Pittsburgh Regional Transit has started installing the first two PRTX bus shelters in Oakland, along Forbes Avenue.

The 60-foot Central Oakland station is in front of Pitt’s Barco Law Building, near the intersection with Bouquet Street. The 30-foot West Oakland station is mid-block between Craft Avenue and Halket Street.

Both shelters will have an ADA compliant loading zone and accessible ramps, along with seating, lighting, next-bus arrival screens, fare vending machine, emergency phones and security cameras.

Work related to the PRTX University Line continues in other areas of Oakland. On Fifth Avenue from Bellefield Avenue to Craft Avenue, the two left lanes — including the former counterflow lane — are closed for now, but PRT officials said they will pause construction in Oakland when the Parkway East closure on July 10 creates a detour on Fifth and Forbes avenues for 25 days (see related story).

PRT contractors are working to rebuild the roadway and sidewalks in preparation for the future bi-directional bike lane. It also will create a new extended curb line that will widen the existing sidewalk. Several sections of sidewalk adjacent to the future bike lane will be replaced. 

Apartment complex issues

The Tribune-Review reported in May that the Pittsburgh zoning board denied a request from developer Walnut Capital’s to skirt a zoning requirement that mandates some units in a new apartment complex in Oakland be affordable for low-income residents.

In February, Walnut Capital asked the zoning board for a variance for The Caroline at University Commons, a 159-unit apartment building on McKee Place near UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.

The developer describes the development as “a student-friendly apartment community.”

Because the apartment complex is being built in Oakland, an inclusionary zoning requirement mandates setting aside 10% of the units as affordable housing.

An attorney for Walnut Capital said in February that the project would lose more than $4 million in equity if Walnut Capital couldn’t charge market rate for every unit, and he argued the zoning policy shouldn’t impact student housing.

The zoning board in its denial pointed out that Walnut Capital was aware of the inclusionary zoning requirements when the developer proposed the apartment building. The lawyer said the developer hoped “to work towards an amicable resolution in the coming months.”

— Susan Jones

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