I've been hearing a lot on the new book "The Bridges of Pittsburgh." Apparently we do have more bridges than any other city in the world. The author, Bob Regan, previously published a book on the stairways of Pittsburgh. Yes, these are great assets and likely fine books. But the state of our bridges and stairways are not such that we can take full advantage of those assets.
While wondering around Brighton Heights one day, I discovered a walking bridge off Termon Avenue. Today I had a few minutes to kill so I walked the bridge. I had thought it was closed to pedestrian traffic since it was blocked by a baricade, but on closer inspection I noticed you could go around the baricade which was likely placed to keep bicycles or other small vehicles from traveling on the bridge.
Like San Francisco and other great cities, Pittsburgh is connected by an intricate system of pedestrian walkways. In fact, many homes are not accessible by automobile, and as this bridge in Brighton Heights illustrates, many connections are not possible by auto.
My walk today revealed that this pedestrian system is in danger of not surviving but a few more years. Yet, like the Street Cars in San Francisco, Grand Central Terminal, once obsolete these bridges can be a major component in an exciting future.
