Category: Uncategorized

Congratulations to the winners of the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association’s 2nd Annual Flower Contest!

Thanks to everyone who participated and voted!

Gift cards will be mailed to the winners this week!

In an effort to promote Slopes unity this holiday season and show off our neighborhood, The South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a Light the Night Holiday Decorating Contest. 
 
All Slopes neighbors are encouraged to decorate your house or apartment – focusing on the city-facing façade.  Imagine how fantastic the Slopes will look from town if everyone puts a string or two of lights on their home.
 
Categories will be awarded for the Most Beautiful and the Most Visible from the across the river. Please share your photos with us by emailing info@southsideslopes.org 
 
Judging will occur the week of December 20^th and winners will receive a $100 gift card to a local South Side restaurant. 

SSSNA Annual Meeting Agenda & Minutes
Oct. 8, 2019

By-Laws Change (see below: “By-laws changes and new policy addition)

Membership votes to adopt proposed changes to SSSNA by-laws – updated by-laws are on the SSSNA website (southsideslopes.org). Vote to change the by-laws to comply with criteria for becoming a Registered Community Organization (RCO) with the City of Pittsburgh. Becoming an RCO will give SSSNA formal status providing benefits including notification of public hearings, guaranteed meetings with developers/applicants, placement on official brochures, and more. The by-law changes are:

• Establishing 10-year term limits for members;
• Moving the annual meeting from October to March; and
• Adopting a non-discrimination policy.

The vote was unanimous to accept the changes.

StepTrek 2019 Update

StepTrek Chair Brian Oswald reported on the Oct. 5 StepTrek event. There were 120 walk-up purchases for a total of 450 participants. The event generated a $10,000 net revenue for the SSSNA. In 2020, the StepTrek will celebrate its 20th year. Rev. Donald Ware said the renovated church at St. Paul of the Cross Monastery will be open for the 2020 event.

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Parks Plan

Heather Sage, director of community projects at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC), reported on the early 2019 Listening Tour by PPC where feedback about parks was gathered at community meetings and events throughout the city. Phase II began in July 2019 and the PPC and the city are now in the process of sharing a parks investment strategy driven by data and community input collected during the first phase.

She said 3,400 people completed surveys on priorities, with 95 percent saying they would support more resources for the park system. The top priorities were maintenance, rehabilitation such as new roofs, capital investment and programming. Sage said a question was added to the Nov. 2019 ballot related to park funding asking voters if they support the creation of a dedicated Pittsburgh Parks Fund for parks improvement. Voting “yes” will provide additional resources for all city parks. The funding would come from an additional 0.5 mill levy ($50 on each $100,000 of assessed real estate value). If passed, the parks would receive about $10 million more dollars per year.

Recycling Changes in Pittsburgh

Teresa Bradley from the City’s recycling team will provide up-to-date information about what can and cannot be recycled curbside and other changes and tips. She recommended that city residents should use a blue bin not exceeding 35 gallons. Recyclables should be placed in a durable, watertight container with a close-fitting lid. Using blue bags is causing issues at the recycling facility. Bradley said to lightly rinse plastic bottles, jugs and jars that are three gallons or less and can be collected in one bin for curbside pickup. Cardboard should be flattened and bundled into a box.

For what to do with hard-to-recycle items like TVs, computers, paints, chemicals and other fluids, visit: ecsr.net/Pittsburgh-recycling. A drop-off location for hard-to-recycle items like electronics and household hazardous waste including light bulbs, batteries, oil-based paint, propane tanks, etc. has been opened in the Strip District at 3001 Railroad St. Fees may apply.

For yard debris and tires, there are six drop-off locations, including Construction Junction at 214 Lexington Ave., and McKinley Park on Bausman St. in Beltzhoover.

18th Street Pedestrian Safety Plan – Amanda Purcell, a traffic engineer from the city’s Dept. of Mobility and Infrastructure presented information about the South Side Signals initiative to improve pedestrian safety on 18^th Street intersections.

The upcoming largely federally-funded 18th St. pedestrian safety project involves 18th St. and: Brownsville Rd., Bausman St., Amanda St., Hays Ave., Arlington Ave., Pius St., Mission St., Josephine St., Jane St., and Sarah St.

The same upgrades will occur at S. 18th at Pius and Mission except there will also be five ADA ramps. The work will occur in the daytime. At S. 18th and Josephine, S. 18th and Jane, and S. 18th and Sarah, there will be new traffic signals. There will also be gloss black signal poles and audible countdown pedestrian signals, and new pavement, signing and pavement markings, and lighting.

Attendees expressed concerns about crossing walk signals on 18^th Street at Pius/Mission Sts., a Dept. of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) official will walk the crossing walks during rush hour to determine the best course of action before final plans are adopted.

Construction is slated to start in Spring 2021.

BY-LAWS CHANGES AND NEW POLICY ADDITION

The Board of the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association is proposing the following by-law changes and policy addition for a vote before you, our membership.

• Instituting term limits of 10 years for board members going forward.
• Changing the month of our public Annual Meeting from October to March.
• Adding a non-discrimination policy.

These changes are being proposed in order to register as a Registered Community Organization with the city and to improve the quality of the Board.

 

Take a journey of 2,000 steps as you trek up and down the hillsides of the South Side Slopes this Saturday from 11am-4pm. The 14th Annual Pittsburgh StepTrek begins at South Side Park (21st and Josephine), where the StepTrek Marketplace will feature entertainment, raffles, sponsor displays, artists, historic photos and food trucks- including Saucy Mamas, South Side BBQ and Spun Sugars!  Along the routes, enjoy spectacular views with plenty of photo ops, stop for a water break and listen to music from Corey James and Brad Yoder.

Advanced Tickets available here: http://www.showclix.com/event/steptrek

All the details here: StepTrek

If you weren’t able to make our last general meeting, please see the minutes here. It was a very full agenda and we had many residents and political leaders in attendance. For follow-up questions, email jamin.bogi@southsideslopes.org.

UPDATE (11/5/2013 – 10AM): According to Chuck Half at the Mayor’s office: “The City’s Director of Public Works is Shutting Down the job for now. Did any of you receive notification letters…..From: Kaczorowski, Rob <rob.kaczorowski@pittsburghpa.gov>”?

UPDATE (11/4/2013): The assistant director of DPW is supposed to be calling in AM. We will post an update then.

Today our organization and our neighborhood received a slap in the face from the City of Pittsburgh. We have long worked at being stewards to the stairways that make our neighborhood unique. StepTrek is a prime example of the effort our neighbors put forth to ensure our infrastructure remains in the fabric of our historic hillside. Without public process, today the city’s contractors began demolishing the Monastery St Steps (63 years old) to replace with an “at grade” sidewalk. Have you ever walked this street? If you did StepTrek Gold Route this year, you have and these steps allow you to do so without dealing with the insane grade of the street itself. After contacting our councilman and the mayors office, nobody knew of this project. We are working to halt this demolition! Please share this post and/or contact anyone who may have a say to help us save the Monastery St Steps!

The Fall 2013 South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association newsletter has articles on City Parks Plans, Paper Streets, StepTrek, Trash Eradication, and more! Click here to read the newsletter!

What is it?
ReClaim South is a year-long community-based initiative hosted by GTECH Strategies. It is focused on addressing vacancy in the Hilltop neighborhoods through education, training and the implementation of green strategies.

How does it work?
Commit to attend a series of education sessions and networking events at least once a month from October 2013 – May 2014.
Once complete, participants will be charged with designing and implementing their own Hilltop-based green project, repurposing vacant land in their own community. A micro grant and technical assistance will be provided along with a stipend for participating in this initiative.

Who can apply?
Motivated Hilltop residents who are ready to use their creativity and connections to
combat vacant land in their own backyard. Apply online at gtechstrategies.org or stop into the Hilltop Alliance at 512 Brownsville Rd to get an application.

From Bike PGH:

“Inflate those tires, oil those chains, and gear up for the 2013 National Bike Challenge, sponsored locally by Bike Pittsburgh and OTB Bicycle Cafe! Officially kicking off on May 1 and ending September 30, this free and friendly competition encourages Pittsburghers to get out and ride, whether as daily commuters, weekend warriors, or somewhere in between. The challenge helps riders realize the health, economic and environmental benefits of riding a bike.

Participant points heavily favor riding daily – 20 points per day, plus 1 point per mile logged. Smartphone users can even download a free app to directly track and log trips for the National Bike Challenge. Challenge yourself, your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to get moving, log miles, earn points, and be eligible to win prizes at the national level. Pittsburgh riders even earn free drinks at OTB Bicycle Cafe just for participating!”

The South Side Slopes has created a team for the Ride for PGH in the National Bike Challenge. Join us today at http://www.endomondo.com/teams/rpnFK_oFi1s

Spring is finally in the air, and we want you to get your hands dirty in South Side Park. We have lots of upcoming volunteer dates. We will be working with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) on all these dates to remove invasive weeds, pick up trash, and work on trail building. Work starts at 9AM each day. Meet us near the entrance to the Bandi Schaum Community Garden in the South Side Park.

Saturday, March 30th – Workday in South Side Park

Saturday April 6th – CMU volunteer day in South Side Park

Saturday April 13th – Workday in South Side Park and fruit tree planting

Saturday April 20th – Earth Day Event in the park. Register here for this family-friendly event run by the SCA: http://www.thesca.org/events/sca-pittsburgh-earth-day-0

Saturday May 11th – Workday in South Side Park