Thursday, December 18, 2003

By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Walt Wadsworth has cared for, operated and devoted his life to the Johnstown Inclined Plane for almost four decades.

When he thought about giving up his post years ago, fates intervened -- a strike wiped out his new job at a steel mill.

Wadsworth stayed at the top of Yoder Hill, where the world's steepest vehicular inclined plane each year carries thousands of people -- and sometimes their cars -- from Johnstown up 900 feet to the hilltop community of Westmont.

Now, though, Wadsworth is worried about the incline's future. A restaurant in the visitor center closed more than two years ago, taking with it almost 40 percent of his annual ridership. Without those 50,000 passengers, one of the few remaining operating inclines in the country -- which was designed by Samuel Diescher, who was also responsible for the Monongahela and Duquesne inclines in Pittsburgh -- could be in danger of shutting down.

The Johnstown Inclined Plane posted about $172,000 in operating losses this year alone.

"The issue of the restaurant is vital to the survival of the inclined plane," agreed Irving Cure, executive director of the Cambria County Transit Authority, which operates the incline.

There could be a savior on the horizon. A Johnstown businessman, who already owns a theater and cafe, would like to lease the restaurant and reopen it. But he says he needs 31 more parking spaces, and some nearby residents are challenging plans for the extra parking in court.

A hearing on the matter will continue today in Ebensburg.

Hanging in the balance is the fate of a national historic site that traces back to the aftermath of the Johnstown flood of 1889, which killed 2,209.

Cambria Iron Co. started building the incline the following year to carry people, horses and wagons up Yoder Hill to the new community of Westmont. The inclined plane opened June 1, 1891, and cost about $133,000.

It proved its worth as a life-saver in 1936 and 1971, when flood waters again submerged the city. An estimated 4,000 people used it to flee the March 1936 flood.

Ridership declined as new roads were built in the area, and it was closed for a while after World War II, but reopened in 1962 as a tourist attraction. The Cambria County Transit Authority acquired it in 1983, and it was completely rebuilt at a cost of $3.5 million the following year.

It has carried more than 40 million riders.

The parking dispute centers on The Mound, a steep, nondescript hillside that was donated by Cambria Iron Co. to the borough of Westmont for recreational use.

The transit authority has proposed cutting the hillside back to widen Edgehill Drive for parallel parking on both sides, while keeping the two-way traffic pattern.

Proponents say that would create the additional parking needed to open the restaurant and preserve the incline, while not disturbing recreational uses.

But five people in Westmont have objected to the plan, which was submitted to Cambria County President Judge Gerard Long for approval.

They claim the work will remove part of the hillside that absorbs loud noise from the incline's 400-horsepower motor and cut away a tree line that shelters baseball and soccer fields.

"It would change the character of the neighborhood," said John W. Klingensmith Sr., testifying yesterday at a three-hour hearing in Johnstown. "We'd be affected by the noise."

James Stephen, an architect working for the transit authority, said most of the trees would be left intact. Any that are removed would be replanted if possible. Once the hillside is excavated, new vegetation would be planted, likely making the side of The Mound more attractive than it is currently, he said.

"We happen to think the mound, as it is, is beautiful," Klingensmith responded. "That's why we live here. It's a part of the forest area."

Yesterday, as Judge Long, the lawyers and borough councilmen toured The Mound before the hearing, Wadsworth quietly went about his work, shoveling snow from the sidewalk around the incline's observation deck and throwing salt from a bucket.

He said he doesn't want to get involved in the squabble, but does think a restaurant is necessary for the incline's survival. He also believes the man who wants to lease the restaurant -- Andrew Lasky, who owns the Westwood Plaza Theater and Cafe in Johnstown -- will draw more customers than in the past.

"I think if it opened now, it'd be better than it ever was," Wadsworth said.

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