In #Lisbon now, the last city on my study tour. Immediately I'm struck by the verticality of this city as well as their gorgeous sidewalks and streets. I even got to witness my favorite thing–the by-hand repairing of a mosaic sidewalk. 
Lisbon is v hilly, but researcher Rita Félix discovered that 75% of Lisbon's streets are <5% grade. They built a bike plan for these flatter areas simultaneously adding hundreds of pedal assist e-bikes to their bike share fleet as well as letting @JUMPbyUber add dockless e-bikes.
The parallels with Pittsburgh are plentiful. Lisbon used to have 800k population. Now it's 500k. In '99 it had 0km of bikeways, 3km in 2000, 60km in 2014, 93km as of Jan 1, 2019. Where the two cities diverge is that Lisbon has an additional 110km planned btw now & 2021. @PghDOMI
Lisbon is currently at about 2.5% bike mode share. Comparable to Pittsburgh. Their goal is 5% by 2021 and 15% by 2030. How? They're reducing space for cars. These photos show where cars used to be.
The deputy mayor of Lisbon recently went on the record committing to removing 1,600 on-street spaces for car storage in the next year or two to build more bike and bike share parking. @PghDOMI @CityPGH @healthyridepgh
"20 is plenty," the saying goes. Pittsburgh needs more 20mph streets that prioritize bikes and tame cars. Here's one that intersects with Lisbon's cycling backbone on Avenida da República.
Edit: delete the word "more" in the post above. That conveys that Pittsburgh has some 20mph streets already.
If @PghDOMI's new @PGHtransit bus shelters include one piece of tech, it should be a "next 🚍 arrives in X min" display.
Every major city should have a transit day pass. This pass unlocked Lisbon for us. @PGHtransit
Lisbon is simplifying transit & making it more affordable. Until May there were 770 diff transit tix. Now down to 70. They intro'd a 30€/mo city, 40€/mo region ticket for individuals. Next they will intro 60€ city/80€ region family pass no limit on # kids/family! @PGHtransit
Here's a video of me heading into the land of make believe. If only Pittsburgh didn't get rid of our trolleys. They're so charming and so fun.
Pittsburgh and Lisbon both have an impressive amount of steps. Does this make us step sister cities?
Lisbon has funiculars on steep streets (as opposed to their own ROW like in Pittsburgh). They are also adding more free municipal elevators to help everyone but especially seniors and disabled people get around.
On the Aero Bus that has free Wi-Fi and a luggage rack. This is part of the private Yellow Bus system that the city contracts with to supplement its own transit service.
Lisbon's goal is to 2x bike mode share to 5% in '21 & then 3x that by '30. City planners left me w/these words: "Hilly is not a problem, comfort is. The enviro in which you cycle makes the biggest difference. You need to reduce space for cars and create a full network for bikes."
@threadreaderapp please unroll
