RIVERLIFE

PRINCIPLE #2

TRACING HISTORY AND MEMORY

HISTORIC RIVER EDGE

HISTORIC WATER SHEET

CURRENT WATER SHEET

HISTORIC ISLANDS

HISTORIC SAND BAR

STREAMS AND TRIBUTARIES

CANAL

HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD FABRIC

WATER ASSOCIATED STREETS

HISTORIC BUILDINGS

HISTORIC BRIDGE CROSSINGS

ACTION ITEMS:

* Proceed with the Point State Park planning efforts
  Contacts: Allegheny Conference on Community
            Development, Riverlife Task Force

* Promote plans for celebrating the anniversary of the Lewis & Clark Expedition
  Contacts: Heinz History Center

* Participate in planning the commemorations of the French and Indian War
  Contacts: War for the Empire Consortium

* Support the Rivers of Steel Plan
  Contacts: Steel Industry Heritage Corporation

Section II

23

RIVERLIFE

PRINCIPLE #6

CITY OF BRIDGES

BRIDGES AS HISTORIC ICONS

BRIDGES TO BE HIGHLIGHTED

ALTERNATIVE FUTURE BRIDGE LOCATIONS

RAILROAD BRIDGES

BRIDGE-ASSOCIATED OPEN SPACE

VISUAL CORRIDORS

VERTICAL PEDESTRIAN CONNECTION

HISTORIC BRIDGE ABUTMENTS

EXISTING INCLINES

FUTURE INCLINE / INCLINE EXTENSION

ACTION ITEMS:

* Initiate a bridge lighting demonstration prototype

* Reconstruct the Hot Metal Bridge as a pedestrian connection in the city

Contacts: Urban Redevelopment Authority
Allegheny Trail Alliance

* Create practical pedestrian passages across the West End and Fort Pitt bridges

Contacts: PennDOT

* Enable creative expression that integrates the rivers and their surrounding environment

Contacts: Friends of the Riverfront Arts Program
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Section II

31

RIVERLIFE

WATER SHUTTLES

Anticipating the use of the rivers to connect attractions and communities

As the banks of the three rivers become more accessible and active, and as future development orients itself toward the rivers – as do the new ballparks and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center – the feasibility of additional water transportation will substantially increase.

The map at left diagrams a hypothetical shuttle system with approximately twenty landings. Some of these may primarily support special event use, such as the Gateway Clipper Fleet services, game-day needs, or shuttling conventioneers to various cultural and entertainment venues. But it is also foreseeable that daily commuter use of the rivers will expand. Surely a short boat ride from a nearby riverside neighborhood to the downtown would be more pleasant – and possibly more efficient – than the daily grind along the expressways and tunnels.

Long-range planning should anticipate additional water use for transportation, and any development adjacent to the identified landings must not preclude, indeed must facilitate, the eventual establishment of a water shuttle stop. To be a river city again means taking advantage of the rivers in multiple ways.

A landing for seasonal excursion boats on the Charles River, Boston.

Various ideas for boat landings.

A river center with boat rentals in Ottawa, Canada.

"The flow of the river is ceaseless and its water is never the same"

Kamo no Chomei,
1212AD

Section III

51

ADVANCING THE VISION: The Challenges Ahead

DESIGN STANDARDS

RIVERLIFE URBAN DESIGN COMMITTEE

**Edie Shapira, Chair**
Physician

**Tom Balestrieri**
The Buncher Company

**Ellsworth Brown**
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

**Carol Brown**
Former President, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

**Cathy Caponi**
H.J. Heinz Company

**J. D. Fogarty**
Port of Pittsburgh

**Barry Hannegan**
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

**Pat Hassett**
Department of City Planning

**Eloise Hirsh**
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

**Barbara McKenna**
Hyehold Restaurant

**Mary Navarro**
The Heinz Endowments

**Grant Oliphant**
The Heinz Endowments

**Jeanne Pearlman**
The Pittsburgh Foundation

**Steve Quick**
Perkins Eastman Architects, PC

**Bob Reppe**
Department of City Planning

**Caryn Rubinoff**
The Rubinoff Company

**Lisa Schroeder**
Riverlife Task Force

**Roxanne Sherbeck**
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

**Anne Swager**
AIA Pittsburgh

**Will Voegele**
Forest City Enterprises

**Terry Wirginis**
Gateway Clipper Fleet

**Davitt Woodwell**
Riverlife Task Force

## Adopt Design Standards to Create High Quality Public Spaces

Three Rivers Park grows out of the guiding principles previously set forth and applies to both public and private properties. As a new public place, Three Rivers Park will therefore emerge as the sum of many parts for years to come. Numerous individual initiatives will weave into the overarching idea of Three Rivers Park. The character of the district will be created through the design of all its visible public elements: the open spaces, parks, bridges, streets, sidewalks, walkways, landscaping, lighting, signage, and even the flow of the rivers themselves.

The public and the private sectors will need to work together to create a district with a strong, coherent character along the rivers that meets the specific needs of each neighborhood and reflects Pittsburgh's unique characteristics. The challenge ahead is to encourage the current momentum of development activity along Pittsburgh's rivers and combine private landowners' initiatives with the skill and vision of urban designers to meet high-quality standards and achieve spectacular waterfront development.

### Riverlife Objectives

1. Adopt a framework for a riverfront district and develop urban design guidelines in accordance with the guiding principles.

2. Codify a system of urban elements and develop standards for public amenities, lighting, paths, and other furniture, to create a riverfront park district that is cohesive, active, and beautiful, and that reflects Pittsburgh's history, topography, culture, and ecosystems.

3. Work with the public and private sectors to strengthen connections between the riverfronts and the city and to meet the specific needs of each neighborhood.

4. Develop designs for public spaces that accommodate long-term plans for the programming and management of public use and that incorporate practical strategies for maintenance and operations.

5. Outline a formal design review process(es) to oversee public and private riverfront development.

Since Riverlife's inception, the Urban Design Committee has advised the City and private landowners by reviewing and critiquing specific proposals, with the intent of applying consistent principles toward the broader development of a Three Rivers Park. Critical to the Task Force's planning process has been ongoing collaboration with landowners to establish expectations and to assist and empower developers to aspire to the highest possible quality within the realities of the real estate market.

The Urban Design Committee will continue to work with the Department of City Planning and the Planning Commission to provide resources and develop tools that will enable the City to translate the Riverlife guiding principles into a regulatory review process.

The following framework of design guidelines and standards has been prepared as a *base on which to build*.

What follows is:

1. A framework for creating design guidelines for the Prime Study Area that will facilitate a long range vision for the rivers, consisting of urban design directives and urban design elements for public and quasi-public spaces.

2. A system of urban elements—yet to be designed—that will create a cohesive, active riverfront district that capitalizes on the unique qualities of Pittsburgh's riverfronts.

Section through the proposed "Great Lawn" at the North Shore (EDAW)

60

PITTSBURGHSCAPE™ CENTER-CITY TOUR GUIDE

© J.B. Jeffers Ltd. '85

## Points of Interest

1. Community College of Allegheny County

2. Three Rivers Stadium

3. Allegheny Center
   * Allegheny Center Mall

  * Buhl Science Center

  * Old Post Office Museum
  (Children's Museum)

  * Pittsburgh Public Theater

  * Allegheny Commons

  * Aviary

4. North Shore Center

5. Point State Park
   * Blockhouse (c1764)

  * Fort Pitt Museum

  * Fort Pitt Embattlements

  * American Wind Symphony Dock

  * Symphony Summer Stage

6. Gateway Plaza
* Gateway Center #1, #2, #3
* KDKA

7. Equitable Plaza
* Gateway Center #4
* State Office Building
* Across Bridge

  * Gateway #5
  * Westinghouse

  * Pittsburgh Press/Post Gazette

8. Heinz Hall

9. Benedum Center

10. Trinity Church and Cemetery

11. P.P.G. Plaza
* P.P.G. Tower

  * Wintergarden

  * P.P.G. #2, #3, #4, #5, #6

12. Point Park College

13. David Lawrence Convention Center

14. Federal Office Building
Liberty Center Vista Hotel
(1986/87)

FIRST
CLASS
POSTAGE
REQUIRED

15. Penn station
* Rotunda (1898)

16. Flag Plaza

17. Civic Arena (1960)

18. U.S. Steel Building

19. Mellon Square

20. One Mellon Bank Center

21. Allegheny County Courthouse
(1884)

22. Allegheny County Jail and Bridge
of Sighs

23. Robert Morris College

24. Chatham Center

25. One Oxford Center

26. Duquesne University (1883)

27. Public Safety Building

28. Smithfield Street Bridge (c1883)

29. Duquesne Incline (1877)

30. Mt. Washington
* Grandview Avenue Overlook

31. Gateway Clipper Fleet

32. Station Square Complex
* Freight House Shops

  * Mon Incline

  * PLE Historic Building (1898)

  * Bessemer Court

  * Commerce Court

  * Grand Concourse

  * Transportation Museum

68. Walbash Bridge Abutment

69. Fifth Avenue Place

70. Dollar Savings Bank (1868)

## Hotels

A. Hilton 412/391-4600

B. Sheraton 412/261-2000

C. Liberty Center (1986/87)

D. Westin William Penn
412/281-7100

E. Hyatt 412/471-1234

## Hospitals

F. Central Medical Pavilion
412/562-3000

G. Mercy (1848) 412/232-8111

S. — Subway Entrances

P. — Parking Garages or Areas

J.B. Jeffers Ltd. • 5854 Solway Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15217