Kevin

Pittsburgh, Urbanism, thoughts on politics. Opinions my own.

[Angry Staffer @Angry_Staffer]

Periodic reminder to check your voters registration. Check in with your people and make sure they’re registered too!

[Kevin @verde_amarela]

@Dan_Shaffer_17 @davidvatz Not disagreeing with your overall point, but wasn't this an example of a PWSA stormwater project and not a DOMI traffic calming project?

[Ryan Deto @RyanDeto]

Pittsburgh among the lowest percentage growth of new apartment development of any American city in 2024

[Antonia @antonia_mdprjct]

Hopefully, a helpful reminder:

Nothing good ever happens on email after 10p.

If you have a real work emergency at that time, it will most likely require a phone call.

Otherwise, it’s usually better to respond in the morning.

[Kevin @verde_amarela]

@JanePitt That's a pretty straightforward brick building. It's just that we currently have such low standards of what's expected to be built that this looks ornate or special.

[Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads/Insta)🌻 @AWeissmann_]

From David Sedaris on Trump vs Biden:
"I think​ of being​ on an airplane.​ The flight attendant comes​ down the aisle​ with her food cart and, eventually,​ parks​ it beside my seat.​ “Can I inter​est you in the chick​en?​” she asks.​ “Or would​ you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broke​n glass​ in it?"
To be undecided in this elect​ion is to pause​ for a moment and then ask how the chick​en is cooked.”

[Kevin @verde_amarela]

@PGHDistrict8 @penguins @pensfoundation Can't make the meeting...but if the Pens are installing a new concrete floor slab, how about roller skating during the warmer months?

[David Hogg 🟧 @davidhogg111]

List of things I think an unhealthy amount about that have nothing to do with gun reform.

-Parking minimums and the need to abolish them.
- The way we massively subsidize air travel and car travel but expect public transit and high speed rail to pay for itself and expect local governments to take on the debt.
- Transit oriented development to build high density housing, restaurants, gyms, grocery stores, schools, daycares and anything one could really need most days around transit hubs
- The major flaws in the way American public transit systems have been designed. For example our lack of subway lines and light rail that connect suburb to suburb (which studies have shown are the destinations Americans travel between to most.) Instead of just downtown to suburb.
- How automakers decimated much of our light rail system in the 20th century so they could basically force Americans to buy cars and sell buses to “replace” light rail.
- How we could replicate regional high speed rail like bright line in FL using very niche tax policies like Private activity bonds.
- How so many Americans talk about how much they love walking around cities in Europe because everything is so close, how people love walking around Disneyland and how many people loved college partly because they had so many friends close by, a gym, food and more often within walking distance. But then moving to the suburbs and other areas that aren’t walkable and often being far less happy.

[Kevin @verde_amarela]

@civic_grit If that's a manhole in the sidewalk photo, most likely there are underground utilities that were unknown at the time of the rendering. Or known, and ignored for the rendering.

[Angry Staffer @Angry_Staffer]

This is so, SO good.

Do yourself a favor and watch this.

[Kevin @verde_amarela]

@mnolangray Where in PGH?

[Virginia Montanez @JanePitt]

If we want Pittsburghers to use public transit more often, then public transit needs to be reliable, comfortable, and accessible. This thread about trying to get home from the airport should be acknowledged and addressed by @PGHtransit.

[Kevin @verde_amarela]

@PghTransitCare @ArminSamii @PghTransitAlert @PGHtransit @Pgh4PubTransit Are you able to post/let us know how PRT will be addressing these concerns? Point by point would be amazing, but understand that may not be possible.

[Antonia @antonia_mdprjct]

A nifty favorite guide:

From experience working in multi-family projects, we have gathered 7 rules of thumb for non-luxury apartment product that help us quickly assess project feasibility for new construction:

1) 12' bays. This magical dimension accommodates frontage for standard living rooms & bedrooms. It is also structurally feasible to span w/ wood or concrete. 1-beds req. two bays, 2-beds req. 3, etc.

2) 12'5" is the length req. for an accessible linear kitchen w/standard appliances. While shopping for smaller appliances is always an option, it is not the best place to start from a cost & schedule perspective. Small appliances are often more difficult & expensive to procure.

3) 11' of uninterrupted living-room wall. This will help ensure the space is 'furnishable'.

4) 9' slab to slab (except at ground floor & not for luxury product). This is typically sufficient to provide 8' spaces w/ some soffit lines. This is also related to overall building eight (see #5 below).

5) 18' at ground floor. Whenever possible, this is the dimension that results in a 14-15' lobby/entry or retail area at the ground floor. Structure + MEP transfers that often occur at the ground floor take up a lot more space than people realize.

6) Related to 4&5 -- keep the building below 75' (unless a high-rise is the goal). In most jurisdictions, 75' tall buildings have different MEP & fire protection requirements. Keeping the height below 75' substantially decreases the cost of construction.

7) 4 floors. If you're looking at type V construction, this is the way. 4 floors will allow you to stay away from type 3B, which requires more expensive construction materials & systems.

Obviously, each project brings nuance-- that's when we rely on our experience to go beyond the rules & find solutions that meet the product & proforma requirements.

Late into design is not the time to find out that a building doesn't work as expected & can't meet proforma.

[Steve Mouzon @stevemouzon]

Andres Duany: In the New Urbanism, variances are granted for merit, NOT for hardship. Wanna break the rules? Bring a great idea.

[Jeff Speck @JeffSpeckFAICP]

Amazing how @TheOnion keeps buying local papers!

[BikePGH @BikePGH]

PGH has more public stairs than any city in the US, and now you can see exactly where they are on DOMI's updated City Steps Map! Shout out to steps advocate @lzurowski for helping @pghDOMI make this happen.

---> SEE STEPS OPEN, CLOSED, & w/ RUNNELS here: https://t.co/KA6twI1HAP

[Marilyn Moedinger @mwmoedinger]

I love a good cocktail bar. But I'm getting sick of how overwrought and complicated the drinks are.

Food and bev rant ahead...

I mean, the "Dagger and Frost" or "Summer Fox's Dream" sound like nice poems but I don't need another riff on a Manhattan, I just need...a Manhattan.

It takes them 20 mins to hand cut the flower petals and arrange them with tweezers over a drink with 47 ingredients no one has ever heard of and/or that don't even sound good (smoked sour lavender falernum tincture anyone?!)

Meanwhile if I ask for a classic cocktail (ahem, negroni) they're like yeah but let me make it with Creme de Violette and bathtub gin with an essence of candied smoked spiced orange. No.

When I'm at a good cocktail bar, I like to ask the bartender what they're interested in lately, what they're working on, if they want to test something out on me. Good ones have lots of thoughts, which they tailor to the spirits I'm into. Hipster ones are nervous bc they don't actually know how to build drinks, they've just memorized a menu.

Another bad sign is a preponderance of fruity drinks. Good cocktail bars aren't afraid of spirit-forward drinks. Juices overpower the booze so you don't taste it...that's the opposite of what a cocktail aficionado wants, and hides a multitude of sins. Perfectly balanced spirit-forward drinks are *hard.*

Good cocktail bars have excellent service. Sitting at the bar should be an experience in quiet, attentive service with a chat here and there, and *never* a moment when you are without water or a beverage.

Good cocktail bars are 100% cool if you want something non-alcoholic, and they should have NA cocktails and beverages that show the same level of attention and care that the boozy ones have. They don't push anyone to drink, or shame anyone.

Good cocktail bars have a vibe. Fancy but relaxed. Like you're in good hands. A place where you might strike up a conversation with your neighbor or not, where you can bring a date or your parents or a book.

I know of a couple that have hit it so spot on that it was absolute magic (RIP Spoke and The Hawthorne/Eastern Standard)

But lordy put away the flower arranging and focus not on your own brilliant acrobatics but on your customer, and on the fundamentals (and history) of good service and good cocktails.

[Jeff Speck @JeffSpeckFAICP]

This is fantastic.

I’ve been fighting for decades (against traffic engineers, truckers, bus agencies, and fire departments) for 10 vs. 12 foot urban lanes.

Now there’s a @JohnsHopkinsSPH study pushing 9 feet.

Nine feet.

https://t.co/IuxO0ipja1