PA: Advocates celebrate new North Side bus shelter built under city program
The new shelter on Cedar Avenue at Pressley Street on Pittsburgh's North Side is much more than a place to catch a bus to Lorita Gillespie.
"It's good to have a place to be out of the elements," Ms. Gillespie, who uses a wheelchair and lives on the city's South Side, told a news conference Wednesday. She said it also provides an element of safety since strangers can't easily run past and snatch a purse or other items if bus riders are inside the shelter.
Nicole Gallagher, a community organizer for advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transit, called the shelter "a palace for the people." PPT used National Transit Equity Day and the birthday of Rosa Parks — the civil rights activist who refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955 — to celebrate the new shelter.
The city's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure built the shelter under a program funded through a line item in the city budget set up for the first time two years ago. It has so far resulted in six new shelters.
Laura Wiens, PPT's executive director, said Pittsburgh has among the lowest percentage of shelters at bus stops in the country at under 10%. The city is responsible for shelters in the city, where about 70% of Pittsburgh Regional Transit's 95 bus routes begin or end.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit builds and maintains shelters in suburban communities.
Councilwoman Barb Warwick and Mayor Corey O'Connor said transit plays an important role in supporting the city's economic growth. "Connectivity is at the heart of Pittsburgh," the mayor added.
For many years, the city built bus shelters randomly as money was available.
That changed two years ago when they became a formal line item. Since then, DOMI has worked with the advocacy group and others to review bus stops and prioritize where shelters would be the most help.
Rylan Seifert, curbside & mobility manager for DOMI, said sites are selected based on the popularity of the bus stop and amenities around it.
The city built a 10-by-10-foot concrete pad behind the sidewalk for this shelter because it serves nine bus routes across Cedar Avenue from a Giant Eagle grocery and is in front of part of Allegheny Commons Park and the Sue Murray swimming pool.
Mr. Seifert said the budget set aside $116,000 for shelters in 2025 and the city expects to build another five to 10 this year. The costs of shelter construction varies depending on the location and size.
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