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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing for the development of a complete streets plan by the Department of Economic Development, in cooperation with the Department of Public Works, no later than December 31, 2024.
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Whereas, complete streets is a term used to describe a road network designed for all users, and is a means of advancing land use goals by increasing workforce mobility options, encouraging compact development patterns, spurring improved health and safety, encouraging local economic activity, enhancing neighborhood character, improving the environment, and incorporating emerging technology; and
Whereas, the City of Pittsburgh’s Council authorized adoption of the City’s complete streets program in late 2016; and
Whereas, completed projects under the City’s program include the Melwood Connector, Perrysville Complete Street, the Aiken to Liberty Connector, the Squirrel Hill Connector, Stanton Avenue Complete Street Phase 1, the Shadyside Connector, Downtown Penn Avenue Cycle Upgrades, S. Dallas Avenue, Forbes Avenue, and Beechwood Boulevard Safe Connections, the Trail to Mairdale Neighborway, and repaving/marking improvements on Reservoir Drive; and
Whereas, in October 2023, the City also re-started its community-driven Complete Streets Advisory Group; and
Whereas, since 2017, at least six other municipalities within Allegheny County (Dormont, Mt. Lebanon, Forest Hills, Wilkins, Millvale and Sharpsburg) have adopted complete streets programs; and
Whereas, the foundational principle of any complete streets program is that every resident, regardless of where they live or how they get around, should have the choice to travel in a safe and convenient manner; and
Whereas, bringing this principle to fruition requires coordinated advance planning and having appropriate policies in place to shape a regional transportation network; and
Whereas, as early as 2010, Allegheny County’s Comprehensive Plan (Allegheny Places) included a component called Active Allegheny, which devoted significant attention to developing a regional complete streets approach; and
Whereas, Active Allegheny also expressly recommends that the County should create a complete streets policy, and specifically advocates for legislative adoption of whatever complete streets policy is formulated; and
Whereas, although County Council adopted Allegheny Places as the comprehensive plan for Allegheny County in 2008, no legislation relating to the Active Allegheny complete streets recommendation has ever been introduced; and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that the approach advocated for within Active Allegheny and followed by the City of Pittsburgh has merit and has shown quantifiable positive results, and it is accordingly the desire of Council to direct the formulation of a current complete streets plan and submission of such plan for Council’s approval no later than December 31, 2024; and
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of the Preamble.
The recitations contained within the Preamble to this Ordinance are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
SECTION 2. Complete Streets Plan Development.
A. The Allegheny County Department of Economic Development, in cooperation with the Department of Public Works shall formulate, develop, and present to Council and the Chief Executive a complete streets plan for Allegheny County no later than December 31, 2024. Such program shall be consistent with the goals established by Active Allegheny, the City of Pittsburgh, and municipalities within Allegheny County that have adopted similar programs to the extent practicable. Once presented to the Council and Chief Executive, the plan shall become effective upon adoption via duly enacted ordinance of the County.
B. To the greatest extent possible, the County complete streets plan should:
1. Provide a clear, comprehensive plan for the County regarding pedestrian infrastructure, bike infrastructure, scooters, and other forms of micro-mobility, as well as bus lanes;
2. Function to link together the patchwork of municipal bike and bus lanes and sidewalks, with the goal of easing County and municipal difficulties in coordinating pedestrian and bike improvements;
3. Address linking street-level bike lanes with bike paths, even those that edge up just to the edge of the County, such as the Westmoreland Heritage Trail;
4. Be designed to avoid the use of sharrows; protected bike lanes should be the norm; and
5. Clearly indicate that that at any time a street is being resurfaced or otherwise improved by the County, if the plan shows a bike or bus lane or other alteration at the location of the resurfacing or improvement, the features provided for by the plan must actually be installed unless such installation would be impossible to install at a reasonable cost or result in unsafe conditions.
SECTION 3. - Effective Date.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall enter into effect immediately upon the date of final approval.
SECTION 4. - Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 5. - Repealer.
Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.