The long-awaited end to the contraflow bus lane on Fifth Avenue in Oakland will come as early as Jan. 4, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) announced Dec. 8, but that doesn’t mean there will be an extra inbound motorized vehicle lane.

For more than 45 years, Pitt and PRT officials have been warning newbies to Oakland to look left when they cross Fifth from the Litchfield Towers side of the street. When fully operational — which hasn’t happened much lately — three lanes travel inbound toward downtown Pittsburgh, while buses move outbound in a dedicated lane closest to the curb.

Discussion about removing the opposing, or contraflow, lane started as early as 2017, when PRT (then called the Port Authority of Allegheny County) first proposed the bus rapid transit line that’s now under construction.

Beginning as early as Jan. 4,  the nine bus routes — 54, 61D, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, 75, 93 and P3 — that currently travel outbound in the bus lane on Fifth Avenue will shift over to Forbes Avenue. They will operate in regular traffic lanes until a new bus-only lane is established, and will service existing bus stops on Forbes.

Contractors will then begin to build a new protected bi-directional bike lane on Fifth Avenue as part of PRT’s University Line bus rapid transit project, which is expected to be completed in 2027.

When the University Line is finished, riders will benefit from a modernized transit corridor with buses traveling in dedicated lanes outbound on Forbes Avenue and inbound on Fifth Avenue, improving reliability and travel times. The bike lane on Fifth Avenue will enhance the safety of cyclists in the corridor.

Additional safety and accessibility upgrades include new sidewalks and curbs, ADA-compliant ramps, upgraded traffic signals, and enhanced pedestrian safety systems.

Additional information regarding routing and stop changes will be announced soon.

These changes support phase two of the University Line, which will connect downtown Pittsburgh, Uptown and Oakland while improving reliability and enhancing the overall travel experience for riders.

Amy Silbermann, Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s chief development officer, said at a meeting on campus in November that construction on the University Line bus rapid transit (PRTX) project between Oakland and downtown Pittsburgh will stretch into 2027, with “no estimate” when in 2027 it will be completed: “We are still in a place where a lot of things could change” in the plan, she said.

“Yes, we are broadly on schedule,” she added. “We know we have more than 12 months” of construction to go. PRT expects in the spring to be able to announce broad opening dates for bike lanes.

The project, when completed, should shorten travel times slightly between Oakland and downtown, and reduce the “unreliability” of commute times, with buses bunched together and the lead buses overcrowded, Silbermann said.

“There’s a lot of ground dug up right now. … We’re doing a lot of subsurface work” for safety and accessibility at, eventually, 45 intersections in Oakland and Uptown, Silbermann said. That includes ADA compliant curb ramps and crosswalks; new traffic signals; accessible pedestrian signals with push-button activators; pedestrian countdown signals; and expanded sidewalks and shorter crosswalks in some locations.

There will be 24 new glass-paneled metal bus shelters, including one already finished at Atwood Street, that feature ADA-compliant loading zones; fare-vending machines; emergency phones and security cameras; bicycle racks and screens displaying the next bus arrival status.

— Susan Jones

 

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