Pittsburgh’s art scene threatened by public transportation woes

Last weekend, the Deutschtown Music Festival took over several bars, taverns, record stores and other impromptu venues across the Deutschtown section of the North Side. The event showcased more than 40 bands that scattered around a fascinating, though oft-neglected, neighborhood of the city for no cost whatsoever and served as a perfect example of all the tremendous successes — and glaring issues — that the Pittsburgh arts scene has accumulated in recent years.

The result was an incredibly accessible and friendly festival that allowed curious attendees to discover the city’s emerging talents. After sets, bands would pack up their gear and come back to grab a beer and chat with their fellow Pittsburghers while the next band geared up to wow audiences with another short set of surprisingly original music.

The city’s small-town feel was on full display. Many who attended realized that they weren’t far removed from most of the people on stage and in the audience. It was a great moment for a neighborhood and a city to come together and congratulate themselves on a music scene that’s heading in the right direction.

But that could soon change, and the city’s continuing issues with accessibility are to blame.

Though the Deutschtown neighborhood is an area with a culture and vibe all its own, it’s no surprise that the area is so often overlooked by the broke, carless 20-somethings that compose a large constituency of our generation. Because with the public transportation system as effectively defunct as it is — especially on weekends —  taking a trip to an area as close-by as the North Side becomes a voyage that will take hours, if it can be made at all.

This transportation problem isn’t unique to the city’s North Side either. Numerous venues around the city are currently inaccessible because of the patchwork of bare-bones bus routes that now make up our public transportation system. Two great venues that exemplify this problem are Mr. Small’s Theatre in Millvale, which has become Pittsburgh’s best mid-range venue by virtue of its excellent booking choices and unique atmosphere, and 222 Ormsby in Mt. Oliver, the grocery store-turned-punk venue that provides an unrivaled DIY atmosphere.

Both of these venues are testaments to Pittsburgh’s diverse appetite for the arts, but getting to either is never an easy task for music lovers. It’s a confusing mishmash of bus rides and long walks through sleepy neighborhoods that makes seeing a weeknight show a real drag and causes arriving to a weekend show on time a matter of praying to the Port Authority gods for mercy.

Without easy accessibility and affordable public transit, it’s hard for those in the arts community — most of whom don’t profit from their passions — to get around, and it’s hard to foster the sort of tight-knit community that is conducive to a healthy arts scene.

Unfortunately, the public transportation situation is only worsening. On June 16, 430 total stops were eliminated across 36 routes, and the failure of the Pennsylvania legislature to pass any sort of transportation funding promises makes the situation appear dire as the city moves forward. 

Whether this is the result of misplaced priorities or congressional ineptitude is up for debate. What can’t be debated, though, is that Pittsburgh as a whole, and especially its burgeoning arts community, will suffer.

The Deutschtown Music Festival demonstrated the great features of the music scene, but also laid bare its incredible vulnerability. There are dozens of reasons to fight for increased funding for public transit, and the economic implications of the transit cuts will go far beyond concert venue accessibility. But these recent developments threaten an arts scene that isn’t yet strong enough to stand up without the support of a solid infrastructure.