Release Date: Tuesday, May 6th 2008

Tribune-Review: Market Square plan has open feel

Many of the 70 people who attended a public hearing sponsored by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership in the Harris Theater, Downtown, said the square should have brighter lighting, fewer vehicles and wider sidewalks friendly to pedestrians and cafe tables.

Of the three design options -- Minimal, Oasis and Historic -- created by Klavon Design Associates of the South Side, people who responded to an informal survey favored the third, which puts sidewalks, the Belgian block streets and cafe seating areas on the same level, said designer Dina Klavon.

The partnership hopes to introduce a final concept to the city Planning Commission and other public boards this summer so up to 18 months of construction can begin in the fall, he said.

There''s also the task of assembling corporate, foundation and city funding to pay for the renovations, which could range from $3.2 million to $5 million.

The "Historic" design is the most expensive option at about $5 million, Klavon said.

It would eliminate the existing marble planters, where homeless people and panhandlers congregate.

The design would move the concert stage toward PPG Place and replace the pear and linden trees with flowering cherry trees and Princeton American elms to create a canopy effect, Klavon said.

"There''s no reason that on an evening like tonight ... that it can''t be a destination for people to go there after work and have a drink or sit in a sidewalk cafe and have dinner," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who attended the hearing but declined to reveal his favorite design.

Nick Kyriazi of Deutschtown questioned why the city would spend money on the square after paying to overhaul it in the early 1990s.

"It disturbs me that my tax dollars are going to obliterate and change something that my tax dollars paid for 10 years ago," Kyriazi said.

City planners said redoing Market Square is necessary because the raised marble planters make the space inflexible and an impediment for large gatherings. Light fixtures need to be replaced to make the area brighter and safer at night for theater-goers seeking food and drink.

Barbara Simpson, president of the Allegheny County Transit Council, questioned the need to eliminate buses from the square entirely when the new designs remove vehicle through-traffic on Forbes and Market streets.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County plans to prohibit buses in Market Square starting May 15.

Simpson said cafe seating in the square should be open to everyone.

"If I decide I want to come and sit -- will I have to buy a lunch?" Simpson asked.

Edwards said the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership would provide public seating to all, regardless of their patronage of nearby restaurants.