Port Authority has settled on an ambitious plan for revamping its South Hills Junction station: combining light rail and bus stops at the same platform; improving access from a half-dozen neighborhood streets; installing a pedestrian bridge between Mount Washington and Beltzhoover; and including more than 100,000 square feet of private development.
Now, the agency has to find the $53 million to $69 million to move the project forward.
Moira Egler, project manager for transit-oriented communities, said that with the master plan finished, construction could begin in five to eight years. The work could be phased in over several years, beginning with station and access improvements, she told the authority board’s planning and stakeholders committee meeting last week.
Two major parts of the station upgrades will be improving access from the surrounding neighborhoods and creating one platform to board light rail vehicles or buses.
Access improvements would include revamping the walking trail from Albert Street to Harwood Way with new stairs from Paur Street to the trail; new or improved stairs to the site from Lelia, Harwood and Jasper streets; and adding an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramp from Secane Avenue to Haberman Avenue.
The proposed 180-foot trail for pedestrians and cyclists would cross the valley from Lelia Street in Mount Washington to Warrington Avenue in Beltzhoover. A control tower near the halfway point would include an elevator and steps to carry passengers to and from the station below.
In the valley, the footprint of the site also would change substantially.
Instead of separate sites for light rail and bus passengers to board and exit vehicles, there will be one shared platform. Riders will be able to pay their fares before they board.
“We’re looking at it from a convenience standpoint for our customers,” Ms. Egler said. “This would allow riders to wait at the same spot and take the first mode that comes along, whether it’s a bus or train.”
In addition to the land gained by eliminating one platform, the authority plans to relocate a salt dome, a storage area for railroad ties and employee parking to create more space for private development that the agency expects will follow the station improvements. That will open up three parcels with a total of more than 100,000 square feet of space for projects such as four- or five-story apartment buildings, with commercial space on the first floor and parking underneath along Warrington Avenue, and townhouses on Haberman.
The agency would seek requests for proposals from developers interested in the sites.
Separately, Pittsburgh is working on complementary projects for the intersection at Boggston Avenue and bike lanes on Haberman.
The authority received a $1 million Livability through Smart Transportation grant through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission last fall to help pay for the access improvements. Ms. Egler said Port Authority will be looking for other grant money to help pay for other aspects of the project.
The South Hills Junction project is part of a series of station improvements the authority is pursuing. It began work on revamping the Negley Station on the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway last week and is developing plans for projects at stations in Dormont, Station Square and Carnegie.
In addition to improving stations, the agency is pushing transit-oriented development around them, which would include housing and other amenities to serve residents who depend on transit.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.
First Published: February 21, 2022, 10:15 a.m.
Updated: February 21, 2022, 1:28 p.m.
