Strip District merchants and residents urge council to pause Penn Avenue rightsizing plan over safety, delivery and EMS concerns

A string of business owners, delivery operators and residents on Wednesday urged Pittsburgh City Council and the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) to pause or cancel the Penn Avenue “rightsizing” plan that would reduce the street from two inbound lanes to one.

Speakers said the plan would choke deliveries, create dangerous interactions between large vehicles and slow‑moving bicycle tour vehicles, and — most centrally — would delay emergency responders. Dozens of business owners from the Strip District and operators of tour trolleys and multi‑seat bikes described the corridor as a commercial and freight artery and warned that a single travel lane would generate chronic congestion.

Why it matters: DOMI’s plan is intended to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety but opponents argue the engineering assumptions do not reflect the Strip District’s mix of commercial, delivery and event traffic; several business owners warned that the change would create gridlock during busy periods and major events such as the NFL draft.

What commenters said

Business owners repeatedly urged council to pause the plan and asked DOMI to gather additional data and consider lower‑impact alternatives. Tim Gabor, founder of the Original Pittsburgh Winery on Penn Avenue, said his venue and the corridor’s other businesses already operate “with passion and grit” and that removing a lane would create “gridlock” and “road rage.”

Small‑vehicle tour operators said their 8‑foot and 10‑foot‑wide vehicles cannot safely fit in the proposed narrower parking/loading aisles. Sue Joseph, owner of Pittsburgh Party Peddler and Molly’s Trolleys, said her eight‑foot‑two bicycles and 10‑foot trolleys would be forced into moving traffic and that drivers would attempt dangerous passes. Her comments focused on passenger safety during boarding and unloading.

Several speakers, including merchants and the president of the firefighters’ union (read into the record by a Strip District gallery owner), warned that the proposed cross‑section would violate the adopted International Fire Code chapter requiring an unobstructed 20‑foot apparatus access width and 13‑foot‑six‑inch vertical clearance in some circumstances. Katina Stomolis, a third‑generation Strip District merchant, said an ambulance once took 15 minutes to arrive on Penn Avenue before any lane reduction; she warned that delays could rise to 20–30 minutes under the plan.

Data, process and alternatives

Business and merchant speakers said DOMI’s traffic growth assumptions (figures discussed in neighborhood meetings ranged from 1% to 4.4%) understate residential and commercial growth, and they asked for a full engineering audit and more transparent data showing accident causes. Multiple speakers said speed humps and signal‑timing changes would be lower‑cost alternatives that could improve safety without the operational harms of a single inbound lane.

Council and administration response

Committee members acknowledged the concerns and said safety for pedestrians and emergency access must be balanced against freight and business needs. Council members asked DOMI to return with more data and suggested prioritizing fixes on higher‑risk streets like Liberty Avenue first, and to explore interim measures such as speed humps and signage.

Clarifying details

- Tour vehicle sizes cited by speakers: 8 feet 2 inches wide for party bikes, 10 feet mirror‑to‑mirror for trolleys (speaker measurements were reported from business owners). - Reported petition and survey numbers: a Strip District outreach effort reported about 4,700 responses opposing the single‑lane plan, with about 1,100 residents and 3,000 visitors among respondents, as reported to the committee by a local business association representative. - Fire code reference: speakers and a read letter by the fire union referenced dimensions from the 2018 International Fire Code for apparatus access (20 feet width minimum in many cases).

Ending

DOMI and council members committed to further review. Businesses called for a pause so that more engineering data, alternate solutions and clearer emergency‑access assurances can be developed. The committee did not take a final vote on the Penn Avenue rightsizing at the session; the comments were recorded for follow‑up.