Goal: Make Oakland “America’s First Digital Community”

Innovation Oakland took another step on the path toward reaching its goal today by introducing a new interactive “wayfinder” kiosk. The kiosk can help visitors find everything from parking and a bus schedule, to a museum and a place to eat. Don Carter is director of CMU’s remaking cities institute and is helping to design a larger program to help people get around the neighborhood. He says the kiosks are just the start. “[The kiosks] are probable the most photogenic [aspect] at this point but we think that one of the strongest parts will be the ‘virtual wayfinding’ that people with smart phones or internet connections can use,” says Carter, “five years from now we think that will be the primary way people find their way around.” The web and smart phone applications can be found at the Innovation Oakland web page. The plan also includes a comprehensive design for street signage and functional public art for all of Oakland. An executive summary of the report can be found here. Carter says right now the Oakland streetscape is over crowded with old, out of date, and confusing signs that need to be replaced.

To build the kiosk, a group of four graduate students at CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center jumped feet first into the neighborhood. Center Associate Executive Producer Mk Haley says getting around Oakland was a problem the students were living as they launched the project. “They were all brand new transplants to the Oakland area and they had a lot of fun field trips where they poked through every nook and cranny,” says Haley. Several town hall meetings were held to get input from the diverse population that moves through Oakland everyday. Haley says there are two distinct different communities who need help getting around Oakland, “students who will show up with every single technology gadget on their belt possible and they want to connect to satellites and internet and lasers and robots, and then you have the community who just need to now the bus schedule.” (A video demonstration of the kiosk can be seen here.) Haley says the team decided to not spend the time and money trying to make the kiosk able to withstand life on the street corner. Instead the kiosks will be placed inside buildings. “We did a lot of research on the estimated life span of kiosks and it is not very long,” says Haley, “We worked with a company in New York City, their kiosks get stabbed.”

Innovation Oakland is looking for funding to make the plan a reality but is yet to put a price tag on the effort. Carter says that number should be known in the coming weeks. They hope to have design plans formalized in the next 6 months. Carter says they will use that time to look for the money needed to make it a reality. He says they hope to tap into federal and state dollars because they believe the design can be used as a model for other cities and neighborhoods across the country. A report on the design plan can been found here.

Pgh. Councilman Pushes Responsible Drinking Ads

Nighttime partiers in Oakland and the South Side might soon be seeing reminders of the effects of too much drinking.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus wants to initiate a “responsible hospitality” advertising campaign using billboards designed by the University of Florida. The ads show young men and women in embarrassing positions because of excessive alcohol consumption.

Kraus says one ad shows a young lady bent over a toilet, warning the reader to not “be that girl.” Another depicts a rather flaccid beer bottle, with text reading “drinking too much may disappoint you and your partner.”

Kraus says the billboard campaign would be part of a larger effort to increase civility amongst young partygoers. He says to that end, Pittsburgh will host a Sociable City Network conference on June 8 to increase dialogue on responsible hospitality.

The billboards would be implemented through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Kraus says informing revelers before citing them is key to successfully “remediating the problem.”

County Seeks Downtown-Oakland Transit Line

Allegheny County officials today announced an effort to garner private capital for a transit link between Pittsburgh’s Oakland and Downtown districts.

County Economic Development & Redevelopment Authority Director Dennis Davin says in contrast to similar past endeavors, this project would entail a public-private partnership between a sponsor and state and local government.

Davin says this transit line, which could be anything from light-rail to a people-mover, would allow for expansion of institutions both in Downtown and in Oakland.

He says the county is asking for “expressions of interest” from private investors by the end of April.

“We’ve not been very specific in saying, ‘Look, we want this route developed,’ or, ‘We want this mode of transportation developed,’” says Davin.

“We’re trying to leave that open to the transportation [community]. These are the experts, so we want them to come back and say, ‘Here’s what we think makes sense. Here’s what we can fund. Here’s what works.”

Such a public-private partnership would require legislation from Harrisburg to be legal, so Davin says county government will work with state transportation committees to gain support for the project.

Davin says because of the private investment, it’s doubtful that the Port Authority would manage the line; however, he says they are taking part in the planning process.

Allies Bridge Opens

A new and improved bridge making up a section of State Route 885, along Boulevard of the Allies, has opened. The old bridge closed to traffic in January to begin a $29 million replacement project. The new bridge is constructed with eye-pleasing details that include 14-foot eagles carved into the abutments and curved bridge girders.

"When people are coming into Oakland for the first time, as they travel up Forbes, they'll be greeted with a nice, new, artistically pleasing bridge rather than the old, rusted, decaying bridge that used to be there," said PennDot Spokesperson Jim Struzzi. He said the bridge will be convenient for city commuters and trucks alike, as it has no weight restrictions. Struzzi estimated almost 30,000 vehicles will cross the bridge daily.

Boulevard Bridge Closes Jan. 3

The Boulevard of the Allies bridge in Oakland will close tomorrow night at 11 for construction. PennDOT is dismantling and replacing the deteriorated bridge. The project is expected to last into November.

The project will also affect the section of Forbes Avenue that goes under the Boulevard bridge. Forbes Avenue will close this weekend to allow demolition to begin. Forbes Avenue will be open the weekend of January 12, but is scheduled to close again the following weekend. In late April, Forbes Avenue will also be reduced to a single lane for about four months.

PennDOT says most motorists will be able to get around the Boulevard construction by using Forbes and Fifth Avenues. During the times Forbes is closed, the primary detour will be the Parkway East. More information is available on PennDOT's website and through the Oakland Transportation Management Association.