\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPittsburgh Downtown Partnership opened the first half of the newly redesigned Market Square, and it\u2019s already bustling with pedestrians.The $15 million reconstruction project plans to completely modernize the space. \u201cI absolutely love it. It\u2019s impeccable. I think it\u2019s the best thing, and I think Market Square really needed the upgrade and update,\u201d said C.C. Clark, owner of ClarkFit Boxing and Fitness.On Saturday, the north side of the square opened with a block party. \u201cWe have two little kids here, five and seven years old, and we bring them down here to get them to experience the city more. It feels safer and cleaner \u2014 we\u2019re excited,\u201d said Danielle Niebel from Ohio Township.The redesign adds 75% more space for pedestrians.\u201cYou\u2019re going to see, when it warms up again, some really huge outdoor dining spaces \u2014 the ability to create larger events in Market Square,\u201d said Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. \u201cWe have new water, power, and lighting. It\u2019s going to be one of the best public spaces in the country.\u201dSince construction began in April, businesses in the square say foot traffic has gone way down. \u201cI\u2019m just looking forward to a lot more events \u2014 the nighttime crowd coming back into the square, being active again and lively,\u201d said Sasha Michelle, owner of Medi\u2019s on Market.Many visitors at Saturday\u2019s opening block party said they noticed the curb-less surface and smooth brick. \u201cI do love the new brick. Back in the day, people walking in heels would trip and fall on the old brick \u2014 but now it\u2019s all even and perfect. It is perfection,\u201d said Clark.\u201cI see people with wheelchairs coming through, and they\u2019re not having a hard time, so that makes me really happy,\u201d said Michelle.Starting Monday, construction will shift to the north side of the square. Traffic there will close permanently, except for deliveries and emergency vehicles.The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership says the entire project is expected to be complete by April 2026.Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tPITTSBURGH \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership opened the first half of the newly redesigned Market Square, and it\u2019s already bustling with pedestrians.<\/p>\n
The $15 million reconstruction project plans to completely modernize the space. <\/p>\n
\u201cI absolutely love it. It\u2019s impeccable. I think it\u2019s the best thing, and I think Market Square really needed the upgrade and update,\u201d said C.C. Clark, owner of ClarkFit Boxing and Fitness.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, the north side of the square opened with a block party. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have two little kids here, five and seven years old, and we bring them down here to get them to experience the city more. It feels safer and cleaner \u2014 we\u2019re excited,\u201d said Danielle Niebel from Ohio Township.<\/p>\n
The redesign adds 75% more space for pedestrians.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to see, when it warms up again, some really huge outdoor dining spaces \u2014 the ability to create larger events in Market Square,\u201d said Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. \u201cWe have new water, power, and lighting. It\u2019s going to be one of the best public spaces in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since construction began in April, businesses in the square say foot traffic has gone way down. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just looking forward to a lot more events \u2014 the nighttime crowd coming back into the square, being active again and lively,\u201d said Sasha Michelle, owner of Medi\u2019s on Market.<\/p>\n
Many visitors at Saturday\u2019s opening block party said they noticed the curb-less surface and smooth brick. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do love the new brick. Back in the day, people walking in heels would trip and fall on the old brick \u2014 but now it\u2019s all even and perfect. It is perfection,\u201d said Clark.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see people with wheelchairs coming through, and they\u2019re not having a hard time, so that makes me really happy,\u201d said Michelle.<\/p>\n
Starting Monday, construction will shift to the north side of the square. Traffic there will close permanently, except for deliveries and emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership says the entire project is expected to be complete by April 2026.<\/p>\n
Download the WTAE app<\/a> to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters<\/a> to get breaking news in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership opened the first half of the newly redesigned Market Square, and it\u2019s already bustling with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[894,423,9410,18879,53,4623,18881,4706,12510,139,5567,12120,523,73,18711,75,74,5858,18880,7063],"class_list":["post-29433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-allegheny-county","tag-april","tag-block-party","tag-c-c-clark","tag-construction","tag-downtown-pittsburgh","tag-foot-traffic","tag-half","tag-market-square","tag-news","tag-north-side","tag-owner","tag-people","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-downtown-partnership","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-public","tag-sasha-michelle","tag-saturday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}