Transit riders will have several opportunities in the next two weeks to tell Pittsburgh Regional Transit what elements they want in a revised Herron Station along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.
The agency has been working since early this year on potential concepts for the site, an eclectic area where diverse neighborhoods Lower Lawrenceville, Polish Hill and the Strip District meet. The goal is to improve access and safety for riders who bike or walk to the station, said Moira Egler, a program manager for the agency who is overseeing this project.
Two potential concepts will be presented at a series of pop-up meetings, online sessions and community meetings that will begin with an opportunity for input from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lawrenceville Farmers Market at 115 41st Street. The agency will put together a formal proposal for residents to review through additional meetings before the end of the year, Egler said.
“What we’re saying to people is, ‘Here are two different concepts,’” she said. “’What do you like? What else would you like to see?’
“Probably it will be some combination of the two in the end.”
Five elements are common in both concepts: larger busway platforms with enhanced amenities; accessible green space between the ramp and hillside; renovated stairs from Downing Street into the plaza; a parklet along Downing; and improved conditions for pedestrians on the Herron Avenue Bridge, where Pittsburgh is planning a rehabilitation project for 2025.
One alternate also calls for a new bus stop separated from a public plaza on Herron Avenue closer to the outbound platform; a landscaped hillside with no public access; improved stairs to the inbound platform at the existing location; a steeper ramp with a slightly larger green space with native plants; and canopies covering sections of the ramps and stairs.
The other includes: an integrated public plaza and bus stop extending farther along Herron Avenue; terraced stairs to the outbound platform; improved inbound stairs that extend to the platform; retaining walls with public art along switchback ramps; and uncovered ramp and stairs to the outbound ramps.
Egler said the agency has been working closely with the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, which likely will improve the bridge before the station project, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The station project hasn’t been funded yet, so improvements are at least several years away.
The Herron project continues the agency’s efforts to upgrade stations throughout the system.
It completed a rehab at the Negley Station on the busway earlier this year and is planning another at Wilkinsburg on the busway. On the light rail system, plans are being developed for stations at Station Square, Dormont and South Hills Junction.
Herron Station outreach
Pop-ups: 3-7 p.m. Tuesday, Lawrenceville Farmers Market, 1115 41st St.; 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 15, Kalbut Coffee, 3138 Dobson St., Polish Hill.
Online meetings: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 10; 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11. Registration required.
Community meetings: 6:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at Lawrenceville Happenings Community Meeting, TRYP Hotel, 177 40th St.; 5 p.m. Oct. 17, Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Strip District.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.