Memorandum

From: Long-Range Planning Committee, Allegheny County Transit Council

To: Membership, Allegheny County Transit Council

Date: 2006 March 22

Subject: Need for Elevated Pedestrian Walkway, Convention Center to Penn Station

The Port Authority of Allegheny County recently found it necessary, due to limited financial resources, to defer construction of a proposed subway spur which would have served the

David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Without construction of this subway spur, conventioneers and other visitors to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will have no direct
pedestrian access to the Pittsburgh Light Rail Rapid Transit System. And, this lack of direct access to Pittsburgh’s subway system will likely remain for many years to come, without

some type of positive action.

Safe, easy, and quick pedestrian access between the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the Pittsburgh Light Rail Rapid Transit System would be extremely beneficial to conventioneers and other visitors to the Convention Center, as well as to other pedestrians in this area of the Pittsburgh Golden Triangle, and make the Convention Center more marketable to potential tenants. Access to the existing Rapid Transit Station located at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station (“Penn Station”), located only a block from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, is limited by two major streets and several dangerous intersections.

Construction of an elevated pedestrian walkway between the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Penn Station would be a financially-reasonable and pedestrian-friendly solution to provide conventioneers and other visitors to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with safe, easy, and quick access to the Pittsburgh Light Rail Rapid Transit System via the rapid transit system’s station at Penn Station.

Such an elevated pedestrian walkway could also easily connect the Westin Convention Center Hotel (which includes a bus stop for buses to the Airport), Liberty Center office tower, the under-construction new Greyhound Bus Terminal (which will include a large parking garage), Port Authority’s Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway, and Amtrak’s Pittsburgh terminal at Penn Station (which may also be the future terminal of commuter train service from Westmoreland County and/or the Allegheny/Kiski Valley).

Construction of such an elevated pedestrian walkway would be a major project, the planning of which should include all agencies and institutions representing interested parties, including (but not limited to) the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh, Port Authority of Allegheny County, and Allegheny County Transit Council.

The Long-Range Planning Committee of the Allegheny County Transit Council does hereby propose and recommends that the Port Authority of Allegheny County and Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County construct such an elevated pedestrian walkway, to ensure safe, easy, and quick access between the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the Pittsburgh Light Rail Rapid Transit System station at Penn Station. The Committee also proposes that an Elevated Walkway Task Force be formed, to include all agencies and institutions representing interested parties, including (but not limited to) the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh, Port Authority of Allegheny County, and Allegheny County Transit Council, for the planning of such an Elevated Pedestrian Walkway.

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(Memorandum based on a resolution approved by a unanimous vote of the Long-Range Planning Committee of the Allegheny County Transit Council, at the Committee’s regular monthly meeting, Wednesday Evening, March 22, 2006.)