Walkabout: Pittsburgh Parks Are Rolling In Green, But Some Need Maintenance

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

McKinley Park in Beltzhoover is ready for a new round of upgrades. Allegheny Commons Park on the North Side is due for its next phase of restoration. South Side Park is in the last stages of a master-planning process. In Frick Park, butternut trees have been discovered. And a brand new park in the Lower Hill may be under construction by next year.

These are a few updates on our city’s parks. There is work being done in most of them most of the time. With 160 city-owned parks, Pittsburgh is rolling in the green, but some are backlogged for maintenance.

McKinley has been getting the attention is deserves after years of the bare basics.  One of the city’s many little-known parks, is one of the oldest, created in 1898, and among the largest at 79 acres.

Pittsburgh City Council recently approved another round of upgrades in partnership with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

In 2013, the entrance on Delmont Avenue was improved with $250,000 from city, state and foundation sources. Public works crews and the conservancy repaired the 1930s stone wall, replaced broken-up asphalt with a porous parking surface and installed rain gardens and other landscaping around it. They connected pathways and put in lamp posts and benches.

In 2016, the conservancy received a $437,000 grant from the National Recreation and Parks Association to apply to further improvements in the park, notably green infrastructure. The city has committed $373,000.

The city and conservancy will be accepting bids for the project in coming weeks, with construction to begin in late spring... read the full article