2. Twenty-eighth Street Grade Crossings.—Near Twenty-eighth Street the tracks of the Allegheny Valley Railroad cross both Liberty and Penn Avenues at grade. These grade crossings should be eliminated, the railroad tracks being raised to go over both streets.
Diagram No. 2. Penn-Liberty connection at Thirty-first Street
3. Thirty-third Street Improvement.—At Thirty-third Street on Liberty Avenue there is a railroad grade crossing. The street should be lifted over the tracks and the filling extended west to Thirty-first Street and east to Thirty-seventh Street; in this way the gradient of the steep portion of the Lawrenceville hill can be reduced from 5.6 per cent to 4 per cent, which is the present gradient on the rest of the hill. (Diagram No. 1.) An easy connection should be made with the Penn Avenue artery at about Thirty-first Street. (Diagram No. 2.) With these changes the Penn-Liberty line would provide a thoroughfare from the down town district to the East End with a 4 per cent maximum gradient, which is easier than can be reasonably obtained on any other line. The northern end of the Thirty-third Street bridge and the west end of Ligonier Streets should be raised to meet the new grade of Liberty Avenue; the bridge will then be about level, and Ligonier Street will slope between 6 and 7 per cent down to Thirty-fourth Street.
Diagram No. 3. Penn-Liberty Connection at Howley Street.
4. Sassafras Street Outlet.—Raising the grade on Liberty Avenue will seriously interfere with the western outlet of Sassafras Street. But if this street becomes of sufficient importance—and its location in the valley close to the railroads suggests a considerable development of its frontage for freight houses, warehouses or manufacturing—it will be simple and satisfactory to bring the western outlet to the junction of Penn Avenue and Butler Street by means of a short tunnel under Thirty-fourth Street from the south side of Liberty Avenue to the northwest side of Ligonier Street.
5. Penn-Liberty Connection at Howley Street.—A connection northeast from the junction of Liberty Avenue and Main Street to Penn Avenue will be needed. (Diagram No. 3). This can be secured by widening and extending Howley Street. Thereby traffic bound for the Garfield District and east thereof can climb the Lawrenceville hill by the comparatively easy gradient (4 per cent) on Liberty Avenue, avoiding the steeper hill (about 5 per cent) on Penn Avenue. This will also connect with the proposed Bloomfield bridge to Grant Boulevard.
6. Forty-third Street Bridge.—Butler Street is the main extension of the Penn Avenue artery up the Allegheny River, and its first branch thoroughfare is at Forty-third Street. The Forty-third Street bridge, like the one at Sixteenth Street, must soon be rebuilt.[13] This bridge connects Millvale and large sections of Shaler and Ross townships with the Point District via the Penn Avenue artery. The new bridge should be of ample width and should be high enough so that the approaches can be carried over the railroad tracks at either end.