Work is set to start in a month on a bike lane project on Penn Avenue in the Strip District that's caused some controversy.

A spokesperson for the city confirmed to KDKA that construction is expected to begin in mid-October to reduce the corridor from 31st to 22nd streets from two lanes to one and add a bike lane, stopping before the busiest area heading towards Downtown.

Catie Wilmering, of Carnegie, like many others, loves to come to the Strip, but getting around can be a challenge.

"Saturdays and Sundays, we don't even come down here because it's just so hard to navigate and find a spot to park," Wilmering said.

She, along with about 97 percent of businesses in the neighborhood, according to Jim Coen, are not in favor of what the city is calling a rightsizing of Penn Avenue, with a final proposed design released this week.

"The history of the Strip is going to be taken away," Coen said.

The owner of Yinzers in the Burgh and president of the Strip District Business Association said the concerns of business owners still haven't been addressed.

"We feel like we're going to lose a lot of customers that are coming here because of just it being hard to get here," Coen said.

First responders feel the same way. President of Pittsburgh Fire Fighters IAFF Local No. 1 Ralph Sicuro said the fire chief has shared that the changes would violate the fire code, among other concerns, in a statement to KDKA that said in part:

"The union has raised concerns over several issues: access to Penn Ave from side streets, operating an aerial truck on narrowing roadway, and emergency vehicles traveling through without space for vehicles to move out of our way."

According to the Strip District Neighbors' latest report, nearly 9 million people visited the neighborhood in 2024, and in about 10 years, the population has increased by 319%, with thousands more set to call it home in the coming years.

Coen said the city should look at these numbers, instead of the number of crashes they report between 2018 and 2022. The city said during that five-year period, there were 115 accidents, with 45 causing injury and 13 involving pedestrians.

However, Eric Boerer, advocacy director for BikePGH, sees things differently.

"It's almost too wide for the number of cars it sees, so what happens is it actually encourages speeding," Boerer said.

He and other bicyclists, like Doug Ripper of the South Side, feel safety should be the priority, with a bike lane to calm things down.

"It's the Strip. It's always going to be crowded. There's a lot going on there," Ripper said.

It's unclear when the city will decide on a final design.