Pittsburghers have at least one more chance to comment on I-579 Cap Park project
Urban design firm LaQuatra Bonci and Associates will host an open house at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Hill District to go over design concepts for the planned I-579 Cap Park, a landscaped, 3-acre park that will cater to pedestrians and cyclists in an area otherwise dominated by cars.
Two free public sessions will be at the Hill House Blakey Program Center, 1908 Wylie Ave., 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. A design overview and “artist presentation” will run from 5:30 to 6 p.m., and a community workshop is set for 6:15 to 7 p.m.
“For the past six months, LaQuatra Bonci Associates have been collaborating with artists to develop the final design of the I-579 Cap Project, a pedestrian park reconnecting the Lower Hill and Downtown,” a flier advertising the event said .
The $26.4 million project is possible thanks to a $19 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant Pittsburgh secured from the U.S. Department of Transportation in mid-2016.
A freeway trench on the border of Pittsburgh's Hill District and Downtown has been a barrier between the neighborhoods since the 1960s when construction of the Civic Arena forced residents to move and permanently reshaped the Hill, which has lost thousands of residents in the decades since.
Known as I-579 or Crosstown Boulevard, the freeway runs below grade between bridges that carry Centre Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard/Webster Avenue, forming the trench.
The cap park will fill that void, essentially serving as a huge bridge deck made of 8-inch-thick, reinforced concrete slab composite supported by beams and pillars.
Pedestrians can cross the Centre and Bigelow bridges as they are now to get to or from the Hill District, but the area tends to get jammed during events at PPG Paints Arena and at rush hour. Also, several pedestrian walkways are not ADA compliant, according to project documents.
“The cap will be transformative for the Hill District by removing a physical barrier and re-establishing connectivity to centers of employment, education and services in Downtown Pittsburgh. The cap will create convenient and accessible pedestrians and bicycle pathways that will connect to a transit and free subway system in Downtown,” said the federal grant application.
The project has received dozens of letters of support, from Republicans and Democrats, including Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle and Keith Rothfus, Gov. Tom Wolf, Mayor Bill Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
Jeremy Boren is a Tribune-Review staff writer.
