Benches, pathway to be added on land above Ardmore wall
A strip of land in Wilkinsburg above a wall along Ardmore Boulevard will be transformed into a green space with benches and a lighted pathway.
The borough has received a $475,000 state grant to refurbish the area where houses have been demolished above the deteriorating, 8-foot-high concrete wall between Penn and Franklinavenues.
Although it is not officially a park, the 950-footlong area is referred to as Ardmore Wall Linear Park.
“Over the past year, we have been demolishing vacant and abandoned houses and dead trees and undergrowth above the Ardmore wall,” Wilkinsburg council President Pamela Macklin said.
The borough has already received grant money to repair the wall itself, which is cracking and crumbling in places, she said.
“The additional $475,000 will allow us to rebuild the entranceways at either end of the wall and add a lighted walking pathway on top so that pedestrians, children and handicapped [people] havea safe way to walk along the Ardmore corridor from Franklin Avenue and connectwith Penn Avenue,” Ms. Macklinsaid.
“It will be a passive green space with benches, etc.,” borough manager Donn Henderson said.
The awarding of the Keystone Communities grant to Wilkinsburg was announced last week by state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, and state Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Lincoln-Lemington.
The borough’s application for the grant stated that the eastern edge of Ardmore Boulevard “has no shoulder and is defined by the crumbling wall with elevated sidewalks and steps which have been closed for over two decades.”
The proposed improvements will make the area safer for commuters and pedestrians by repairing and replacing sidewalks and handrails and providing proper stormwater drainage. The green space, where the demolitions have occurred, will be renovated and landscaped to “create a more aesthetically pleasing environment,” stated the grant application.
“The removal of blight on one of our major arteries/entryways into Wilkinsburg has received very positive commentary from residents and travelers,” Ms. Macklin said.
The design phase for the project is anticipated to be completedthis year with construction taking place in 2019. Repair of the wall is anticipated in 2019 after the state Department of Transportation reviews and approves the changes and develops a plan for rerouting traffic during construction, shesaid.
“These two major projects together with the renovation of the old Johnson School by Community Forge, which opened Jan. 2, at Ardmore and Franklin, will enhance this Wilkinsburg/Ardmore entranceway,”she said.