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There are few things still in the way, but someday the city's labyrinth of trails will all come together

Friday, July 05, 2002

By Bob Batz Jr., Post-Gazette Staff Writer

You don't get trails without tribulations.

	Click image to download a 169K trails map in .pdf format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download from Adobe For more information about -- and a map of -- the network of trails that is to connect to Washington, D.C., visit the Allegheny Trail Alliance's Web site: www.atatrail.org. Other related sites are: www.friendsoftheriverfront.org www.bike-pgh.org (which plans to add a trails link this month) .

So, yes, Pittsburgh's network of recreation trails still has big gaps because of obstacles such as securing access through private property. But various trails and trail segments are continuing to literally come together, and it won't be too long before bikers, walkers and others can launch longer adventures on and from the city trails.

A new paved section just opened in the East End, running along the Monongahela River from the Glenwood Bridge to Duck Hollow. It's only about a mile and a half long, and accessible only from Duck Hollow for now, but is to tie into other new sections, including a trail planned along Nine Mile Run that will link the river with Frick Park.

Workers now are putting the finishing touches on another new short paved section along the Allegheny River from the new convention center at 11th Street to the Boardwalk at 15th Street in the Strip District. The city hopes to connect this trail with the new riverfront path between 36th and 43rd streets in Lawrenceville. It eventually may be extended out to Highland Park and on up the river as part of the Allegheny Valley Trail.

There's also a bit of new trail on the opposite bank of the Allegheny in Millvale. It is to be tied into the one that runs (and skates and more) along the North Side from Washington's Landing past Heinz Field and a little ways -- with one interruption -- up the Ohio River.

If you have trouble following all these threads, here's some help from Hannah Ehrlich, the city's trail development coordinator who knows as much about trails as her boss, Mayor Tom Murphy. She says all these city trails -- including the popular Eliza Furnace Trail (a k a the "jail trail") from Downtown to Oakland and the South Side Trail -- are part of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail system. As the mayor likes to point out, the city has 36 miles of riverfront for trails. Now, about 14 miles are completed.

Another exciting development is a planned hub for all this activity: the First Avenue Bike and Blade Station at the Downtown end of the jail trail adjacent to the new First Avenue Garage and light rail station. Port Authority is working with the city, PennDOT, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and other groups to develop a center for commuting and recreational cyclists and in-line skaters, which could include amenities ranging from racks and lockers to a cafe. A federal grant of $232,000 for the project was recently announced, and construction could begin as early as next spring on what's being billed as the first such station on the East Coast.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit Friends of the Riverfront is almost ready to start building an extension to the South Side Trail from where it now ends, at the Steelers practice facility, into Baldwin Borough. Friends executive director John Stephen says two more miles should be completed this summer, but the trail probably still will dead-end at a fence at Peter J. Caruso & Sons. The asphalt company has given tentative permission for the trail to cross its property, but is waiting for Friends to work out an agreement to traverse Sandcastle water park in West Homestead, and Stephen says, "We haven't been able to crack that nut."

That section, known as the Steel Valley Trail, is crucial because it is to connect Pittsburgh with McKeesport and the great beyond.

The end of last August marked the opening of 100 continuous miles of trail from McKeesport to Meyersdale, Somerset County. The ultimate goal remains to finish 152 miles -- called The Great Allegheny Passage -- from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., where the trail would connect via the C & O Canal Towpath to Washington, D.C.

People do keep asking, "When is it all going to be done?" says Linda McKenna Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance of seven groups working on the passage.

She and others thought it would be done in the 1990s, so she's loathe to make specific predictions. But the east end could reach Cumberland within two years. Getting to the planned western terminus, Pittsburgh's Point, means overcoming bigger "bumps in the road," as she puts it. Probably the biggest is adding a non-vehicle lane to the Hot Metal Bridge, so the trail can cross from the Mon's south shore to the Eliza Furnace Trail for the trip into Downtown (via the rebuilt Monongahela Wharf). The bridge is a project that she estimates will take roughly $6 million and four years.

Still, she and others look at the maps and see all the dotted lines that already have become solid trails. Successful efforts elsewhere in the region such as the Montour Trail and the Panhandle Trail add to momentum that advocates say will help fill in the remaining gaps. "I feel like we've gone over some kind of critical hump," says Stephen, who's also working on an Allegheny River Water Trail for kayakers and canoeists. "I'm excited about what can happen in the next four years."

WHEN: On Sunday the Western Pennsylvania Field Institute will explore Pittsburgh from several perspectives, paddling down the Allegheny, hiking around the Point and cycling along the Monongahela. The full-day adventure, with all transportation and equipment provided, including lunch and drinks, will be led by trained guided and assisted by local historians and naturalists. It is suitable for all levels of ability. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning at Washington's Landing.

COST: $60 members, $70 non-members.

INFORMATION: 412-255-0564

If you haven't been on the city trails but want to try them, guided rides are offered by Golden Triangle Bike Rentals, which is tucked between the First Avenue Garage and the PNC Building, Downtown. Co-owner Peggy Krall actually teaches a popular Community College of Allegheny County course titled "Bicycling -- Steel Rails to Urban Trails" that also introduces riders to the trails. Or you can take a bike and a map on your own. Summer hours, through September, are Tues.-Thurs. noon-8 p.m., Fri. noon-6 p.m. and Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (closed Mon.). Call (412) 600-0675 or visit www.bikepittsburgh.com.

The just-published Citiparks Summer Magazine features a map of Pittsburgh's trails (as well as a pullout map of the trails in Schenley Park). The magazines are available at the Mayor's Service Center and Citiparks office in the City-County Building, Downtown; other Citiparks facilities such as recreation and senior centers; and Carnegie Library branches.