University Times

A hearing on a prelimi- nary injunction seek- ing to stop Pitt's planned 30-day test closing of the Bigelow Boulevard block between the Cathedral of Learning and the William Pitt Union has been set for today at 9:30 a.m.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Eugene Strassburger III is expected to hear arguments in the suit filed by Pittsburgh City Council President James Ferlo, state Rep. Don Walko, D-North Side, and several Oakland businesses.

The lawsuit contends that closing of the street is illegal under a section of the Pennsylvania Municipal Code that requires a three-fourths approval by a local council to vacate a street.

During Council hearings on the closing, the administration of Mayor Tom Murphy maintained that the move is legal because it is only temporary, akin to closing a street for a parade, construction or some other function.

City Council in April voted 5-4 to allow the test closing after heavy lobbying by the Murphy administration and Pitt officials. At the time, Ferlo pledged to file suit to stop the test.

Ferlo and some Oakland business owners and residents believe that the closing of Bigelow will create a traffic and parking nightmare because traffic will be rerouted onto narrow side streets and about 95 spaces will be lost during the closing.

Richard Holmes, an attorney in Pitt's Office of General Counsel, said Judge Strassburger could follow several courses of action. He could rule in favor of the preliminary injunction, which would stop the test closing until a full hearing is held, or he could deny the injunction, which means the test could proceed.

According to Holmes, the judge also could decline to rule on the motion for a preliminary injunction and order briefs in the case, additional oral arguments or testimony.

The University had originally sought to have the one-block section of Bigelow closed for 60 days, but the time period was cut to 30 days as part of a compromise deal to get Council member Valerie McDonald to vote for the test.

The test closing is set to begin on Sept. 16. Pitt's Director of Parking and Transportation Bob Harkins said his department is proceeding with plans for the closing.

"We've worked it all through and we have everything in place in terms of the contractor and all that," Harkins said. "We're going to go ahead until we're told we can't." If not stopped by an injunction, the closing will begin one minute after midnight on Sept. 16, according to Harkins. Work crews will begin placing concrete barriers at either end of the block on Sept. 15.

–Mike Sajna