Mayor Ed Gainey has officially put an end to the long-contested Mon-Oakland Connector, which proposed creating a transportation link between Oakland, the lower part of Greenfield, Hazelwood, and Hazelwood Green.
“As we seek to improve mobility throughout our city, we will focus on investing in transportation justice-oriented projects to increase connectivity,” Gainey said in a statement from the city.
Specifically, the release said the city will work to improve access along Second Avenue, Bates Street, and Boulevard of the Allies. The corridor links some of the city’s largest development sites, and a report released in 2019 made a number of recommendations for how to improve options for people traveling by bus, on foot, or by bike.
The release further commits the city to work with “the community, Allegheny County, Port Authority, PennDOT, the Almono Partners [which owns the Hazelwood Green site], the University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University” to create a stronger connection between Oakland and Hazelwood.
All of those parties had some part in supporting the connector, even as residents and advocates mounted a considerable campaign to argue the project failed to adequately meet the needs of existing communities. A 2020 analysis which compared the connector to other transportation investments, found that almost any option would better meet the needs of people who live in Oakland and Hazelwood.
In its earliest iteration under former Mayor Bill Peduto, the connector would have featured autonomous shuttles trundling through Junction Hollow, the lower part of Greenfield, and into Hazelwood. Later, the project was amended to include one path for cyclists and pedestrians, and another for motorized transport such as scooters, electric bikes, and small, slow-moving electric shuttles.
Though Gainey has withdrawn support for the transportation project, his office said it remains committed to a less-discussed portion of the proposal, which aims to address stormwater management and flooding in the lower part of Greenfield, often called the Run.
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s nearly $40 million project in Schenley Park will replace water and sewer lines with larger pipes, make Panther Hollow Lake into an effective holding tank for rainwater, and create other green infrastructure improvements.
The two projects — PWSA’s and the city’s — were coordinated in order to only dig up Schenley Park once. However, the linked permit applications worried some residents, who were concerned that a critical health and safety project would take a subordinate position to the transportation project.
Before Wednesday’s announcement, Gainey was scheduled to meet with community members about the Mon-Oakland Connector project Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Propel Hazelwood. The mayor’s office said the listening session would still take place.
