Streets in the Larimer and Hill District neighborhoods of Pittsburgh should get new sidewalks in the next two years through a state grant announced earlier this week.
The city received a grant of $735,026 to install new sidewalks on portions of Larimer Avenue in Larimer and Herron Avenue in the Hill District. State Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Morningside, announced on Tuesday the multimodal transportation program grant had been awarded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
In Larimer, the grant will provide new sidewalks on both sides of Larimer Avenue for about six blocks, from Carver Street to the Larimer Avenue Bridge. It also will pay for new sidewalks on Herron Avenue for several blocks from the intersection with Centre Avenue toward Bigelow Boulevard.
“Sidewalks are a basic building block of healthy and thriving neighborhoods, playing a vital role in connecting city residents to jobs, school, services and commerce,” Mayor Ed Gainey said in a news release. “This project will reconnect mobility gaps in the Hill District and Larimer, allowing residents the chance to move about safely regardless of age, gender and physical capability.”
Jacob Williams, spokesman for the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, said the grant doesn’t require any matching funds, but the city could choose to expand the scope of the work. These areas were chosen as part of the city’s plan “to bolster equity among neighborhoods that haven’t received major city investments in Pittsburgh through mobility,” he said.
The new sidewalks should be completed by 2026.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.