Moving the Wilkinsburg station and building a new station at Brushton Avenue along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway are designed to improve access to one of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s most successful operations.
The transit agency proposed two options for each site during an online presentation Wednesday held to get public input. It has a $5.4 million grant to use toward an $8 million project at Wilkinsburg that will go to final design this spring, but it doesn’t have money for the Brushton project yet.
Consultant Sarine Sahakian, an architect and urban designer at evolveEA, said one concept at Wilkinsburg would create a single-platform station near Wallace Avenue that would be able to handle stops for busway routes and non-busway routes. It would have access from an elevator and a staircase near the station, as well as access for people walking from the park-and–ride lot.
The second concept would move the station to about the same area, but it would establish separate stops for busway and non-busway routes. Both plans would include improved landscaping in the area, such as a small park.
The goal is to move the station closer to the Wilkinsburg business district and create space at the center of the agency’s property for charging stations for electric buses that will be used for the Bus Rapid Transit system. That was the original location of the Wilkinsburg station before 2003, when it was moved closer to North Avenue and the park-and-ride lot was expanded to about 700 spaces.
Moving the Wilkinsburg station to the east creates an opportunity for a new station at the western end of the site at Brushton Avenue in Homewood, Sahakian said. That site would be closer for riders coming from Pitt Street than the Wilkinsburg stops. One design at Brushton would improve the connection to North Braddock Avenue with an elevator and stairs.
The second option would include a pedestrian tunnel under the busway or a bridge across it to provide better access to people walking from the south side of North Braddock Avenue.
The second option also would improve safety for pedestrians crossing Hay Street by creating bumpouts or midstreet islands to reduce the crossing distance.
The move also could create space on the western end of the site for small shops or affordable housing, said Moira Egler, PRT’s project manager for transit-oriented communities.
The agency could match together either of two options at each site or reject the plan completely based on rider and community input. The Wilkinsburg station could move to final design this spring, but construction isn’t expected for three to five years while Brushton is still under consideration and isn’t funded yet.
The two stations are only part of the agency’s Build on the East Busway program. A study has recommended the agency also consider new stations at Baum Boulevard and Centre Avenue in Shadyside and near East Liberty Boulevard in Larimer, but no work has been done on them yet, including which order they might proceed.
Although it already has some of the most popular bus routes, the agency is looking to expand usage of the east busway by providing additional access. Future plans also could extend the busway from Rankin to East Pittsburgh.
The agency will hold a similar meeting in person from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the former Wilkinsburg train station, 901 Hay St., next to the busway.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.