Councilman Wilson lists the City of Pittsburgh’s recent major investments in the Northside.

Hello everyone, 

This month, I would like to share the major investments that the City of Pittsburgh will be making across the Northside. I am very proud to have secured $10.7 million in the 2022 Capital Budget for critical infrastructure – roads, parks, bridges, and community resources – across my council district. This is an increase of almost $3 million from the amount of money I secured for the Northside last year.

In City Council, we allocated $1.5 million to make major streetscape and traffic calming improvements to North Avenue. This is the primary street connecting the neighborhoods of Allegheny West, Central Northside, Allegheny Central, and East Allegheny. These dollars will allow us to modernize aging traffic signals at five intersections by adding pedestrian indicators and audible signals, narrow pedestrian crossing distances by building curb extensions, replace missing sidewalks, add highlighted crosswalks, install pedestrian-scale lighting, and improve bus stops, street furnishings, bike racks, and bike share stations. All these investments will ensure that cyclists, motorists, pedestrians, transit riders, and individuals with limited mobility traveling on North Avenue will be able to reach their destinations safely and pleasantly.

In Riverview Park, City Council allocated $1.25 million to remediate the landslide that occurred at the juncture of Riverview Avenue and Perrysville Avenue. Landslides in Riverview Park have been a major concern for Northsiders during my time in office, and this investment follows the investment of $1.9 million last year to stabilize the landslide that had occurred by the Chapel Shelter on Riverview Avenue and to perform design work to remediate other landslide-prone areas of our regional park. The City’s Department of Public Works is getting ready to build a new DPW Streets Division elsewhere, and City Council allocated $2.6 million for the construction of this new facility. Moving the Streets Division out of Kilbuck Road in Riverview Park is the beginning of a multi-year plan to reclaim this area for park users. 

Also, the first of the parks tax dollars that City residents began paying last year is coming to the Northside. In Spring Hill, City Council allocated $650,000 from the revenue collected by this tax to make major upgrades to Spring Hill Park. I am hoping to allocate funding in the future to improve Michael Flynn Park in Spring Garden as well, and ideally create a trail system between the two parks. In the meantime, I worked with the leaders of the Community Alliance of Spring Garden and East Deutschtown to improve Flynn Park. DPW removed the old tennis courts and fencing to create an open grassy field that will be cut throughout the summer. DPW will also install a new, lower fence around the perimeter of the entire park. We will also start the process of convening community meetings to find out what new amenities residents want at this park so we can plan for future improvements. 

The Swindell Bridge (also known as the East Street Bridge), which carries two lanes of North Charles Street traffic as well as two sidewalks over I-279, connects Spring Hill and Northview Heights to Perry Hilltop. This bridge has long needed repairs, and City Council allocated $625,000 to start preliminary engineering work. I advise you to keep an eye out for community engagement meetings across this year and next as the planning process gets underway.

City Council also made major investments in community resources on the Northside this year. In Brighton Heights, Council allocated $1.1 million to the Brighton Heights Senior Center on McClure Avenue. This allocation unlocks a $1.5 million state grant that we won to rehabilitate and renovate this community space. This allocation also follows $500,000 we have already invested to remove lead and asbestos from this building. I am looking forward to working with the Brighton Heights community to make this building a true community center. In Troy Hill, Council allocated an additional $2.3 million to make facility upgrades to the Cowley Recreation Center on Goettmann Street. This sum represents the first allotment of multiple millions of dollars that we will be investing in the Cowley Recreation Center in coming years to make it a world-class community center. I am also looking forward to working with the community there to finalize design plans for this essential community resource. 

I worked with the Department of City Planning (DCP) to earmark $70,000 for a joint neighborhood plan for Marshall-Shadeland and Brighton Heights. This follows an allocation of $80,000 I made for the same purpose last year. Now, I am looking forward to working with DCP, under the leadership of Mayor Gainey’s new planning director, to activate this $150,000 to create a strategy for the future of these two neighborhoods. I also worked with the Urban and Redevelopment Authority (URA) to use $500,000 which had been set aside for maintenance needs on Washington’s Landing to resurface the public tennis courts. 

I hope this list inspires you to think about projects for the 2023 Capital Budget and participate in this year’s community input process. A capital project stands the best chance of being funded when there is broad and demonstrated community support. Council members typically submit Capital Budget requests in July. Please also contact my office to share your neighborhood’s Capital Budget priorities via phone at (412) 255-2135, email us at district1@pittsburghpa.gov.

Explore the 2022 Capital Budget here.

If you have any questions or concerns, call us at 412-255-2135, email us at district1@pittsburghpa.gov, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. My staff and I are looking forward to serving all of you in this new year! 

BOBBY WILSON 

COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT 1