North Side residents last night lambasted a Duquesne Light proposal to build a cooling station in Allegheny Commons Park, arguing that it would undermine public safety and ruin their treasured green space.

"We're being trampled on," Maria Demello, a 44-year-old East Allegheny resident, said at a community meeting last night. "All of a sudden our efforts to improve the neighborhood are being squashed."

The meeting was called to discuss the utility company's proposal to build a 9-foot-tall, 28-foot-long structure in the city's oldest park, just off Cedar Avenue and Foreland Street.

About 160 people attended, including City Council members Darlene Harris and Tonya Payne and representatives from the Department of Public Works and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office.

No representatives from Duquesne Light attended the meeting.

"We really just didn't find out about this until Friday, and frankly, we were in the middle of G-20," said Duquesne Light spokesman Joseph Vallarian.

Neighborhood residents said the plan is incompatible with an ongoing $2.2 million restoration of the northeast section of the park, organized by the Allegheny Commons Restoration Initiative.

"After all the work and effort and the time ... it doesn't make sense," said Madeline Jones, 58, of East Allegheny.

"The historic nature of the park says they simply need to put it somewhere else," said Randy Zotter, 59, of the Mexican War Streets.

Several residents voiced concern about the proposal's impact on public safety, wondering if the structure would make it harder for police to patrol Cedar Street and easier for drug deals to go unnoticed.

Mr. Vallarian said the structure's placement was determined by the location of electrical lines.

"We have been working with this group for somewhat over five months," he said, "and there have been a lot of proposals and some very generous offers that we put on the table."

But many residents, including Michael Shealey, 55, of West Allegheny, said they wanted to see other studies done.

"The history of the Commons is largely one of fighting encroachments," he said.

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