Thanks for the answer, OP!

Woah. Did you make this?

Wow, I've been on several of these people movers. They're fantastic. I'm so sad that this could also have been Pittsburgh's reality.

Sent this to a friend, and they just signed up!

I would definitely encourage you to get that cane if you're able. I really don't trust drivers to not expect you/us/pedestrians to be the ones to get out of the way. Hopefully the cane would get through to them.

The horrible cave-like entrance is so bad and scary. I'm not sure what the new one will be like, but it's got to be better than what's there now.
That sucks that your partner is so boxed in during the winter by sidewalk conditions. What are your favorite, accessible places in the city? I love the Hazelwood Green for walks because the sidewalks are so new that most of them are still smooth and the whole place feels like a perfect urban park (even though it's technically privately owned).

In the meantime it's made the Main public library in Oakland temporarily less accessible, BUT they're renovating the front entrance to have a ramp that's long enough for it to have a shallow enough angle. They're also replacing the accessible lift/elevator in the front, which was hellishly overdue for that treatment.
Pittsburgh has some really bad sidewalk conditions, though. Have you been here in the winter yet? Homeowners and renters are responsible for clearing their sidewalk of snow and ice. I think 50% of people actually do, though. Plus there are the ones that "clear" by just throwing down rock salt/ice melt that sticks around as pebbles.

1. Thanks for sharing, this is making me feel really hopeful. 2. I had no idea that México's second largest city was Monterrey! I'm learning all sorts of things today.

You're welcome! Please let me know if you get a solid lead on chicharrón.

No idea where to get chicharrones (at least, Colombian style ones I want). Strip District Meats sells lengua, and I know that they worked with some Argentineans to get something butchered in a super-specific style for them. So, you could maybe ask there.

Also in the Strip District, Reyna Foods is the ONLY place around here that I've been able to find bola roja beans and other foods from Latin-America-beyond-Mexico. It's a very small store, though. There's a Colombian coffee and hot chocolate stand right outside Reyna foods, and I think that what I bought was an American croissant stuffed with bocadillo and cheese. They may have had pan de bono, but I'm not personally a huge fan and don't remember. (My guess is that none their baked goods are made fresh in the back of the stand, but I of course don't know that for sure.)