Proposal would add 6 parks, more than 300 acres to Pittsburgh park system

A proposal before Pittsburgh City Council would designate six greenways as city parks, adding more than 300 acres to the city’s park system.

The measure would move the city closer to its goal of increasing the number of residents who live within a half-mile – or roughly a 10-minute walk – from a CitiPark.

If approved, new park space would be created in neighborhoods including Allentown, Beechview, Brookline, Glen Hazel, Greenfield, Hazelwood, the Hill District, Mount Washington, Overbrook, Polish Hill and South Side Slopes.

The city would invest in redeveloping and maintaining the existing greenways – or areas of “permanent, passive open space” – as parks, said City Planning Director Andrew Dash.

Council President Theresa Kail-Smith said the idea of designating the greenways as public parks came with no public process. While she said she likes the idea of preserving the green spaces as parks, she said she felt there should have been a public hearing and better communication with council members who represent areas where the new parks would be formed.

“They’re significant,” she said. “They’re not little projects.”

Councilman Anthony Coghill, who represents a district that encompasses parts of three of the proposed parks, said he’s supportive of the concept but, “It did kind of spring up on me.”

Coghill said he wasn’t aware of the proposal until the Tribune-Review spoke with him about it last week.

He’s been working to clean the 110-acre Seldom Seen Greenway in Beechview and said he was hopeful that designating the space as a public park would bring more money to help in those efforts.

If approved, five of the greenways would become independent parks. The sixth would be a major expansion of Moore Park, growing the Brookline park from 12 acres to 52 acres, Dash said.

Naming the parks and crafting park plans would come after City Council approved the measure, Dash said.

“That would entail a much larger and broader public engagement process,” he said.

Coghill said he’d like to see Beechview’s Seldom Seen Greenway, the extra space adjacent to Moore Park and a greenway in Overbrook dedicated to natural green space. He said he’d like to focus on revamping nature trails and cleaning the park space, rather than adding playground equipment or ball fields.

Despite concerns regarding the public process, the parks proposal was unanimously advanced in a preliminary vote Monday. It likely will be ready for a final vote next week.