Battle over bike lane in Strip District enters new phase
The battle over a bike lane in Pittsburgh's Strip District has entered a new phase.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled the Strip District Business Association must pay a bond of nearly $40,000 to temporarily prevent the city from working on the bike lane project on Penn Avenue.
"That amount is for us to be able to say make the city hold in regard to the work amount," Olga George, press secretary for Mayor Ed Gainey and the city, said.
"They are the ones seeking the preliminary injunction, they're the ones seeking to halt the work. So, to halt the work, this is what the cost is going to be," she added.
The plan aims to reduce the corridor from 31st to 22nd streets from two lanes to one and add a bike lane. Last month, the Strip District Business Association filed a formal complaint against the city and the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, seeking a preliminary injunction.
"To get a preliminary injunction for us not to put in the permanent stripes, they have to put up that cash bond because if we're going to put down temporary stripes, if we then have to come back and do more work, that's additional cost," George said.
Now, the business association is working on getting the necessary funds.
"It's still tough, it's a little bit of a struggle to get that kind of money together, but we're working on it," said Jim Coen, head of Strip District Business Association.
"Will you continue to fight this?" KDKA asked Coen.
"Our main thing is that if customers get down and they can't get to us, they are not going to come back," he said.
Both sides also make the argument about safety for EMS and fire trucks to get through, as well as bikes. But they disagree on what it looks like.
"It's going to affect everyone from the businesses to the consumers," Pittsburgher Kristin Brown said.