Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s proposed $291 million Bus Rapid Transit system between Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland is expected to bring electric buses, exclusive lanes and traffic light priority to bus service between two of the state’s busiest business centers.
The project also will bring something else: about $150,000 in new public art.
That’s because part of the project will be paid for by the city, which has had a requirement since 1977 that 1% of the budget for publicly funded projects of more than $50,000 must be devoted to public art.
Audrey Wells, a communications specialist in the city’s Department of Planning, said the city will put out a call for proposals from artists by the end of the year. The call will be for individual artists or teams that have experience with public art and have shown an ability to collaborate with other artists rather than proposals for specific sites along the BRT route.
For the most part, Ms. Wells said, the artists will have a blank slate to create whatever art they feel reflects a particular location. There will be two dozen stations built as part of the project, including five in the Downtown area.
The city isn’t looking for any particular theme, specific type of art or a set number of sites that will have art. That means the artists could decide to do sidewalk mosaics at each station, three sculptures at some sites and six murals at other key locations, or lighted mobiles at the entrance to each neighborhood.
“We’re hoping they will be able to do some community outreach and see what kind of art people are interested in,” Ms. Wells said. “Maybe the art can reflect the area where it is located. We’re excited to see what they come up with.”
One of the few requirements is the art must be designed to last at least five years. The city is responsible for maintaining the art once it is installed.
The transit agency expects to receive federal approval of the BRT project in the fall and award construction contracts with work beginning in the Downtown area next spring. The second phase in Oakland and Uptown would begin in spring 2024 with sections opening as they are completed.
The project will have buses use Fifth Avenue inbound from Oakland and Forbes Avenue outbound, where there also will be a protected bike lane. When buses reach the Downtown area, they will follow Fifth Avenue to Liberty Avenue, Liberty to Sixth Avenue, and Sixth to Forbes Avenue.
On a separate note, PRT announced it is launching Building on the East Busway (BOTEB), a planning effort to evaluate and design additional stations, and re-design Wilkinsburg Station along the Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway.
This effort includes planning for three new stations along the busway – Baum-Centre, Larimer, and Brushton; developing a station area plan for the existing Wilkinsburg Station that will explore opportunities to improve station access and design; and identifying opportunities for equitable transit-oriented development on PRT-owned property, according to a news release.
PRT is currently seeking input for the Wilkinsburg and Brushton station areas, and will host two public meetings to discuss existing conditions. Both meetings will be held on Sept.13. The first meeting will be held online from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The second meeting will be held in person from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg.
In June 2020, the Federal Transit Administration awarded PRT $682,500 – and PRT matched $227,500 – to conduct a transit-oriented development study along the busway between Oakland and Wilkinsburg.
In February 2022, PRT received $5.4 million to help build a new transportation center in Wilkinsburg. The total cost of that project is expected to be about $8 million.
For more information or to sign up to attend the upcoming public meetings, visit www.rideprt.org/BOTEB.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.
First Published: August 21, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: August 21, 2022, 1:28 p.m.
