Residents can weigh in on Schenley Park plan
Electric shuttles, trail expansion proposed
Since Pittsburgh started talking about massive improvements to Schenley Park three years ago — including flood mitigation, trail expansion and road improvements — much of the attention has centered on a proposed electric shuttle system that would run from Hazelwood through the park to Oakland.
Many residents of the lower Greenfield neighborhood known as “The Run” are against that part of the project because they say it will bring too much traffic to their neighborhood and ruin the recreational nature of the park. They say the city is sacrificing the park to university and business interests that want the shuttle to connect the Hazelwood Green development site to Oakland.
But Karina Ricks, director of the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, said that is ignoring the transformative nature that the rest of the project will have on that part of the city specifically and the region in general. Residents will have the opportunity to influence the final details of the trail and park work at in- person and online meetings this week.
“I think it’s a great project,” Ms. Ricks said. “I think it makes important improvements to that whole area. It is a signature project of a generation.”
Ms. Ricks compared the potential for the Schenley project to the nationally known Atlanta Beltline and Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago. While those areas have
and Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago. While those areas have become so popular that they often are crowded by walkers, bikers, runners and others, Ms. Ricks said, Pittsburgh has the opportunity to plan for that by developing separate trails — one for more serene activities and the other for more active recreation and transportation, including the controversial shuttle.
A group known as the Junction Coalition has dubbed this month Stoptober and vows to continue working against the shuttle.
But Ms. Ricks said including the shuttle is “absolutely the right thing to do.” The ondemand shuttle would be operated by Hazelwood Green, developer of the former Jones & Laughlin steel plant, and the city’s draft permit calls for electric vehicles with operators, not autonomous vehicles that had been considered.
“There has been vocal concern about the second trail and whether there is a need for that [ shuttle],” she said. “My contention and what my experience tells me is the second trail is a wise investment to make.
“The economic development leaders have indicated this is a necessary thing to regenerate interest in that area and bring back that employment base.”
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy developed the initial plan, but the flood mitigation work has been turned over to Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, the trail and road work to the city and the shuttle system to the coalition of foundations developing Hazelwood Green.
The sewer authority is awaiting final permits and expects to begin more than $ 20 million of work next year, including draining and expanding Panther Hollow
Lake and establishing a series of open channels to direct runoff to the Monongahela River. The major parts of that work are expected to take about a year to complete.
The city will piggyback on the flood work to do its projected $ 20 million of trail and road work known as the Mon- Oakland Mobility Project as soon as possible so the area only has to go through one major disruption. Ms. Ricks stressed that the city will only be working in areas of the park already disturbed by the sewer work.
The city’s first work will include rebuilding Boundary Street to the existing parking lot; installing the two trails; adding several small recreation areas; and reopening part of Sylvan Street that has been closed for several decades.
Two other aspects will take longer and cost nearly half of the money.
One involves building a new connection to the Eliza Furnace Trail ($ 5.6 million), eliminating an awkward spot near Second and Greenfield avenues where bikers are either forced into road traffic or onto sidewalks. That expensive work is “well worth it” to create a better trail connection, address the slope in a slide- prone area and better connect the park to South Oakland, Ms. Ricks said.
The other is tunneling under railroad tracks ($ 3.7 million) to join Junction Hollow to the area around Panther Hollow Lake, work Ms. Ricks called “critically important.”
She said most of the “hard engineering” for the city work has been completed. The public still can have a say on the landscaping, lights and elements that will be included in park recreation areas.
“There is certainly much on the table for input,” she said. “This is the opportunity the neighborhood has to weigh in.”
The in- person meeting, which required pre- registration, will be from 4: 30 to 7 p. m. Monday at the Spartan Center, 134 East Elizabeth St.
Due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, visitors will have a 30minute time slot to view materials, but there wouldn’t be a formal presentation.
On Wednesday, there will be a formal presentation online from 6 to 8 p. m. via Zoom at mon- oaklandmobility. com/ virtual- meeting.