PAT’s Final meeting as Downtown-Oakland-East End BRT system nears completion will be held Thursday, 1/28 at 6pm
For those of you who have followed the Downtown-Oakland Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, you’ll know about the vital part that transit rider organizing has played in bringing more equity to this project. For those who may not be familiar, you can check out a brief recap here.
We’re very close to having a strong and equitable BRT project that will serve riders through Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, the entire East End and Allegheny County – but rider advocacy is still needed!
The final public meeting for the Downtown-Oakland BRT project is Thursday 1/28 at 6pm.
You can join to support equity and raise any final changes you’d like to see!
- See the slideshow on the updated BRT Project that the Port Authority will be presenting at the meeting
- See the lastest article on the BRT Project, written by Ed Blazina at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Here are some concerns that riders have been raising to the Port Authority and the City during these meetings:
- The 61D, 71A, 71C, 71D will now end in Oakland, so transfers will now be needed for those riders who want to access downtown or the East End. This forces a transfer for riders in Uptown, Homewood, and other neighborhoods who rely on these routes to access food, healthcare and more.
- Housing affordability, gentrification and displacement concerns loom large for Uptown around this project. Transit projects like Bus Rapid Transit have been linked to significant increases in the cost of housing, goods and services in other cities. We need the City to step in with meaningful affordability protections for the neighborhood and the entire city.
- Accessibility for people with disabilities be addressed, especially in Uptown – Why is the City removing all accessible parking spots along Fifth and Forbes in Uptown, and into Oakland? Can’t the parking be moved to the right-hand side of the street? How is the City using this curb to curb development project throughout Oakland, Uptown and Downtown to address existing accessibility concerns like removing steps into businesses?
- The plan will also bring significant Bus Stop Consolidation to nearly 20 Local Routes in the Eastern portion of the Port Authority system. This means that riders with disabilities, seniors, and other people with limited mobility will need to walk further to access transit. Does bus stop consolidation really serve riders best? It’s worth checking out the plan and whether your stops will be affected. From what we can tell stops will be removed from the 69, 67, 28x, 54C, 54D, 93, 64, 58, P3, all the 61s and 71s, 81, 83, and maybe more.