Advocacy Updates
City of Pittsburgh
We’ve got a Frenemy situation on our hands
The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works is the champion of the final planning stages needed to restore Panther Hollow Lake. However, their department is planning to develop significant land in Schenley Park for the Division Maintenance Building, an egregious violation of our park land protections.
RESTORE OUR PARKS
Finalize a Master Plan for Panther Hollow lake
The Department of Public Works (DPW) developed an RFP for the Division Maintenence Office to be built on Prospect Drive in Schenley Park.
The Department of Public Works (DPW) has agreed to take the lead on the future Restoration of Panther Hollow Lake.
The facility in the park could possibly provide storage for the division inventory which includes:
14 trucks
8 compact/agricultural tractors
5 trailers
2 SUVs
5 walk-behind stump grinders
3 utility vehicles (like a heavy-duty golf cart)
10 various skid steers
Water storage tank
“a healthy collection” of hand tools like leaf blowers, chainsaws, and pruners.
Snowplows
Salt
Salt Spreaders
Office space and bathrooms for Approx. 30 employees (presumably including personal vehicles).
On July 1, the Director submitted a capital request for the 2027 City of Pittsburgh Budget that includes a Master Plan for Panther Hollow Lake restoration. To match this budget quick action, an initial letter of support was developed by MWP, and 83 signatures were collected across neighborhoods, non-profits, and universities.
The proposed building will be 10-11,000 sq. ft. and serve 24 parks across the city. No environmental impact study has been developed for this project.
Mon Water Project is calling on you to join our cause. We have created a Round 2 for our letter of support, which we are asking you to sign on to now.
PROTECT OUR PARKS
No Development of a Division in our Park.
Historical Project Resources
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority: 4MR Project Page
The Four Mile Run Stormwater Project encompasses Schenley Park and several Pittsburgh neighborhoods including Garfield, Hazelwood, Oakland, and Squirrel Hill. This project will capture and route stormwater through a natural channel that will follow the path of the historic streams that formed Four Mile Run from Panther Hollow Lake to the Monongahela River. It will help to reduce combined sewer overflows, basement backups, and neighborhood flooding.
PWSA Stormwater Strategic Plan Ambassador Project
In partnership with PWSA, Grounded Strategies has launched a community-based effort to equip residents with information needed to engage their Pittsburgh Sewer and Water Authority (PWSA) Stormwater Strategic Plan peers on updates including design and investment strategies, stormwater fee, customer financial assistance program, and stormwater issues in their communities. For more information about PWSA Stormwater programs check out: https://www.pgh2o.com/your-water/stormwater.
The PWSA Stormwater Strategic Plan Ambassador program transforms passionate residents into well-equipped and knowledgeable champions of stormwater infrastructure in their communities. Throughout the program, Ambassadors are recruited, interviewed, selected, trained, & equipped for assigned community outreach objectives to include neighbor-to-neighbor education activities and community-scale data collection.
We seek to remove hurdles to participation and level curves of technical understanding for Ambassadors throughout the project.
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy: 4 Mile Run Task Force
Four Mile Run is a PWSA Priority Watershed that includes all of Schenley Park and portions of the neighborhoods of Oakland, Squirrel Hill, Greenfield and Hzelwood. The Run currently drains to the ALCOSAN system and overflows into the Monongahela at Outfall M-29, a few hundred feet upstram of the Hot Metal Bridge. The Four Mile Run Project has its own website.
ALCOSAN's typical year analysis reveals 79 overflow activations of the M29 Outfall for a total of 467 hours of overflow discharge accounting for 400 million gallons of overflow.
PWSA is investing in wet weather infrastructure at Wightman Park in the upper portion of the watershed. These waters and sewer flow toward Junction Hollow. The work is in its final stages with active soil and planting work scheduled for June 2022. Updates on the second phase of work is available from PWSA.
