"Zoning rules could save retail corridors."

Charlestown Road between Klerner and Silver?

Zoning rules could save retail corridors, by John Conti (Pittsburgh Trib)

 ... Most of these corridors were built up in the wave of suburban expansion in the 1950s. There's been little in the way of zoning rules to guide their development, and they've always been characterized by visual disorder.

Buildings are set back irregularly, sometimes close to the street, sometimes not. Sometimes at angles, sometimes not. It's possible to find a quaint church adjacent to a used-car lot; a one-story, mid-'50s, drive-in bank next to a brick yard. Often, you can still see a lonely remaining house, misguidedly built close to what was once a quiet country road, now turned into an insurance agency and flanked by something like an Arby's on one side and a McDonald's on the other.

Landscaping is infrequent, sidewalks nonexistent, pedestrians totally unwelcome. Crossing these streets on foot is perilous. The car traffic moves fast, except at rush hour, when it sometimes doesn't move at all ...