Residents of Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington, the hillside with spectacular downtown views, are betting that the steep, wooded slope can become a park for “slightly more adventurous” residents. The project has created a contest to rename the park, which was created in 2005 as the Grand View Scenic Byways Park.
“We need a less-than-seven-syllable name,” says Ilyssa Manspeizer, park resources manager for the Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation. “Right now, people think its a highway.” The contest, co-sponsored by VisitPittsburgh, offers a downtown hotel weekend and fine dining to a contest entrant chosen at random.
Instead of a traditional park with lawns, benches, and boundaries, the Byways Park includes 235 acres of woodlands, trails, playgrounds and playing fields in the hilltop neighborhoods of Mt. Washington, Beltzhoover and Allentown.
“We can easily create ten miles of trails (along the hillsides),” says Manspeizer. The group has mapped and classified the condition of trails through the park, as well as beginning plans for habitat restoration and land protection. Over $1 million in foundation and state grants have aided the project.
The new name for the park will be announced later this fall, following community events on Sept. 7 and Oct. 3. Based at two community parks, Grandview and Mt. Washington, the all-day sessions will begin with morning clean-ups on the hillside. Artists will create works from litter collected on the hillsides in afternoon sessions.
“This is a remarkable opportunity for Pittsburgh to do physical greening, as well as the other green things we do,” says Manspeizer. “It has potential as a tool for community and economic development and improving quality of life.”
Source: Ilyssa Manspeizer
Writer: Chris OToole