Strip District merchants sue city over Penn Avenue lane reduction plan

PITTSBURGH — The tension between the goal of improved safety in the Strip District and the concerns over the impact on Penn Avenue merchants has landed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

After the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure provided an updated revision to its Penn Avenue Rightsizing plan on September 17, the Strip District Business Association, which has largely coalesced over the issue, has filed a lawsuit against the city and its Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, requesting a judge to “enter a permanent injunction” to stop the DOMI and the city from moving forwarding with the Penn Avenue Rightsizing project.

The city’s Engage PGH website details a plan to reduce Penn Avenue from two lanes to one, starting at 31st Street and ending at 22nd Street, just before the main concentration of the Penn Avenue business district starts.

The project calls for establishing a bike lane along the north side of Penn Avenue, maintaining parking along the nine-block span by installing curbs to enable parking-protected bike lanes, and designating various loading zones to meet the operations needs of business owners.

Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times.

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