Pathway to sustainable 2050: Mobility in Pittsburgh
WBCSD scenario: In this 2050 scenario, low carbon fuels become mainstream. Hydrogen, electric, and gas plug-in hybrid dominate. Airplanes and ships run on biofuels instead of traditional fossil fuels. Vehicle CO2 emissions are 30% below 2005 levels, and road fatalities are reduced to near zero.
How it would play out in Pittsburgh: People would generally live near where they work, reducing commutes, congestion, carbon, and fuel use. When people do drive, they can use shared cars or taxi services.
For these people, biking becomes popular, as well as electric bicycles and other small personal transportation options. Pittsburgh's hills make it a prime testing ground for new small-scale transit assists, like bike escalators [11]. This opens up the ability to get around on a personal device to many old, young, lower economic status, and less physically able people who previously had limited mobility.
Some people cannot live centrally, because the size of the core city is fixed by the rivers and mountains, and it would be difficult to fit 40% more people in the city. For those people, buses are frequent and reliable, and run on clean fuel. Also, the T is extended to the West, South, and North, to better connect those parts of the city and because it's easier to dig there.
Signs today in Pittsburgh
Signs that show that we're heading toward this future:
Moving to the city: Lawrenceville prices are jumping, as are other walkable neighborhoods like Shadyside. Friendship and East Liberty, formerly somewhat poorer communities, are seeing a ton of investment. Developers are targeting the Strip District for redevelopment, particularly the Produce Terminal [7]. Young people want to move into the city.
Electric cars: The electric garage by CMU. Smart car center on Baum Blvd [1]. Installation of Stage II charging stations [4] in Pittsburgh, and even outside the city [6], which lessens the "range anxiety" that keeps people from buying electric cars.
Self-driving cars: Some research is going on at CMU in this direction by Raj Rajkumar and his group [5], which means that testing (or driving) self-driving cars will likely be possible soon.
Bikes: More bike lanes continue to be installed, such as on Liberty Ave, in Schenley Park, and on three bridges [8]. Mayor Bill Peduto is a fan of bikes. Bike commuting continues to grow [9], and new proposals are thrown around, such as a bike lane on the busway [10].
Signs that show the opposite:
Hydrogen cars seem farther away globally [3], and in the Pittsburgh region as well.
Self-driving cars have traveled thousands of miles with zero accidents, but those cars are also seeing difficulties that they may not be able to overcome [2].