For the first time in 10 years, Schenley Park visitors are able to travel the steps connecting the Anderson Playground and Panther Hollow Lake, thanks to a $33,000 restoration by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the city.

The conservancy and the city replaced missing step stones, leveled landings and repaired or replaced sections of the hand rail. The city removed dead and dying trees hanging over the steps, and this spring, conservancy volunteers and staff will restore the soils and slopes adjacent to the steps, install erosion control netting and plant new shrubs.

"We are pleased to again be able to provide park visitors safe access between the cultural area of the playground and the natural area of the lake," Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy President Meg Cheever said in a prepared statement. "In the past, park visitors looking to move between the two spaces had to take a roundabout route through the park. Some chose to push aside or ignore the barricades and attempted to scale the deteriorating steps on their own."

The project was made possible by a gift to the conservancy from Alexander C. Speyer, Jr., in memory of his wife, Jean Levison Speyer.

The repairs to the Anderson steps will keep them usable for five to 10 years, until the conservancy can secure funding for a full restoration, which requires a re-engineering of the site to make it structurally sound.