Bates Street in Oakland is one of the busiest streets in Pittsburgh. In addition to heavy automotive traffic, it is also a bicycle route. Passing over the foot of Bates Street is a bridge of the Three Rivers Heritage bicycle and pedestrian trail. Before the replacement of this bridge in 2013, there was a ground level connection between the sidewalk on Bates Street and the Heritage Trail. Since the bridge was increased in elevation to facilitate truck traffic, this ground level connection has been eliminated. Now cyclists and pedestrians who wish to reach the Heritage Trail from Bates Street need to travel along 2nd Avenue for half a mile to a makeshift wooden ramp to get onto the trail. Instead of this detour on the narrow sidewalk along busy 2nd Avenue, many travelers instead choose to climb the steep embankment up onto the trail. What needs to be done is that the ramp needs to be replaced in this location to provide bicycle and pedestrian access to the trail at this critical location.
