Susan Zimecki frequently strolls along Serpentine Drive, enjoying the scenic route winding through Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park.
Zimecki, 77, of Squirrel Hill, used to run up and down the curvy road before her hip replacement surgery. Now she sticks with walking.
“It’s a pleasant, tranquil road through the park,” she said.
At least, it is now.
When Serpentine Drive had been open to vehicle traffic, it was noisy and stunk of exhaust fumes, Zimecki said. People drove too fast, she said, apparently not deterred by the sharp switchback bend in the road.
Zimecki, sporting a bright pink windbreaker as she walked down the slope on Tuesday, told TribLive she would prefer to see the road remain open only to cyclists and pedestrians.
Some of her neighbors are pushing city officials to consider reopening the street to vehicle traffic again. A petition requesting a public hearing on the topic was submitted to City Council this week.
“Serpentine was never designed to be a walking trail,” said Helen Wilson, who serves as the Squirrel Hill Historical Society’s vice president and who spearheaded the petition.
In the summer of 2019, an 80-foot portion of the wall along Serpentine Drive failed. Officials replaced and repaired about 265 feet of the wall, including portions that had loose, missing or deteriorated stones.
Pittsburgh Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, who represents the area, said the community has been sharply divided over whether the stretch ought to be open to vehicles or only cyclists and pedestrians.
Officials had previously tried to open the road to a mix of both, something Warwick said was not feasible.
“The decision to keep it bike and pedestrian only was a response to the fact it’s not safe to have both,” Warwick said.
She acknowledged some people enjoy using the road as a convenient “commuter cut-through,” but said others have found they prefer to walk their dogs or bike along the road.
Drivers, she said, have “ample access” through the area on other roads.
Wilson disagrees. She said other detours are “long, hazardous and dangerous” compared to Serpentine Drive.
She pointed out, for example, that some cars that would’ve used Serpentine now drive along Darlington Road. Wilson is wary of increased vehicle traffic there, where there are no sidewalks to help pedestrians steer clear of motorists.
Plus, with the slew of detours and construction projects often underway in the area — she cited the Panther Hollow Bridge closure as an example — she feels drivers need multiple options to navigate the neighborhood.
“We need redundancy,” she said.
Wilson also worried that closing a road through the popular park could slow emergency response times if police, fire or EMS needs to rush to a crisis.
She suggested people looking to take a scenic walk or bike ride could opt for one of the other trails through the park, leaving Serpentine for the cars.
More than three dozen people signed onto her petition urging the city to hold a public hearing on the topic.
“Serpentine Drive was intended from the start of the park in 1889 to be a driving road,” the Squirrel Hill Historical Society said in an attached letter. “Keeping this beautiful driving road closed to cars after a $2.5 million repair job doesn’t make sense to us.”
Molly Onufer, a spokeswoman for Mayor Corey O’Connor, said the city solicited feedback through its Engage PGH website. Of the 179 responses received there, 129 people supported the decision to close Serpentine to vehicle traffic and 27 opposed the plan. The remaining responses were neutral or asking questions.
Onufer said 16 people mentioned the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, which sees racers zip through Serpentine Drive as part of the course. She said the city will open the road for vehicles during the annual event.
Eric Boerer, BikePGH’s advocacy director, said Serpentine is more easily accessible than some of the other unpaved trails through Schenley, especially for people with limited mobility.
“Going car-free really opened a new use for the street, a new opportunity,” he said.
Concrete barriers are currently set up on both of the road’s entrances to keep cars out. A hopscotch grid was drawn in chalk down the middle of the pavement, where several people were walking on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s really nice to walk and feel safe,” said Debby Farkas, 49, of Squirrel Hill, as she walked with her daughter and her dog.
Farkas had used the road frequently when she was commuting to a job in Oakland. Now that she works from home, she prefers keeping it car-free so she can feel safer walking it.
Maria Cohen, executive director of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, hopes more dialogue might lead to compromise. She suggested exploring ideas like allowing emergency vehicles to use the road or opening it to vehicle traffic for only limited hours.
“I feel like we should always try to see where we can meet in the middle,” she said.