As the groundwork continues to be laid for a connector between the Great Allegheny Passage and the Westmoreland Heritage trails, Pitcairn officials want to pave the way for what they hope will be an economic driver for the borough.
“The bike trail is supposed to come through Pitcairn and our sports complex area is kind of the entry point where it will come in, so we’re looking to get ahead of the game,” said borough councilwoman and parks and recreation chair Lisa Petrosky. “We’d like to develop that area to hopefully attract more people when they come through on a bicycle.”
To that end, the borough will use the first part of a $255,000 state grant to improve parking and create a walking path.
“Right now we have two Little League fields at the sports complex, but we don’t have any leagues that play in town anymore,” Petrosky said.
The nonprofit Friends of the Riverfront group is hoping to join Turtle Creek Valley towns to both trails by building a connector from the Rankin Bridge to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail’s western terminus in Trafford.
That would see it passing through Rankin, Braddock, North Braddock, East Pittsburgh, Wilkins, North Versailles, Turtle Creek, Wilmerding, East McKeesport, Wall and Pitcairn.
Petrosky said Pitcairn officials are hoping for a situation similar to Export in Westmoreland County, where construction of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, combined with the aggressive pursuit of grants and forward-thinking planning, has revitalized the borough’s downtown area, filling storefronts and bringing more foot traffic to those businesses.
“My previous position on council was economic development, and we brought the Night Market into Pitcairn to try and improve the business district,” Petrosky said. “With parks and rec, it’s still a big passion of mine.”
The grant will help cover parking improvements and a walking path in its initial phase.
“We’re going to also try to put a little fountain and a sitting area in there,” Petrosky said. “We’ve had some issues with sewage, but we’d also like to install some chemical toilets.”
Work on the parking lot will likely be the first step, starting in the spring of 2025.
The recently announced grants, totaling about $900,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, also include:
• $600,000 to the Pittsburgh Conservation Corps to coordinate and fund an urban wood reuse project and a workforce development program for urban and community forestry.
• $45,600 to prepare a conservation plan for the Youghiogheny River between Connellsville and McKeesport.