing Justice Table, Just Harvest and Bike Pittsburgh to insist that developers radically reallocate money from excess parking into affordable housing, free bus passes, food access and pedestrian and bike needs.

And who can forget the sinkhole bus! 2019. What a year!

With DJ Shoe spinning the tunes, transit-related party games, appetizers and drinks, it’s a not-to-be-missed way to usher in 2020. All attendees will get a free Ride with Us, Rise with Us poster designed by Christina Acuna Castillo.

$10 suggested a donation, but no one will be turned away. See you soon!

Come Party with us for a better transit future!
Friday, December 13th
7-10pm at the Irma Freeman Center
5006 Penn Ave.

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Pittsburghers for Public Transit is looking to ride with 200 new supporters before the end of the year. Support at any level, even the cost of a $2.75 bus pass will help! Make your contribution today.

Developers want to spend $15Million on a super-sized parking garage instead of providing for real community needs: affordable housing, improved transit, healthy food access, safe streets. We say no.

The Giant Eagle Shakespeare site is a chance to reverse East Liberty’s legacy of gentrification and displacement. It is an opportunity to show what truly equitable transit-oriented communities can look like.

The site is across the street from the East Liberty Busway Station, and there are dozens of other high-quality transit lines that pass it frequently. It literally has some of the best service in the entire transit system. Yet, the developers want to spend $15,000,000 on a 500-space parking garage.

Over-building car parking in this dense, walkable, transit-rich, amenity-rich neighborhood would be misguided (…to put it lightly). More car parking will only lead to more driving, more traffic congestion, more expensive rents, more costly products, more pollution, and more dangerous streets. Studies have already shown that there are hundreds of unused, publically-subsidized parking spaces within a block of the site. Why should an entire community pay by trading their personal health, clean air, and quality of life for a new building’s overbuilt parking? Why spend millions on a luxury amenity like car housing when our neighbors need affordable housing? There is a better way to create community equity and you can help make it happen.

Advocates for affordable housing, public transit, and food justice are coming together to demand that the parking garage money, and other public/private dollars go towards increasing the affordability of the rents, providing free bus passes to residents, ensuring access to healthy food, and building out safe streets.

You can help support and shape these demands at these upcoming events. Sign up below and reach out with any questions, info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org

“We all rise up when we center those who are at the margins.” -Ms. Pearl Hughey, PPT Member

You can build this grassroots movement for transit equity, one that centers the leadership and value of those most marginalized. Donate today to push PPT’s rider-led advocacy towards our year-end goal of raising $10,000 and activating 200 new supporters.

Here is a story from Ms. Pearl about her work to defend and expand public transit:

My name is Pearl Hughey. I’m a lifelong resident of Rankin. For me, my family, and my neighbors, public transit is a lifeline to opportunity. Last year when the transit agency said our bus service in the Mon Valley would be cut by 50% because of new rapid transit between Oakland and Downtown, we knew our communities would be devastated. We knew we had to stand up for change.

Change doesn’t come without strategy and commitment. For 18 months we organized. We built a movement. We gained power.

When the transit authority made their final announcement, we saw all of our hard work pay off. We won and we won big! Not only would the cuts be reversed, but now this rapid bus corridor would speed up our buses too.

The fight isn’t over. We need to keep working so that everyone in the Mon Valley, Eastern Suburbs and Allegheny County has access to quality, affordable transit.

We designed a grassroots approach to transit planning—one that allows the people who are directly affected to set priorities. Now we need you to rise up with us in this campaign to help see it through. When we come together, we can win.

Pearl Hughey
PPT Member
East Busway Organizing Fellow

Your action will make it possible for more neighbors like Ms. Pearl to work with PPT’s Organizing Fellowship and win quality, affordable public transit for Allegheny County. 

Your gift of any size—whether $5, $50, or $500—will go toward our goal of $10,000.
Your voice in sharing this work will help toward our goal of activating 200 new advocates.

What is “Bus Stop Consolidation”?

Near the beginning of September, the Port Authority unrolled a new Bus Stop Consolidation program. Their website reads;

Your bus stop is the welcome mat to our service. For a better transit experience, we plan to reduce the number of bus stops throughout our system to improve on-time performance while ensuring that you can safely and comfortably access our service.

Allegheny County has a lot of bus stops, often located very close together. We’re not against the practice of bus stop consolidation (because it can make buses faster), but we do know that eliminating stops generally makes it harder for riders to access transit. For some, it creates a minor inconvenience that is outweighed by the faster ride. For riders with limited mobility, however, it can create an insurmountable obstacle. So it’s important that our public agency is paying attention to the system’s most vulnerable users and their needs, so that we’re not improving efficiency at their expense.

How has the program scored so far?

Bus stops are critical points of entry into the transportation system that many riders’ lives depend on. The process should reflect the seriousness of what is at stake and should do all it can to ensure that the most vulnerable riders are not being left behind by stop removal.

For starters, riders shouldn’t have to beg to be heard about bus stop removals that will create hardship for vulnerable communities. (PG article: North Side shelter objects to Port Authority eliminating bus stop at its front door), nor should be worried that calling for safe bus stops will result in our bus stops being eliminated (O’Hara officials unhappy about bus stop elimination near RIDC Park). Eliminating these bus stops will not simply be minor inconveniences. These decisions will have catastrophic impacts on access to food, housing and employment.

It should go without saying that Pittsburgh and the surrounding municipalities need to invest in safe sidewalks, bus stop amenities, and crosswalks, and that would go a long way to ensuring that our transit system is accessible for all. However, it’s also important that Port Authority does not use those lack of investments as a reason to penalize their riders in the short term. Privileging stops with existing amenities like good sidewalks and bus shelters creates inequitable outcomes, because good sidewalks are more prevalent in wealthier communities, and many bus shelters have historically been placed in places with high advertising visibility and marketing value.

Instead, with a clear public process and opportunities for riders and operators to give input throughout, PAAC will create an altogether more equitable and effective outcome. And because we can walk and chew gum, members of the public can also take the opportunity to call on their City or municipality to ensure that we have safe and supportive streets and sidewalks around all our bus stops to encourage transit usage.

How to improve the process

We want to give PAAC a shout-out for having a phased approach to bus stop consolidation, which gives space to hear from riders and make improvements. We’re also glad that Port Authority says they’re looking to TransitCenter’s Bus Stop Balancing Report (even if they didn’t follow it, exactly). Finally, we see that PAAC listened to some feedback in its first round and made modifications on the proposed bus stop removals planned for the 51 and 16 routes. We’re hopeful we can get to a better place on this.

But giving feedback to a plan that’s already been created isn’t the same as giving input as an active collaborator to a program. With a few simple process improvements, Port Authority could ensure that this program is collaborative, equitable and effective.

The Math:

Clearly Defined Goals
+ Rider Input & Operator Input
+ Data
+ Draft Proposal
+ Feedback & Alterations
= Good Decision Making

Over the last few weeks, PPT volunteers have ridden the 51, the 16, the 48 and the 88 to collect input from riders about which stops were important and how the process can be improved. Below are some key suggestions from local riders and operators on how PAAC can build on the process going forward:

BEFORE signs are posted at bus stops to be removed, Port Authority should:

• PAAC should list the specific metrics that will be used to identify stops that will be removed. PAAC should score each stop according to these metrics to be transparent in what exactly drives decision-making. These metrics should include ridership data, half-fare & senior ConnectCard taps, number of wheelchair ramp deployments and the frequency with which a bus “kneels” at any given stop, as well as qualitative input like nearby amenities and the accessibility of adjacent bus stops.
• Map social service agencies (i.e. food pantries, Department of Human Services facilities, social security/WIC/SNAP offices, and other locations used by marginalized and limited-mobility communities) and take them into account when creating a draft of which stops to remove. Talk to these agencies to get their input.
• Communicate clear timelines around when public comment will be accepted, when preliminary stops identified for removal will be announced, and when the final decision on stop removal will be made. This feedback process should be iterative; collect input before and after the stops are identified for removal, and then make a final decision.
• Use bus advertising space and the overhead announcement to relay information about the bus stop removal program and ask for feedback. Have comment cards on the buses for riders to give input on which stops are important and which ones are unnecessary and why.
• Have the Port Authority staff making the bus stop removal decisions ride the affected routes and talk to bus operators and riders to identify both important and underused stops. Internally, Port Authority could publicize a meeting with the bus operators using posters and the scheduling committee to get the word out.
• Make explicit commitments to prioritize bus shelter improvements on routes that are losing stops, or commit to providing more frequent service with the new efficiencies found through the process.
• Provide information about bus stop removal in multiple languages and in pictures.

AFTER stops are removed, Port Authority should:

• Report back to riders on the effect of the removal. Have the stop removals sped up the buses? How will savings be reinvested to benefit riders? How have they affected ridership?
• Continue to collect rider and driver feedback. How are the stop removals affecting riders’ experiences?

Port Authority put lots of work into their new Bus Stop Guidelines. These guidelines include “Equity” and “Accessibility” (see page 10) in the metrics for identifying Bus Stop Need, alongside “Transit Agency Policy.” This is great work that PAAC should be proud of. But let’s follow these guidelines accordingly with the next 96 routes set for bus stop consolidation, and we won’t leave riders out in the cold.

We know how to improve mobility for our communities. For years, our neighbors in Hazelwood, Four Mile Run, Greenfield, Panther Hollow, Squirrel Hill and the surrounding communities have put forward ideas to improve our mobility: accessible sidewalks, expanded transit service, bike trail connections, and safe pedestrian crossings on busy streets

Time and time again, we’ve been told that there is no money to make those plans a reality. However, the City is now pushing forward a multi-million dollar mobility project instead of our communities’ solutions. The City’s Mon-Oakland Connector plan would build a roadway through Schenley Park for private companies to operate “micromobility” connections between the Universities and the Hazelwood Green development site. Neighbors in these communities have put together an alternate plan thatcalls for investment in needs that have been documented for years. It’s time our public money and officials support these priorities. Sign the petition to support these community-generated solutions.

Congratulations to the Northland Library, CCAC North, Crisis Center North and the hundreds of residents, political officials and businesses along the Perry Highway corridor who have kept up the advocacy for transit service to the corridor for the last five years! We are particularly grateful for the longtime support of the Ross Township Commission and Senator Randy Vulakovich and Senator Lindsey Williams who have taken up the torch over the years.

We know that access to the library, employment and higher education are critical needs that should be robustly served by public transit. You can check out the history of the Buses for Perry Highway campaign –the rallies, letter writing, and Port Authority testimony– here. We will always last ONE DAY LONGER. Sí se puede!

You can read more about the upcoming major transit service changes and learn about next steps in this recent Post Gazette article:

Port Authority to reroute some buses to service CCAC North and Northland Library

“More than five years after North Hills residents, businesses and organizations began lobbying for it, Port Authority will extend service to Community College of Allegheny County’s North Campus and the Northland Library in McCandless next March.

Port Authority announced changes for the 012 McKnight Flyer last week as part of a series of changes mostly involving extended weekend service to be implemented as part of the agency’s annual service review. The agency will take public input about the proposed changes before they begin March 15.”

During yesterday’s City Planning Commission meeting, Commissioners approved a zoning change that will allow for housing to be built at the Giant Eagle Shakespeare site next to the East Busway Station.

Before the vote was taken, Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s Community Organizer, Josh Malloy, and Director, Laura Wiens, gave testimony to talk about the importance of a site like this in building equitable transit-oriented communities. They joined affordable housing advocates and residents to call for a development that includes affordable housing and free transit for residents.

The zoning change is an important first step to building the equitable transit-oriented communities that we need to combat crushing traffic congestion, climate change, and our City’s housing crisis. In the coming weeks, PPT will continue to work with residents, advocates, and political leaders to encourage a development that better aligns with all of these goals. The goal is that by the time this development comes before City Council for approval, the developer has agreed to build less structured parking and direct the savings to increase housing affordability and provide free transit passes.

We need your voice in this campaign. Please reach out to get involved.

Check out this recent news coverage about the development:

WESA: “Redevelopment Of The Shakespeare Street Giant Eagle Heads To Pittsburgh City Council“, Margaret J. Krauss

…

Housing advocates urged Echo Realty and their partner Greystar to double the number of affordable units.

“We have been encouraged by the conversations we’ve been able to have” with the developers, said Celeste Scott, housing justice organizer for Pittsburgh UNITED. “We do think that this affordability target in a place like East Liberty, where there has been so much historical harm, is not asking too much.

Representatives from Pittsburghers for Public Transit proposed a way to pay for the increased affordability: reduce the planned amount of parking and use the savings to subsidize more units and provide transit passes.

“This is an opportunity to address several needs,” said Joshua Malloy, PPT’s community organizer. “Pittsburgh’s affordable housing crisis, congestion in East Liberty and Shadyside, underutilization of public transit in the area, and overbuilding of parking.”

Malloy cited a 2018 analysis by Jeanne Batog, a University of Pittsburgh graduate student, that found nearby parking lots experience 40 percent vacancy during peak hours.

….read the rest here

Pittsburgh City Paper: “Pitt paper shows parking spaces near East Liberty busway station are underutilized by 30 percent“, Ryan Deto

…..

Wiens says future developments in the area should be focusing on housing density and trying to limit the number of parking spaces built.

“It is a big opportunity,” says Wiens. “We need more density. It will encourage more people to use [transit]. When you build more parking, you [give] incentive for more cars to come into the neighborhood.”

Wiens also notes there is a lot of money that developers set aside for parking spaces. A paper by PPT argues that Shakespeare developers could save $4.6 million if they lowered the number of parking spaces to align with the zoning minimum requirements in East Liberty, which are one parking space for every two housing units. (The Shakespeare proposal is technically in Shadyside, where minimums are higher, but developers have convinced city officials to agree to a variance to lower them before.)

A 2014 UCLA study shows that above-ground parking garages as required by parking minimums increase the cost of the average U.S. project by 31 percent.

Wiens says it makes financial sense and would be a boost for economic equity in the area if less parking was built at the Shakespeare site, especially if the money saved was used to build more affordable units and/or supply residents with transit passes.

“When we are talking about over-building by hundreds of spaces, like in Eastside Bond and Target, that is millions of dollars,” says Wiens. “There is so much wasted space.”

She says this contributes units being unaffordable to residents, which is only exacerbated by the fact that these units are close to frequent and good public transit, which is more frequently used by low-income people.

“That money should go for free bus passes,” says Wiens. “If you have 30 people getting free bus passes, that lower demands for parking.”

…read the rest here