Special federal grants will fund new transportation projects, Pittsburgh road projects, bike rental expansion, and trail improvements.

The Southwest Pennsylvania Commission on Wednesday announced funding for the Pittsburgh Regional Transportation Authority’s first microtransit project, improving traffic safety along three Pittsburgh roads, nearly doubling the size of Bike Pittsburgh’s rental program, and funding the Pittsburgh Regional Transit Authority’s first microtransit project in Allegheny. Announced $21.3 million in discretionary grants to help expand trail networks in the southwest suburbs. county.

The commission sets priorities for federal transportation projects in a 10-county region and receives funding from the federal Department of Transportation each year to fund three categories of projects: This year, the agency awarded funding to seven of her projects in two categories. Two trail projects are under the Alternative Transportation Program, and the other projects are under the Congestion Relief Air Quality Program.

All grants will be available from 2025.

The breakdown of funded projects is as follows:

pittsburgh regional transportation

The agency will receive two grants: $3.9 million to help launch the first microtransit service and $7.4 million to help pay for a station between Squirrel Hill and Oakland that was left out of the bus rapid transit project. .

Spokesman Adam Brandorff said he was “very excited” about the funding for the microtransit project, which aims to connect underserved communities and the PRT’s major service lines. ” This type of service was one of the key recommendations in the agency’s NEXTransit long-term plan adopted in 2021.

The grant will help pay for the project’s first steps in determining where to trial microtransit and how to deliver it. The agency will consider two locations recommended in the long-range plan: the Talentum-Brackenridge-Harrison area in the Allegheny Valley and the McKeesport-Versailles area in the Monongahela Valley.

During the planning stage, the agency will hold public meetings in both areas to determine the need and type of services residents want. Several options are possible, including on-demand services and scheduled routes using full-size buses, small vehicles, and even zero-emission vehicles.

“The $3.9 million will help us go into the community and determine what that plan is going to be,” Brandolph said. “There’s still a lot to understand about how it works.

“One is that we can definitely connect with existing lines.”

Brandorff emphasized that the first program will be a pilot project, but if successful, he plans to try it elsewhere. The entire project cost he estimated at $11.5 million.

The BRT grant will allow the agency to restore the Squirrel Hill building to the University Line, which will connect downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland with bus-only lanes and improve reliability. Construction on the $291 million project began in September, but the PRT was forced to close the list after federal officials questioned whether enough funds were included to cover unforeseen costs during construction. Eliminated expansion work to Hill and Highland Park.

Brandorff said the grant will allow the agency to build six stations on a 2.6-mile stretch between Belfield Street in Oakland and Forbes Street and Murray Street in Squirrel Hill. The total cost of the project, which will not begin until the University Trunk is completed in 2026, is expected to be approximately $15 million.

Brandolph said officials continue to seek funding for the Highland Park branch.

pittsburgh road project

Road projects funded in Pittsburgh include:

• $3.6 million for improvements to Brownsville Road in the South Hills, including four signalized intersections including Maytide Street, Biscayne Drive-Bex Run Road and Nobles Lane; Signals will include audible crossing instructions, improved night lighting, and high-visibility crosswalks, some of which will be elevated.
• $1.5 million to improve signal timing on East Ohio Street on the North Side, reduce congestion and improve air quality from Cedar Avenue to Chestnut Street. Other improvements include elevated crosswalks and traffic lights to detect pedestrians and cyclists.
• $1.5 million to add bicycle and pedestrian improvements to Negley Avenue between Friendship Avenue and Broad Street in East Liberty. Construction will include the addition of speed charts between Friendship and Coral Streets to reduce speeding near bike lane intersections, high-visibility crosswalks, new traffic lights, and shorter distances for pedestrians to cross the road. Includes Penn Avenue and Negley bumpouts.

bike pittsburgh

BikeShare Pittsburgh’s $2.1 million grant provides significant capital that will allow the company to nearly double its network of regular e-bikes and rental bikes and stations and expand service to new regions. part of the project, Executive Director David White said.

The agency plans to open 50 new rental stations and purchase 500 more bicycles, two-thirds of which will be electric-assist bikes and the rest will be pedal bikes. In addition to adding stations in Larimer, Homewood, and Oakland, Bike Pittsburgh will move to new neighborhoods including Lincoln-Lemington, Belmar, Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Manchester, Cal-Kirkbride, and Highland Park.

White said officials will conduct community outreach in nearby areas to finalize the exact locations of new stations, some of which could be installed starting next year.

trail

The $1 million grant will help the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority extend the Panhandle Trail three miles from Collier to the Carnegie park-and-ride site. It is part of the abandoned Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad.

The county completed a feasibility study for the extension in 2022.

The trail currently runs from Walker’s Mill Station in Collier through Washington County to the Harmony Creek Parking Lot in West Virginia.

In South Fayette, the township will use an $800,000 grant to pay for a new trail system through 190-acre Fairview Park, said Paula Willis, township parks and recreation director. .

The trail system within the park will be connected to nature trails and other trails outside the park, Willis said. The town has now secured about 90% of the funding for the project and has begun designing a 10-foot-wide park trail complex.

The park was established over 30 years ago on the site of Mayview State Hospital.