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The Jaxson Magazine takes a visual walk through the urban core of a city that has transformed itself from its steelmaking past: Pittsburgh
Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/visions-of-vibrancy-pittsburgh/
Interesting blend of old and new buildings. Thanks for the tour.
Impressed by:
- Lot of extra wide sidewalks, often due to narrow streets.
- Cleanliness, no trash I could see in any of these photos. Looked like everything is well swept. Even along the railroad tracks.
- Solid mix of preserved historic buildings and distinctive new buildings.
- Greenery, green spaces and green sides along the water.
- Pedestrian friendly streetscapes.
- Vibrant street facings, not parking garages and hardly any blank walls.
How does Pittsburgh handle transit? I only saw one bus in the pictures and a painted bus lane. No rail.
Pittsburgh has real BRT and LRT. LRT runs as a no fare subway under downtown.
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Dedicated bus lanes in downtown and the Wood Street Station (LRT Subway) on the left.
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Gateway Station (LRT Subway)
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The convention center is elevated. This bike path connection under the convention center's exhibition hall links the riverfront trails with a section of downtown.
Went to grad school in Pittsburgh area and taught at Duquesne for a few years. My wife was the first employee at Commonplace, one of Pittsburgh's biggest coffee chains. Really miss it there. You really got your pictures on a beautiful day. Really brought back a lot of memories.
They don't even have 10,000 people living in the golden triangle (though a lot live right near it) and they still have all this vitality - plenty of national chains, housing and offices, mom and pop establishments, it's all there. The big difference between the golden triangle and downtown Jax is the golden triangle is considered a good market to be in. This is something downtown Jax is still working on.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on July 21, 2026, 12:13:39 AMImpressed by:
- Lot of extra wide sidewalks, often due to narrow streets.
- Cleanliness, no trash I could see in any of these photos. Looked like everything is well swept. Even along the railroad tracks.
- Solid mix of preserved historic buildings and distinctive new buildings.
- Greenery, green spaces and green sides along the water.
- Pedestrian friendly streetscapes.
- Vibrant street facings, not parking garages and hardly any blank walls.
How does Pittsburgh handle transit? I only saw one bus in the pictures and a painted bus lane. No rail.
The T runs from downtown to far Southside. It leaves the underground and is more like a streetcar. There was a new(er) extension under the river to the stadiums. I believe they had rail to East Liberty, but is now a brt.
Quote from: thelakelander on July 21, 2026, 05:22:00 AMPittsburgh has real BRT and LRT. LRT runs as a no fare subway under downtown.
Thanks for the update. A "no fare" bus circulating through the urban core would be a big boost to Downtown and surroundings. Greenville, SC, had one when I visited there.