Peach Street, part of U.S. Route 19, is a main artery serving downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. Once surrounded by nothing more than rolling hills and farmland, "Upper Peach Street" (as it is known), is the most significant center of urban sprawl in Northwestern Pennsylvania and is now home to numerous strip plazas, a major shopping mall and several big box stores.
Peach Street is one-way north from its intersection of West 26th Street. Peach Street intersects with Interstate 90 and is easily accessible to/from Interstate 79.
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Peach Street's main expansion, though, takes place as it enters Millcreek and Summit townships. Upper Peach Street, as the urban sprawl area is known, is actually about five miles (8 km) south of downtown Erie.
As a result of America's mass exodus to the suburbs, Peach Street has rapidly expanded over the past two decades.
The commonly found heavy traffic around the shopping centers on Peach Street is often referred to by locals as "Peach Jam."
As Americans began moving out of cities, so, too, did the stores they frequented. Erie's downtown suffered as a result of the construction of the Millcreek Mall on Peach Street. Many businesses soon followed suit and moved to the expanding suburb.
Peach Street is home to at least seven different plazas all housing major big box retailers and small businesses. Additionally, Peach Street is home to many of Erie's national restaurant chain locations and numerous auto dealerships.
On Aug. 28, 2003, Erie's Peach Street became famous for the "pizza bomber case" in which Brian Douglas Wells, a local pizza delivery driver, was killed as part of a bank robbery plot. The robery took place at Upper Peach Street's PNC Bank location, which has since closed, while most of the events took place in the parking lot of Eyeglass World.
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