REPORTER South • Pittsburgh
Since 1939, Serving The South Pittsburgh Neighborhoods of • Allentown • Arlington • Beltzhoover • Bon Air • Carrick • Knoxville • Mount Oliver • Mount Washington • South Side Vol. 78 No. 9
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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
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Residents asked to step up and comment Reporter on city staircases South Side Inside This Week’s South • Pittsburgh
The Fifth Annual South Side Street Party will take place on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 3-8 p.m. on 22nd Street, alongside Ormsby Park. See Page 8
Carrick
Next 3 Days will celebrate and highlight Carrick, its culture, businesses and amenities this weekend, from Friday, Sept. 15 to Sunday, Sept. 17. See Page 8
South Side
Join the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, City of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority for a meeting to share the final streetscape and green infrastructure designs for South 21st Street. See Page 8
South Side
A South Side Chamber of Commerce brown bag workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 13, from 8-9 a.m. at the South Side Welcome Center, 1100 East Carson Street. See Page 5
Hilltop
A free dinner for all Hilltop residents will take place at the St. Paul AME Church, 400 Orchard Place, on Sunday, Sept. 17 beginning at 4 p.m. See Page 3
Housing Court.............. Page 2 Letter to the Editor....... Page 2 RealStats..................... Page 2 Zoning Board............... Page 2
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By Tom Smith, South Pittsburgh Reporter Editor The city has more than 800 public staircases in its 90 neighborhoods, many are right-of-ways while others are considered streets, Kristin Saunders, a principle planner in the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DMI) told those attending the September meeting of the Allentown CDC. “We know they are really important pieces of the pedestrian network for hilly neighborhoods like Allentown and South Side Slopes and a lot of these neighborhoods in the South Hills,” Ms. Saunders said. From the city’s viewpoint, the steps represent an enormous cost to repair because there are so many of them. “If you gave me a bunch of money tomorrow and told me to repair the steps, I wouldn’t know where to start,” she continued. Ms. Saunders said many of the steps were built in the 1960s and have begun to deteriorate at the same rate. There have been very few major investments in the steps since then, she noted. With the Step Plan, DMI is working on a method to prioritize the steps leading to a list of top steps. The priority list will then be used to seek funding through grants or the city’s Capital Budget for repairs or replacement. Objectively looking at each set of steps, they are able to rate them according to set criteria: Does the set of steps provide access to a high capacity transit line? Does it provide access to a business district? Is the set of steps in a high-density neighborhood? She said they are also considering what are the consequences if a set of steps is removed, would it lead to a 50-foot detour or would it be a mile-long detour? At the end of that mile-long detour is there even a sidewalk there? In addition to figuring out what the top 50 to 100 steps in the city are, the Step Plan will also serve as a guide to deciding if a repair or replacement is needed along with finding funding to make the needed repairs. The plan will also provide design guidelines for replacement of steps. Ms. Saunders noted of the more than 800 public staircases in the city, 445 are on piers that go through greenways. The few staircases through greenways the city has rebuilt have ended up costing between $700,000 and $900,000. For the Step Plan, DMI would like to know what makes a particular set of steps important to residents or neighborhoods. Is it the direct access, safety or lack of safety, is there a cultural significance to a set of steps, she asked. “Some communities have one set of steps that they find very culturally significant for many different reasons. Some communities just think that steps as a whole, as an identifier, as a Pittsburgh identifier, is something that makes it culturally significant,” she said. Something that has come out of other community meetings is many residents have an “appetite” to work on the steps. They’re interested in cleaning and repairing the steps themselves. Continued on Page 4
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In celebration of Labor Day, Allentown Senior Center hosted a “Picnic Pot Luck” while Pittsburgh City Council President Bruce Kraus and staff provided super-sized root beer floats for desert. Earth, Wind & Fire music provided the backdrop for ‘some serious dancing going on’ throughout the morning and the older adults in attendance celebrated September birthdays and learned about National Senior Center Month.
Red Cross needs volunteers to help distribute free smoke alarms in Hilltop neighborhoods The American Red Cross will install free smoke alarms during “Sound the Alarm!” on Saturday, Sept. 23, in the Hilltop neighborhoods of Allentown, Beltzhoover and Knoxville. Red Cross staffers, City firefighters, corporate sponsors, and neighborhood volunteers will be going doorto-door from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to educate residents about fire safety and to install free smoke detectors in homes, with hubs based in each of the three neighborhoods. The American Red Cross is looking to mobilize more than 300 volunteers to install 1,000 alarms as part of a national campaign to install 100,000 alarms throughout the country over a three-week period. Volunteers can sign up to help athttp://rdcrss. org/2eLutQ0.
This Sound the Alarm event to reduce the number of home is part of an ongoing Home fire related deaths and injuFire Campaign that is aimed ries.
Annual Walkatop urban hike benefits suicide prevention Dr. Eva Simms will guide hikers September 17 at this year’s Walkatop. Now in its third year, the Walkatop urban hiking adventure through Emerald View Park in Mount Washington is building on the success of its past two events aimed at suicide prevention. Dr. Simms who holds an endowed Chair in Psychology at Duquesne University, is also an expert in the intersection of community and urban nature spaces, and Emerald View Park. As a Mt. Washington resident, she was a researcher instrumental in mapping the trails of the urban greensward. She has also worked with The
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Hill District, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh on natural place research. “Dr. Simms will bring a whole new level of experience for hikers,” Tom Brown of the foundation said. “She knows the history from the original Native American trails through the Coal Hill era, up to the present and the beautiful park we have today.” The information-packed tour will start at 9 a.m. and will take in the 2.3-mile trail and the 5-mile trail. Self-guided hikers are welcome to venture through Continued on Page 5
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