Fox Chapel Area High School sophomore Siddarth Srinivasan of O’Hara used to walk to school on most days.
His walking route was altered last year when he moved to a new home off Field Club Road in O’Hara from his old residence in the Falconhurst plan.
He said he doesn’t feel safe navigating what he describes as a dangerous road in the township.
“It’s too dangerous to walk. The road has fast drivers, and it’s a very sharp turn and there’s no stop sign,” Srinivasan explained during a walking interview in December along the stretch of Field Club Road.
Srinivasan said his current bus stop, located where Field Club Ridge and Field Club roads meet, is unsafe and unsuitable for pedestrian safety. He took to social media, creating an online petition to advocate and collect virtual signatures to improve pedestrian safety along portions of Powers Run and Field Club Ridge roads in O’Hara.
The posted speed limits on both roads is 25 mph and 15 mph in designated school zones.
To date, the petition on change.org has garnered more than 230 signatures.
Srinivasan said his goal is to work with the township to install a sidewalk, protected foot path or a wider shoulder along the roads.
“This would allow students and residents to walk to various places such as the schools, community center, community swim club and even the cafe on Powers Run Road,” Srinivasan wrote in his petition.
Township update
O’Hara Township engineer Charles Steinert Jr. said township officials initially caught wind of the petition several months ago via social media.
“That’s the only way we found out. Nothing came to the township,” Steinert said.
Srinivasan confirmed he has yet to attend a township meeting to address council.
Steinert provided a walking interview with TribLive on Jan. 13, as well as an update of the roads mentioned in the petition.
A recent preliminary survey of the township’s right of ways and property lines was approved by council as Steinert works to implement additional pedestrian safety walkways.
Steinert said residents can expect the repaving of a section of Field Club Road by 2027 to include the western section from Powers Run Road past the high school to the Fox Chapel borough line.
That project plans to include a walking path or sidewalk from the high school to Powers Run Road, but upper Field Club Road proves problematic because of its current terrain.
“Widening Field Club Road — we don’t have the room — because it’s stuck between a drop-off and a hillside. For us to widen it, we have to dig out the hillside and encroach on people’s yards,” Steinert said.
As for the section of upper Field Club Road referenced in Srinivasan’s petition, Steinert said geography is working against the possibility of sidewalks.
He pointed out a section of upper Field Club Road that has a steep incline and curve as an obstacle to creating a sidewalk or trail.
“Unfortunately, the topography in that area is not conducive to allow easy construction of sidewalks or any type of trail system,” Steinert said.
And for the roads that are flat enough to accommodate sidewalks and/or trails, there are legal and physical barriers to navigate such as telephone and electrical poles, property owners and landscaping.
“There are five properties right now that we do not have enough room to put a sidewalk in,” Steinert said. “We would have to get their permission and, if permission is granted, if sidewalks are built, the residents are responsible for the ongoing maintenance (removing snow and keeping it clear) for the portion of sidewalk on their property.”
Paying for sidewalks or trails is expensive, according to Steinert, who calculated paving 1,100 feet of sidewalk is priced at about $100,000.
But Steinert is hopeful the township will be able to apply for additional grants to offset the costs of any future trails or sidewalks and sympathized with residents’ concerns.
This year, grant monies are allocated to improve walkways along Alpha and Gamma drives in RIDC Park, specifically the connection for the walkway at both driveways.
O’Hara was awarded $200,000 to improve 13,500 square feet of walkways and 17 ADA ramps in RIDC Park.
“Who’s going to pay for it?” Steinert asked. “Taxpayers end up paying for it, and years ago there was a big push for RIDC Park to have sidewalks. The cost back then was more than $2 million.”
As for upper Field Club Road, “it would be nice to have a sidewalk there, but the terrain does not allow it. I can’t figure out where we could do that,” Steinert said.
A Joint Comprehensive Plan with Fox Chapel revealed residents’ desire to have more walkability among the two municipalities.
One long-range plan in the works calls for creating a walkway to connect Cooper-Siegel Community Library to the Lauri Ann West Community Center.
To date, O’Hara has completed its portion of the trail, Cabin Lane has been widened more than 3 feet and Field Club Road has a paved walkway.
Residents advocate for pedestrian safety
Meghann Jones of O’Hara has three children and lives less than a half-mile from Fox Chapel Area High School.
She said it’s a “bummer” to live so close to the school and not have access to a safe pedestrian path to the campus.
“Because of the terrain and the layout of Field Club Road, it simply isn’t safe for our kids to walk independently,” Jones said. “When we heard about Sid’s idea to create a sidewalk or safe walkway along this winding road, I was genuinely excited. It feels like one of those ideas that just makes sense.”
O’Hara resident Emily England Glick walks and runs weekly along Field Club and Powers Run roads.
Glick, who serves as a zoning hearing board alternate for O’Hara Township, said she has addressed O’Hara Council over the past five years about the need for sidewalks and safe walking routes.
“Safe walking and biking paths were the No. 1 request by the community,” said Glick of community input from residents.
Glick referenced the Rachel Carson Trail that stretches more than 36 miles from Freeport to North Park in McCandless.
“I think we can find safer paths for our community. Our youth really deserve it,” she said.
To view the online petition, visit change.org/p/improve-pedestrian-safety-on-field-club-road