Issue
Playgrounds, pools, ballfields, restrooms, and grant-funded park projects.
City Council
With a tap on their phones, city park superintendents may soon run ballfield lights. On July 29, council agreed to move forward with a $73,050 payment for the remote-control software. The system can time lights to a field permit and adjust their brightness. Residents can still switch on lights by hand at spots like basketball courts that aren't under a permit.
City Council
Drainage problems can stop play on city-owned youth baseball and softball fields. Now, a $300,000 Pirates Charities grant will cover upgrades, such as laser grading, at about 20 fields. On April 20, council also advanced a laborers' union donation for scoreboards at 10 fields. The city is still finalizing which fields will get the upgrades.
City Council
The Bloomfield Pool, the city's second most used according to a council member, relies on a long-closed recreation center. A $400,000 federal grant to study the center expires June 30, and a bill would spend it on demolishing condemned houses. On April 15, council held that bill for a week. Meanwhile, a council member asked the budget office to look for longer-term funds.
City Council
Brookline Memorial Park's busy playground has broken equipment, some of it roped off, a council member said. Now, he wants to spend $415,000 in interest savings on playground upgrades and a garbage truck. Still, a 2023 controller's analysis ranked the park near the bottom of the priority list. Another council member said her district needs playground upgrades too.
City Council
A 2017 bill let Norfolk Southern Railway use Allegheny Commons Park for equipment. Council is now weighing whether to extend it. A council member wants design standards for equipment storage and fencing so parks stay enjoyable for the public. From there, talk veered into unrelated questions for the Public Works director, like event capacity and park repairs.
City Council
A community-led master plan calls for renovating the 3.8-acre playground at Fort Pitt Park in Garfield. To help pay for it, council has advanced a $150,500 City match. It goes with Public Works' application for a $250,000 State grant. Citywide, 38 of 176 parks have improvement projects underway or recently completed.
City Council
Plans to remake Bedford Dwellings in the Hill District include a new public park, Bedford Park. Council has advanced moving $40,484 left over from finished projects, like Bloomfield Pool upgrades, toward it. That covers the City's $37,500 match for a $250,000 State grant Public Works will seek.
City Council
Homewood Park is a priority in the City's push for equity in neighborhood parks. With a $1.67 million federal grant, the City could add a field house, amphitheater, and gathering space there. Still, that covers only part of an estimated $12 to 16 million overhaul. Next week, a committee will discuss the bill to accept the grant.
City Council
A floating public venue could soon dock at Allegheny Landing Park on the North Shore, near PNC Park. Council has recommended Riverlife's request to dock the barge there. Riverlife says it'll host primarily free activities and events, and it's now choosing a concession vendor. The barge is expected to open next month.
City Council
The city has spent $219,000 on portable restrooms for parks without working permanent ones. Parks have 20 open public restrooms, but the public works director had no exact count of closed ones. Reopening them would take public approval and tax funding, the director said. Council members agreed there should be a plan to start tackling the long-standing issue.