Agan Park and its surrounding woods may soon see some changes after community members gathered in Springdale on Thursday to discuss the future of the 100-acre plot.
The meeting saw Carla Lukehart, a landscape architect with Pittsburgh-based Environmental Planning and Design, present the results of a monthslong study of potential improvements and new uses at the park.
The park sits on a sloping hillside on one side of the Riddle Run Valley with a flat area near the peak of the hill.
Though it sits fully within Springdale Township, it is jointly managed by Cheswick and Springdale boroughs.
Further down the valley, much of the land is owned by the Rachel Carson Trail Conservancy, whose namesake trail progresses through the area. Some private residences in the Valley View neighborhood also sit nearby.
A chunk of land between Agan Park and the Valley View area is owned by West Penn Power, but Lukehart said the conservancy had received permission to build trails through the area.
Lukehart proposed several options for improvements at the park, including pavilions, look-out areas, a bird-blind or an Adirondack shelter.
That’s in addition to new trails through the Riddle Run area, which could include a handicap-accessible path.
It’s part of what Lukehart called a “menu” for the community to choose from.
Perhaps the biggest issue at the park is accessibility, however.
The only way to access Agan Park by vehicle is via a steep, dirt route from Riddle Run Road.
It’s something Cheswick Council President Brad Yaksich said has left the park “underdeveloped” and “underutilized.” That means it’s something the Agan Park Committee would have to examine from the outset, he said.
“The road has always been the issue,” he said.
The committee will begin pursuing grants for projects soon, Yaksich said, but as for a firm timeline for improvements, it’s still too early to say.
In the meantime, he said, work on new trails between Valley View and Agan Park could begin soon through the conservancy’s efforts.
In terms of development within the park, Yaksich said he’d like to see picnic areas and more pavilions, but he described the area as an “open canvas.”
Alex Oliver, 34, has lived in the Valley View neighborhood for several years.
He said he’d like to see more trails, especially one that would be accessible to the area’s older population.
The park, he said, could be a “gold mine” for local organizations like Scouting groups if it received more attention.
“There’s a lot of potential there, but now there’s nothing,” Oliver said.
Paul Borland, 69, of Cheswick said he frequented Agan Park as a boy, but he has drifted to more accessible outdoor areas like Harrison Hills Park and North Park in recent years.
He said Agan Park is still a “hidden secret” that could draw visitors for its views and scenic beauty.
He’d like to see bike paths through the area or even an environmental center in honor of Springdale-born Rachel Carson.
Borland, who said his family has lived in the Allegheny Valley for more than 100 years, even proposed seeking financial help from a developer seeking to build a data center at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Springdale.
“The sky’s the limit for what could be done there,” he said.
Born and raised in the Valley View neighborhood, Milton Kymer, 80, said he, too, spent plenty of time in Agan Park in his youth.
He approved of proposals for improvements in the park, he said, but wanted more distance between Valley View residents and trails extending through his neighborhood.
Joe Kern, a Springdale councilman, said he was heartened by the turnout at Thursday’s meeting.
He said improvements to the Agan Park access road seems to be a priority among the community.
But after that, Kern said, he’d like to see a pond and camping areas in the park.
He said he’d also like to see foraging programs that would allow residents to harvest mushrooms and plants.
Still, he said, the park committee would have to crack down on dumping within the park.
It would also likely have to change hunting regulations, Kern said.