FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Mayor Gainey Announces End to Mon-Oakland Connector Shuttle Program
City of Pittsburgh committed to working with partners to ensure equitable transportation development and improved connectivity between Oakland and Hazelwood
PITTSBURGH – Mayor Ed Gainey announced today an end to the Mon-Oakland Connector shuttle program. This decision was made in consultation with community leaders and transit advocates. The revised Mon-Oakland project will no longer support a vehicular shuttle between Oakland and Hazelwood (the Mon-Oakland Connector). Instead, the City of Pittsburgh will prioritize increased connectivity and equitable transit improvements by addressing the Boulevard-Bates-Second Avenue Corridor.
Improvements under the revised Mon-Oakland project will still create significant green stormwater infrastructure to mitigate flooding experienced throughout “the Run”, create a new recreational trail to provide better access to the Schenley Park trail system, and build a new pedestrian trail that will allow for better connectivity between Oakland and Hazelwood. The trail will now be built to similar standards as the Eliza Furnace Trail and will not meet vehicular standards for weight carrying capacity.
“As we seek to improve mobility throughout our city, we will focus on investing in transportation justice-oriented projects to increase connectivity,” said Mayor Gainey. “Today’s announcement is an important step forward in meeting that goal and I am thankful to all of the City’s partners for their thoughtful and dedicated work on this project. The Mon-Oakland project will bring clean, green infrastructure jobs to our community and ensure that issues residents have experienced for years are addressed directly. Development is key to ensuring growth throughout Hazelwood and we will continue to pursue community input to find equitable solutions on development projects like these.”
The City is committed to working in partnership with the community, Allegheny County, Port Authority, PennDOT, the Almono Partners, the University of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University towards securing funding for infrastructure improvements to Bates Street, the East Parkway Interchange, and Second Avenue that will reduce traffic congestion, improve connectivity between Hazelwood and Oakland, create safer road conditions for everyone, and allow for better access to public transit.
Mayor Gainey looks forward to further engaging community members in a community listening session on Thursday.
