Mayor Gainey has just announced a zoning reform proposal that will raise your rent. The proposal would make newly constructed apartmentsillegal to build unless 10% of the units were sold at a price below their construction cost. This requirement is so burdensome it will reduce the amount of new housing that gets built. The reduced
A Tax LOOPhole Allegheny County Could do Without
Nearly a decade ago my wife and I were outbid on a condominium on the 8th floor of a high rise in Pittsburgh. The condo sold for \$419,000 in 2016 and currently has an assessed value of \$243,100. Two years later, we had discussions with the owner of the 7th floor unit directly underneath which
Pittsburgh Should Expand School Bus Service
Pittsburgh Public Schools no longer provides school bus service to many families who had it prior to the pandemic. Students grades K-8 are only eligible for school bus service if they live more than 1.5 miles from the school, and high school students need to live more than 2 miles from the school. The school
Why we should Reduce Noise Pollution for the new Commercial Street Bridge
PennDOT is planning to replace the Commercial Street Bridge, which takes the I376 Parkway East over Commercial Street just before the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. The project is expected to go out for bid in February 2024 with the main work to be done in the summer of 2026. The existing Commercial Street Bridge As the
Yes Frick’n Way: Responding to Critics of New Housing By Frick Park
I previously authored a blog post in favor of the proposed residential development at the site of the former Irish Centre next to Frick Park. Since writing that post, I have heard a number of concerns that people have about the development. This follow-up post addresses some of them. Traffic Concerns are Overblown The biggest
Why We Should Build Housing at the Former Irish Centre
A new residential development is being proposed at the former Irish Centre of Pittsburgh, which is located on Forward Avenue/Commercial Street by Frich Park and Nine Mile Run. The proposed building would be an 8-story, 162 unit apartment building. News articles here and here describe the proposal in more detail. This stretch of Forward Avenue
What can be done about the Bus Driver Shortage?
There is a nationwide bus driver shortage. The Port Authority is actively hiring new drivers. If any readers know of someone who might be interested, job details can be found here. It is not only bus drivers that are in short supply, the economy is at full employment for the first time in decades. There
How to Fix PennDOT’s Fern Hollow Bridge Design
PennDOT and the City of Pittsburgh are rushing to build a new Fern Hollow Bridge to replace the one that collapsed in January 2022. PennDOT released a conceptual rendering of the new bridge design on March 8, 2022. Unfortunately, the rushed process has resulted in some serious design flaws that need to be addressed before
What You Can Do to Stop Putin
Horrifying images have been coming out of Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022. Western countries have since imposed significant sanctions on Russia. While this has caused the Russian Rouble to fall, the currency drop has so far been smaller than previous currency slumps (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Rouble in Russian Currency Crises
The Latest Preventable Pedestrian Death
A person driving a 2020 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck hit two men just after 6 am on November 17, 2021, killing one of them. The driver drove through the intersection as the light turned red, hitting the men crossing the street. The crash occurred at the intersection of Kennywood Boulevard/Route 837 and Hoffman Boulevard. This