Month: April 2015

04/28 2015

Public Mtg On Community And Transit Improvements In Uptown And Oakland

The City of Pittsburgh is seeking public input on an action plan for transit improvements and community development in the corridor between Downtown and neighborhoods east.
Two public meetings are set for next week. They are:
  • Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Uptown/Downtown, Noon – 2:00 p.m., Duquesne University, Power Center Ballroom 1015 Forbes Avenue
  • Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Oakland, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., William Pitt Student Union, 3959 Fifth Avenue
At these upcoming public meetings, the City of Pittsburgh will provide an overview of coordinated planning efforts in the corridor along Fifth and Forbes avenues, including Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, and other East End neighborhoods. This will involve a review of ongoing planning for transit improvements, including bus rapid transit (BRT), and upcoming planning for an EcoInnovation District in the Uptown neighborhood.
Click here for more info and to read entire article.
04/28 2015

City of Pgh Seeking Volunteers For Bicycle And Pedestrian Counting

Overview
The City of Pittsburgh is actively recruiting volunteers for our first ever semi-annual city-wide bicyclist/pedestrian count! We are looking for people to count bicyclists and pedestrians at one location for a 2-hour time period on Thursday, May 7 and/or Saturday, May 9. Grab some friends and help us Count Pittsburgh! 
Bicycle Pedestrian Count
Mandatory Training Session: Wednesday, May 6, 6 – 7 pm, Downtown Pittsburgh
Actual counting timeslots:
  • Timeslot A: Thursday, May 7, 7 – 9 am
  • Timeslot B: Thursday, May 7, 4 – 6 pm
  • Timeslot C: Saturday, May 9, 10 am – 12 pm
Locations
Coming soon
Click here for contact and location info and to register to count
04/27 2015

2015 Pgh Penguins Foundation Scholarship Extended To Fri 5/15

The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation has extended the dealine for their 2015 scholarship application to Friday, May 15, 2015.  The scholarship program is for students who attend all Pittsburgh Public Schools and districts in outlying areas, including Allegheny County. The Foundation awards a maximum of 20 scholarships to students for the upcoming academic year.  A minimum of three scholarships are awarded to students from Pittsburgh Public Schools. High school seniors are chosen based on their academic achievement, community service, and participation in school activities.

Each Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation Scholarship is valued at $1,500 for the first year of a student’s college career. An additional $1,000 may be awarded for the student’s second year of college if a 3.0 GPA is maintained and a minimum of 24 credit hours are earned.

To view the application for the 2015 Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation Scholarship, please click here. 

Hard copies of scholarship applications are also available at, but not limited to, Jeron X. Grayson Community Center, Hill District Library, Hill House Association, Consensus Group, Thelma Lovette YMCA.

For information about the Foundation and other scholarships, please click here.

04/24 2015

Oakland For All Ramp Crawl – Tuesday, May 5, 4-7pm

Inline image 1
Accessible bathrooms available at: Forbes Tower, 3600 Forbes Ave., 3rd Floor
As a kick off to the Oakland For All initiative, the Ramp Crawl event also coincides with the National Council on Disability’s annual meeting in Pittsburgh.
We hope that you will join us for this fun, positive experience that is intended to provide an opportunity for everyone to become more engaged in the discussion about the importance of ensuring “Accessibility for All”.
Suggested donation of $20 goes toward providing businesses with technical assistance and the on-going advancement of the Oakland For All, Beyond Accessible initiative – a project that seeks to make Oakland a model community for accessibility.
Click here to register
04/20 2015

CORRECTION: Public Mtg On Plans For Proposed Student Rental Housing at 3407 Forbes, Tue 4/14 6pm

3407 Forbes Avenue – Proposed Campus Advantage Development (next to Arby's)
Campus Advantage, a national student rental housing management company, is proposing to build a 13-story, 137-unit student housing building. Attached are some rough designs and details the developer shared with us.
They are on the ZBA agenda for April 23, 2015 at 9:20 pm. 
​THE CORRECTED TIME IS 9:20 AM, not PM.

South Oakland Neighborhood Group (SONG)

SouthOaklandPgh.org
04/16 2015

Dog Wardens To Canvass Allegheny County Homes – Week Of April 20

GENERIC PUPPY DOG PET PETS PUPPIES DOGS Dog wardens will canvass homes in Allegheny County through the week of April 20 to ensure all dog owners have current licenses and rabies vaccinations for their dogs.
Under Pennsylvania law, all dogs three months or older must be licensed by Jan. 1 of each year.
The fee is $6.50 for each spayed or neutered dog and $8.50 for other dogs. Older adults and persons with disabilities may purchase a license for $4.50 for spayed or neutered dogs and $6.50 for others.

Violators can be cited with a maximum fine of $300 per violation plus court costs.
Click here to see original news article

04/16 2015

PennDOT Programs To Make Emergency Information Accessible

PennDOT reminds its customers that they can take advantage of two voluntary, potentially life-saving programs designed to aid Pennsylvanians in emergency situations – the Yellow Dot and Emergency Contact Information programs.

Participants in the Yellow Dot program enter their emergency contact, medical contact and medical information on forms inside a Yellow Dot folder and then place the folder in their vehicle’s glove compartment. Participants then place a Yellow Dot sticker on their vehicle’s rear window. This sticker alerts emergency responders to check a vehicle’s glove compartment for the folder, helping emergency responders provide specific care to participants after a crash.

The Emergency Contact Information program offers Pennsylvania driver’s license and PennDOT-issued ID holders the opportunity to log into a secure database and list two emergency contacts. Customers can update the information as needed, but only law enforcement officials can view their information in the system. In the event of an emergency, law enforcement can use the participant’s ID to find their emergency contact information.While the Yellow Dot program is utilized only in vehicle crashes, the Emergency Contact Information program is usable in other emergencies as well as crashes.

To learn more about the Yellow Dot program or to sign up for a program folder visit www.YellowDot.pa.gov.

To sign up for the Emergency Contact Information program, visit www.dmv.state.pa.us and click on the program icon.
04/10 2015

Oakwatch Mtg Wed 4/16 6pm – Oakland Career Ctr 294 Semple

Next Oakwatch meeting is Wednesday, April 15 at 6pm at the Oakland Career Center. In addition to our standard updates, the new Zone 4 Commander, Daniel Herrmann, is planning to attend and introduce himself. The University of Pittsburgh's Student Government Board President Graeme Meyer will also join to speak on student-community relations.
Oakwatch meeting minutes can be found online at opdc.org/oakwatch
04/10 2015

Fifth Ave Traffic Signal Improvements at the Birmingham Br begin this weekend 4/11-12

Inline image 1Traffic Advisory
Fifth Avenue Traffic Signal Improvements at the Birmingham Bridge Saturday and Sunday in Pittsburgh
 
PennDOT District 11 is announcing traffic signal improvements on Fifth Avenue in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will occur on Saturday and Sunday, April 11-12, weather permitting.
Single-lane traffic will occur on Fifth Avenue between Brenham Street and Moultrie Street from 6 a.m. Saturday continuously through 5 p.m. on Sunday as crews install a new control panel and radar detection system at the Fifth Avenue intersection with Kirkpatrick Street and the Birmingham Bridge.
Crews from Joseph B. Fay Company will conduct the installation.
This work is part of $28.5 million Birmingham Bridge Preservation Project, which includes painting of the entire superstructure, steel repairs, bearing replacements, substructure repairs, light pole replacements and a concrete overlay.  Construction will conclude in the spring of 2017.
For more information, or to sign-up to receive project updates visit http://birmingham.otmapgh.org/.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com, through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.
04/08 2015

2015 Street Paving Projects And New Online Information

 Inline image 1  The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works has released its 2015 street paving list. For the first time in city history, the projected plan for the entire paving season – approximately 44 miles – is available to the public via the new Department of Public Works Street Paving Program website.

​Interactive map of paving projects: 

https://pap.accela.com/envista-public-web/index.xhtml?token=Pittsburgh

​

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04/08 2015

Public Mtg On Plans For Proposed Student Rental Housing at 3407 Forbes, Tue 4/14 6pm

pdf icon 3407-Forbes-Ave-Campus-Advantage-Development-Meeting.pdf
pdf icon First-draft-building-design-3407-Forbes-Ave.pdf
pdf icon Project-details-3407-Forbes-Ave.pdf

Inline image 13407 Forbes Avenue – Proposed Campus Advantage Development (next to Arby's)
Campus Advantage, a national student rental housing management company, is proposing to build a 13-story, 137-unit student housing building. Attached are some rough designs and details the developer shared with us.
They are on the ZBA agenda for April 23, 2015 at 9:20 pm. Currently they're planning to request a special exemption and a variance related to increasing floor area ratio* (FAR), a variance to increase the percentage of the lot covered by the building from the allowed 90% to 96%, as well as increasing the building height from the permitted 102 feet (with LEED bonus) to 140 feet.
Next week, OPDC will host a public meeting for community input on the project:
Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 6:00 pm – Oakland Career Center, 294 Semple Street
*Floor Area Ratio (FAR): The total square feet of a building divided by the total square feet of the lot the building is located
04/06 2015

UPMC – Oakland Transformation Project Through 2016

pdf icon UPMCPlans2016.pdf

​Inline image 1​
"​UPMC is moving forward with plans to make major improvements that ​will bring more green space and enhanced traffic flow to the vibrant city neighborhood of Oakland.
The project will remove the top six floors of the South Tower (formerly Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh) and portions of the bottom eight floors.  The pedestrian bridge between the Falk Medical Building and UPMC Presbyterian also will be removed.
…
Large-scale demolition of the South Tower is scheduled to begin mid-June.  Project completion is anticipated in the summer of 2016."