A pop-up lab on Liberty Avenue could play a key role in the street’s future. Life on Liberty is an initiative created by Envision Downtown to gather input about one of the city’s busiest streets.
Located at 813 Liberty Avenue in a former florist’s shop, passersby are encouraged to stop in and take a brief survey. Inside the pop-up are stations where people can place colored ping pong balls in a jar that best corresponds with how they spend time Downtown.
Liberty Avenue could see a sidewalk expansion, with more room for pedestrians and outdoor seating. Though, some business owners have voiced concerns over parking in the area.
“What we’re doing this week is really trying to understand how Pittsburghers use Liberty Avenue,” Envision Downtown executive director Sean Luther said.
Other stations ask visitors to describe Liberty Avenue.
“We want to get a sense of what types of people are using the space and what types of improvement they would support us investigating on Liberty Avenue in the future,” Luther said.
The survey contains questions designed specifically for transit riders, business owners and downtown workers. However, the Life on Liberty lab isn’t the only source of community input being used.
“We’re going to do some more traditional community outreach over the next couple of weeks as well partnering with the mayor’s office,” Luther said. “I’m hopeful that by early May we’ll actually have a really good picture to come back to the public with what we heard.”
The lab is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday. People can also take the survey online.
(Photo via Paul Sableman/Flickr)
