Let’s Have Brunch On Our Bridges, Part II

Let’s Have Brunch On Our Bridges, Part I is from 2010, but it’s Sunday and I’m thinking about brunch again so I remembered this idea.

Say, Pittsburgh and other cities with (nice) bridges…

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have brunch on our bridges once in awhile? This time lapse video shows how they do it for the Portland Bridge Festival.

Brunch on the Bridge

Originally uploaded by Aaron I. Rogosin

There are so many great bridges to choose from here, so many beautiful things to see around the city which we just can’t appreciate when driving 25-75 mph over a bridge. You need to (be able to) stop and sit and eat brunch with your neighbors in order to be able to take it in.

Riding or walking makes it possible to take in the spectacular view more thoroughly, but the opportunity to sit and relax and talk to people and eat and absorb the city over one of our three rivers isn’t a regular experience of people here.

I think it should be.

This fits in to what I was thinking at 2 o clock in the morning several years ago when I came up with the awkward name of this blog “Re-imagine an Urban Paradise.” After all, what is could be more of an urban paradise than a retreat on one of the bridges, over the rivers? Feeling the gorgeous summer breeze while having the opportunity to have brunch in a magical space?

What Else is Possible?

• Repurposing a bridge permanently
• Let’s turn a bridge into a public park
• And extend the public market onto one of the bridges, with outdoor cafes (without door cafes?)
• Let’s have all age dance parties every night during warm weather on one side of the bridge
• And show movies over the river
• Let’s have music and art performances
• Let’s have some grass and trees and flowers

I think at least half of the space should always always comfortable public gathering space that is free and has clean and attractive drinking and bathroom facilities.

What Would You Like to See?

If you could have it your way, what would you do with the space? Imagine any bridge in any city. Then re-imagine it. Suddenly it’s not just for transportation anymore.

What else could it be?

(This blog is no longer updated: visit me at Sustainability Stories for current writing. Let’s work together).

New Streetfilms About Pittsburgh Out Today!

Streetfilms just released their newest film about Pittsburgh! I worked for a while trying to convince Clarence Eckerson, Jr to come see how beautiful Pittsburgh is and to see the exciting and vibrant livable streets movement here.

If you’re not familiar with the work of Streetfilms, now is the time to start. They’ve made nearly 340 short films about livable streets around the world. It’s part of a genre I’ve been calling “Infrastructure Porn”.

Clarence came to Pittsburgh to film the video in November and today released his 7 minute snapshot of the city. It’s certainly worth a watch. Check out my post from last month about some of the excellent work of Streetfilms:

The Case for Separated Bike Lanes

I can’t embed the Pittsburgh video now, but take a look at it, the city looks spectacular!

Check it out here! And let me know what you think!

(I’m in it, and I had the opportunity to use the word “swoony”!)

 

What a Fantastic Morning! Walking, Yoga, Local Businesses, Delicious Foods

I woke at 5:30am and before 9 am, I had walked two miles, attended two yoga classes, and patronized four local businesses!

It’s getting better.

I started the day by walking to Yoga Hive, a new yoga studio recently opened by Kimberly Musial. Since they just opened, they have a special rate and you can try it out for $10 for two weeks. Just ten dollars — for unlimited classes!

This photo is not me. Taken by flickr user Shunpikie

So after a lovely first sweaty class, I stayed for the “Guided Meditation” which was so soothing and effective at quieting my constantly rushing mind that I think I may have fallen asleep. It was an incredibly restful feeling and left me feeling like I didn’t have a care in the world. I was even able to block out the car sounds outside on Penn Ave — a feat that is nearly impossible for me.

After yoga, I grabbed the newspaper from a convenience store, a cup of coffee from Voluto to sip while reading the Post-Gazette. My stroll home was lovely, too, and I stopped at People’s Grocery for an onion to assemble my future magnificent breakfast.

The Breakfast Brigade: Bagels, Mushrooms, Habaneros, Oh My!

I have a swell breakfast routine and it involves listening to NPR while whipping up a fairly elaborate bagel based meal and then reading the newspaper while eating.

Here’s my incredibly addictive breakfast:

• An everything bagel (or two), sliced, toasted.
• Cream cheese (onion and chives!)
• Sliced onion
• Thin slices of apple
• A delicious cheese (I usually use Havarti with Dill or some cheddar)
• Habanero (if you like it, I can’t have a meal without one)
• Cilantro (if you like it, if you’ve got it, I love it)
• Sauteed mushroom (these last two if you want to get really fancy, I do)
• Sauteed spinach

After you’ve toasted the bagel, cover it with cream cheese.

Slice the apple paper thin and place 2-3 slices all over the bottom half of the bagel. This will cover the hole of the bagel and allow you to cover it with even more food.

Just a small part of my habanero stash that I saved for my move from DC to Pittsburgh last year

Throw some onion on top of that for crunch and flavor.

Add mushrooms and spinach.

Cover all of the food with thin slices of your extra cheese to melt. Put the bagel back in the toaster oven or broiler and melt the cheese.

Add cilantro and minced habanero to the top and then cover with the other half of the bagel.

Slice in half and savor the massive six inch high bagel. I wish I had a picture to show you but I get so excited about my bagel that I eat too fast!

Now I’m walking to work because sometimes I like to move even more slowly than my bicycle.

Have a great day!

Reimagining Public Space on PARK(ing) Day

A few days ago there were an outstanding 31 organizations and businesses in Pittsburgh working to recreate parking spaces to transform for public usage on PARK(ing) Day on September 17.

Now there are 47! Keep up with the growing list here.

What the heck is PARK(ing) Day?

(directly from the original organizers)

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out!

Curious what the most innovative museums, designers, artists, architects, and other forward-thinking businesses might develop? Bike Pittsburgh members are developing a bike tour of all the spots and…

I Just Can’t Wait!

Greenery swoon in Seattle. Imagine if we had this lining our streets all the time! Yum! photo by Flickr user Rob Ketcherside

Check out the current Pittsburgh list!

South Side Local Development Company
AIA Pittsburgh
Western PA Conservancy
Cultural District
Oakland Planning & Development Corporation
Bloomfield Development Corporation
Lawrenceville United
Whole Foods
East Liberty Development, Inc.
Friends of the Pgh Urban Forest
CMU Architecture Studio
Bike Pittsburgh
Allegheny Commons Initiative
CDCP
Mattress Factory
The Andy Warhol Museum
Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
REI
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
ARTica Gallery
EDGE Studio
GTECH
Pittsburgh Glass Center
Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
Children’s Museum
Penn State University
Shaler Elementary School
Chatham University ASLA Club
Washington and Jefferson College
Brandon Ciampaglia
The ToonSeum
Lili Coffee Shop
The Urban Gypsy
Commonwealth Press
CTAC
Animal Friends
Carnegie Science Center
Chalk for Peace
Winchester Thurston
Artist Image Resource
L’ville Dog Park
OTB Cafe
Caffe Davio
Dance on Water: Story Dancing
Nina Marie Barbuto
Gabe Felice
Christina Miller
Suzanne Trenney
Monika Gibson

It’s Time for a Carfree Strip District

Broadway in Times Square is permanently carfree.

Wouldn’t this be a dream in Pittsburgh?

What do you think?

How could this work? Why should we do it? Read on!

The Strip District is RIPE to go Carfree

What: We should close Penn Ave to cars and open it to people.

When: the busiest shopping time of the week: Saturdays 8am-4pm.

Where: in the Strip District: Penn Avenue from 23rd St to 16th St.

How: Cars could drive and park to the Strip on Smallman and Liberty.

Why: Vendors, stores, and restaurants could display on the sidewalk and people can walk in the street.

We could easily transform the Strip District into a paradise for pedestrians — and give businesses a way to reach so many more customers!

Carfree space = more people = more business for businesses!

If you’ve ever walked down this packed shopping district on Saturdays in Pittsburgh you’ve noticed how crowded every spot is. Traffic moves slowly because there are so many people and those cars could easily be diverted onto the parallel streets.

If they can move cars off the main street of America, we can do it on the main street of Pittsburgh. This is a post I wrote back in February on Broadway becoming a pedestrian zone:

Broadway Now Permanently Carfree

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg of New York City made an historic announcement that will have wide-reaching implications for street design and public space transformation around the country.

Broadway in Times Square (42nd St. to 47th St) and Herald Square (33rd St. to 35th St) will now be permanently closed to traffic. What initially started as an experiment to improve public safety and traffic flow in May 2009 is being widely touted as an outstanding success.

The result? Traffic speeds are up on diverted routes, pedestrian and motorist injuries have plummeted (down 63%), businesses are benefiting from increased foot traffic, noise pollution is down and the area is dominated by people rather than modes of transportation.

The move to make these stretches of Broadway permanently carfree is supported by 74% of people who work in the area, according to a survey conducted by the Times Square Alliance.

Take a look at the stark difference in the Before and After pictures of Times Square:

The transformation has widespread support from the business community as well and was called “a 21st century idea”by Dan Biederman, director of the 34th Street Partnership (thanks to Streetsblog).

Last October I argued that temporary transformation is a more effective and legitimate way to gauge public opinion:

“People are used to roads and streets and public space being devoted to cars. That’s why it is essential to make the changes initially and give people the opportunity to feel and experience the delight of a public plaza and then to vote. New York and San Francisco are making temporary changes to demonstrate the value of returning space to people and have promised to return them to business as usual if that’s what people want.”

I’ll repeat: If you build cities for cars, you get cars. If you build cities for people, you get people.

New York did this and people love it. The rest of the country should begin following suit immediately.

How to Create a Paradise for People in Pittsburgh

Make the Strip District Car-free on Saturdays (and Sundays!)

Broadway in Times Square is permanently car-free. Wouldn’t this be a dream in Pittsburgh? What do you think?

How could this work? Why should we do it? Read on!

What: We should close Penn Ave to cars and open it to people.

When: the busiest shopping time of the week: Saturdays 8am-4pm.

Where: in the Strip District: Penn Avenue from 23rd St to 16th St.

How: Cars could drive and park to the Strip on Smallman and Liberty.

Why: Vendors, stores, and restaurants could display on the sidewalk and people can walk in the street.

More space to walk means more people means more business for businesses!

If you’ve ever walked down this packed shopping district on Saturdays in Pittsburgh you’ve noticed how crowded every spot is. Traffic moves slowly because there are so many people and those cars could easily be diverted onto the parallel streets.

If they can move cars off the main street of America, we can do it on the main street of Pittsburgh. This is a post I wrote back in February on Broadway becoming a pedestrian zone:

Broadway Now Permanently Car-free

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg of New York City made an historic announcement that will have wide-reaching implications for street design and public space transformation around the country.

Broadway in Times Square (42nd St. to 47th St) and Herald Square (33rd St. to 35th St) will now be permanently closed to traffic. What initially started as an experiment to improve public safety and traffic flow in May 2009 is being widely touted as an outstanding success.

The result? Traffic speeds are up on diverted routes, pedestrian and motorist injuries have plummeted (down 63%), businesses are benefiting from increased foot traffic, noise pollution is down and the area is dominated by people rather than modes of transportation.

The move to make these stretches of Broadway permanently car-free is supported by 74% of people who work in the area, according to a survey conducted by the Times Square Alliance.

Take a look at the stark difference in the Before and After pictures of Times Square:

The transformation has widespread support from the business community as well and was called “a 21st century idea”by Dan Biederman, director of the 34th Street Partnership (thanks to Streetsblog).

Last October I argued that temporary transformation is a more effective and legitimate way to gauge public opinion:

“People are used to roads and streets and public space being devoted to cars. That’s why it is essential to make the changes initially and give people the opportunity to feel and experience the delight of a public plaza and then to vote. New York and San Francisco are making temporary changes to demonstrate the value of returning space to people and have promised to return them to business as usual if that’s what people want.”

I’ll repeat: If you build cities for cars, you get cars. If you build cities for people, you get people.

New York did this and people love it. The rest of the country should begin following suit immediately.

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Manhattan Will Ban Private Cars By 2020

That’s my prediction.

Or will it be San Francisco? Or Washington, DC?

Someone’s got to do it, who will be first? Will it be a South American City?

Maybe Medellín or Bogotá?

Or maybe a European city: Copenhagen or Amsterdam?

Or perhaps Asia will take advantage of its density and invest primarily in public transportation. What about Beijing?

I wonder if the United States will become an innovator again or if we’ll continue unimaginatively trailing the world and throwing all our weight, money, resources and land at obsolete technology.

Working Water Fountains Everywhere

As I said yesterday, Pittsburgh is constantly called “Most Livable City”, but we should strive to be “Most Marvelous City”. And this isn’t just for Pittsburgh, any city that wants to be not just great but marvelous will need to make some radical changes. In addition to glammy public toilets…

We Need Working Water Fountains on Every Corner

If you want to enjoy a public space, or public art, there is a good chance that you will be thirsty. Bring back drinking fountains! Put them everywhere!

General Electric Drinking Fountain, 1960’s (flickr user Roadside Pictures).

We need free water in public space. It will make public space more enjoyable while eliminating the demand for plastic water bottles. Bottled water costs about $10 per gallon compared to TWO CENTS per gallon for tap water.

Tap water is cheap, plentiful, regulated.

Check the “Take Back the Tap” resources available from Food and Water Watch for more information and what you can do.

We Need Working Water Fountains on Every Corner

As I said yesterday, Pittsburgh is constantly called “Most Livable City”, but we should strive to be “Most Marvelous City”. And this isn’t just for Pittsburgh, any city that wants to be not just great but marvelous will need to make some radical changes. In addition to glammy public toilets…

We Need Working Water Fountains on Every Corner.

If you want to enjoy a public space, or public art, there is a good chance that you will be thirsty. Bring back drinking fountains! Put them everywhere!

General Electric Drinking Fountain, 1960’s (flickr user Roadside Pictures).

We need free water in public space. It will make public space more enjoyable while eliminating the demand for plastic water bottles. Bottled water costs about $10 per gallon compared to TWO CENTS per gallon for tap water.

Tap water is cheap, plentiful, regulated.

Check the “Take Back the Tap” resources available from Food and Water Watch for more information and what you can do.

We Need Beautiful Public Toilets in Every Neighborhood

Pittsburgh is constantly called “Most Livable City”, but we should strive to be “Most Marvelous City”.

Revolutionize the Repulsive

I have been thinking about this a lot, for years. I found that an automatic self-cleaning toilet was installed on the South Side of Pittsburgh. At the time (2003), it was one of only 19 in the world and was “a computerized, state-of-the-art, heated, constantly disinfected, graffiti-resistant, remotely monitored, well-lit, landscaped, wheelchair-accessible, ornamental-iron-and-brick-adorned automatic public toilet.”

I’m just a few blocks away from that right now and haven’t seen it, but even if it is there, we need more of them. We need hundreds of lovely public toilets, and we need them now.

Public bathrooms have a stigma that we should crush by making them exceptional.

Public toilets should be sparkling architectural delights

We should create toilets that people want to photograph; bathrooms that are works of art that you long to visit again.

Bathrooms are needed by every single person every single day yet we leave it to the individual to solve that problem on their own.

This is something we need to change and we need to change now.

Cities need to make it a priority to provide pleasant and clean facilities for everyone to access. No one should have to beg a business or sneak in somewhere to use the restroom.

Let’s revolutionize the repulsive to make our cities marvelous.