Pittsburgh unveils 50-year mobility plan with hyperloop, gondolas, bike network

Pittsburgh’s 2070 Mobility Vision Plan, a long-range roadmap for the city, aims to guide infrastructure investment and improve “mobility justice” over the next 50 years, officials said Thursday.

“The goal is to efficiently move a growing city,” said Karina Ricks, director of the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. Ricks will soon leave the post for a position in the Federal Transit Administration.

The plan is designed to accommodate growth in the city, Ricks said, and to adapt to ever-changing technologies that could alter the way people travel.

“It has some audacious, big goals,” Ricks said. “It talks about things like ‘hyperloop’ and ‘gondolas’ and ‘smart modes of transportation.’”

According to the plan, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is exploring the possibility of connecting Pittsburgh and Philadelphia through a 20-minute tube trip, and officials envision using hyperloop technology to connect Downtown Pittsburgh to Columbus and Toledo en route to Chicago, which could be a 47-minute trip.

Gondolas, which allow people to travel above congested city traffic and difficult topography, could connect Mount Washington to the North Shore and link the Strip District to Carrick, connecting the Hill District, Oakland, Hazelwood and South Side along the way.

Other large-scale projects suggested in the plan include rapid direct transit to the airport, three new river crossings, an urban terminal for vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and high-speed intercity transit.

While some of the elements mentioned in the plan may seem overly ambitious or far away, Ricks said, “things change really quickly.”

The city has changed drastically over the last 50 years, she said, so it’s important to plan for just as much change over the next 50 years.

“We need to really have this plan,” she said. “We need to keep our eyes on the future.”

Over the prior 50 years, much of the city’s mobility planning revolved around automobiles. But as technology advances, new means of transportation should also come to the forefront, Ricks said.

The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure staff reviewed reviewed projects, plans and community input from across the city to formulate the plan.

It also calls for accessible sidewalks, a complete bike network and green infrastructure street retrofits.

The plan suggests local circulators and shuttles, sidewalk and pedestrian infrastructure, congestion management, freight hubs, a water transit network, shared and managed parking and a complete regional trail network.

It aims to adapt existing infrastructure for future needs, while anticipating new technologies. Officials also hope it will help promote affordable housing and access to quality jobs through equitable mobility, recognize and respond to climate change and advance mobility justice in response to past infrastructure racism.

As technologies and needs change over time, the Mobility Vision Plan is designed to change with them, Mayor Bill Peduto said.

“What this plan is is not a plan that is written in concrete,” Peduto said. “It is a plan that is adaptable to the changes in technology and the changes in mobility and the changes in neighborhood priorities.”

The plan was developed in accordance with DOMI’s goals, Ricks said, which aim to make transportation easy, affordable and equitable throughout the city.

“No one should die simply traveling on our public streets,” she said. “We value all human life, regardless of their mode of travel, and we need to make sure they’re safe.”

Other goals include ensuring that short-distance trips can be made without a car, households don’t need to spend more than 40% of their income on housing and mobility, and that everyone within the city can get to fresh fruit and vegetables within 15 minutes without a car.

That’s because one in five Pittsburgh households don’t have their own vehicle.

The plan also aims to invest in a way that “our streets really reflect the values of this city,” Ricks said.