A splash of color on the riverfront
Opening dav on trails mixes cyclists, artists
A trio of Spandex-skinned cyclists slowed for a bottleneck on the Three Rivers Heritage trail on the South Side Saturday where people were painting concrete trail liners gold, turquoise, green, blue, pink, orange, red and deep purple.
Leashed dogs strained to touch noses, and there were little kids to avoid. The cyclists fixed their faces in consternation as they maneuvered through, then, back at pace, they flew east.
The party continued as more people showed up for the official Opening Day for Trails. Friends of the Riverfront used the opportunity to include artist Baron Batch and his staff at Studio A.M. in Homestead to lead a sanctioned public art project.
“This is an effort to get more people on the trails, an opportunity to collaborate with organizations and to support art,” said Jeff McCauley, director of stewardship for Friends of the Riverfront.
The lure included a scavenger hunt for 89 tablet-sized panels that Mr. Batch, a cyclist himself, designed showing a bicycle and an eye. They were placed on the trail
throughout the city for people to find and take. Some served as free passes to the Carnegie Science Center over the weekend.
Mr. McCauley said more people using trails is good for stewardship and the economy. He cited a Rails to Trails study in 2015 that showed The Three Rivers Heritage Trail generated $8.3 million annually.
Meagan Bailey of Bellevue, her friend Zack Frantik of Mount Washington and her mother Kim Sheesley of Coraopolis met in Homestead on bikes they said they rarely use just to be part of the event.
“Now we’re going to ride more often because of it,” Mr. Frantik said.
Hundreds of events across the country celebrated opening day for trails, said Eric Oberg, the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Midwest director of trail development. “But look at this,” he said, sweeping the brilliant blue sky with his arm. “You’re lucky to live in a city where you can do things like this, right below a city skyline, where the riverfront is for people to use for fun.”
With bridge construction droning in the background, Fred and Donna Zelt of Duquesne Heights brushed pink paint on a barrier while Mr. Batch did a live interview, his pants and blazer covered in daubs of paint.
“I cycle the trail pretty often,” said Mr. Zelt. “I’ve seen Baron’s art and think it has a positive message, so we thought we’d take part.”
“I don’t ride,” Ms. Zelt said, “but I like to paint.”
Mr. Batch bought about 60 gallons in vibrant colors. His assistants, Conrad Grissom and Zachary Rutter, primed the concrete liners last Wednesday. They are between South 4th and South 6th streets.
In meetings to plan the event, some people opposed Mr. Batch’s participation because he had run afoul of the city last year by painting unauthorized murals in several locales. He acknowledged “breaking the rules” at the time, but he said Saturday that Pittsburgh has “so many places that could use color. Color changes the entire feeling of a place, makes people feel safer, gives reference points. This is just color. So imagine color plus art.”
“Some people thought because he had done wrong he shouldn’t be able to do right,” said Donna Green, a cyclist from the North Side, adding that many more people supported it. “How can you not love seeing color along the trail?”