Becoming more sustainable, one rack at a time

Pittsburgh organizations gathered in Market Square Friday to present alternate means of getting around the city, and the consensus was a simple one: bicycles.

Participants in Friday's event, called Transportation Exploration, learned how to use the bike racks now located on the front of every Pittsburgh Port Authority bus to safely store their bikes while they ride. The event was part of Moving Planet Day, an international effort that aims to persuade political leaders to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Port Authority unveiled new city-wide initiatives that make bike riding easier and safer along bus routes. The 700 newly-installed bike racks allow riders to use buses to cross areas of the city that would be difficult or unsafe on bicycles, according to Heather Pharo, Port Authority spokeswoman.

Before Friday, only 10 of 187 routes had buses equipped with bike racks, Pharo said.

Port Authority also revealed that it is lifting all restrictions for carrying bikes on the "T" light-rail system. Previous regulations limited bikers during peak traffic hours, Pharo said.

Avid bike commuters Lindsay Ruprecht and Jane Hallihan, senior interior design majors at the Pittsburgh Art Institute, who attended Friday's event are optimistic that these initiatives will make biking in the city easier.

"I don't bike as much as I used to because there weren't consistent racks," Ruprecht said. She believes that her daily commutes to school will be easier now, especially in inclement weather.

Hallihan agreed, saying that the unpredictability of whether a bus would have a bike rack used to limit the times of day and areas of the city where she could travel.

"Having the bus racks means I can go wherever I want and stay out later," Hallihan said.

The Transportation Exploration presentation included a Port Authority bus on site so patrons could practice attaching their bikes to the new racks, Pharo said.

Hallihan said this part of the event was especially useful.

"A lot of my friends bike no matter what the weather because they didn't know how the bike racks work," she said.

Along with Port Authority, Bike Pittsburgh, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Zip Car, and other organizations, sponsored the event. The local groups worked under the direction of the Green Building Alliance, the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative and international affiliate 350.org to plan Pittsburgh's Moving Planet Day events. 350.org is an organization dedicated to reducing carbon emissions to 350 parts per million.