Déjà Vu Squared

They say those that don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership this morning announced a $5 million plan to remake Market Square into a more pedestrian-friendly area with less traffic and wider sidewalks to encourage more outdoor dining.

The design, which was unveiled at the partnership's annual meeting, will stop all through traffic on Forbes Avenue, eliminate all bus traffic and send cars around the perimeter of the square. Instead of raised planters that are the centerpieces of the four quadrants of the square, the site will become a level area with trees, tables and a decorative stone surface.

This all seems strangely familiar to me... almost as if there was a place in the City of Pittsburgh that tried to do this whole walkable pedestrian area thing before to great acclaim and with rapturous applause, only to see said neighborhood collapse, necessitating massive redevelopment efforts 30-40 years in the future, nearly completely reversing the original plan.


Of course, Market Square isn't East Liberty, nor is Allegheny Center, so I'm sure that there will be plenty of other new and creative ways someone can mess this all up. Again.