The agenda will include:
* Ashley Holloway, the city neighborhood planner for the South Side Slopes, will discuss the challenge of parking
* Grant Gittlen, Community Affairs Manager from the Mayor’s office, will be speaking
* Peter Kreuthmeier will report on South Side Forum issues related to SSSNA
* Update on St. Josephat’s development plans.
* Trash Initiative update
* Update on the implementation of Grant Funding for South Side Park
Mark your calendars! These are the planned 2014 Meeting and party dates for the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association:
All general meetings are held at the St Paul of the Cross Monastery Retreat Center at 7PM. In order to be a voting member, you need to attend at least 2 meetings during the year.
We will have more details for each event as we get closer. We hope to see you at an event this year.
Last night, South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association President Brian Oswald and former President Brad Palmisiano celebrated the inauguration of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and the election of new City Council President Bruce Kraus. Congratulations to our new officials, and we look forward to working with you going forward.
The public is invited to celebrate the season at Brashear’s annual Holiday Open House on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. at Brashear Center, 2005 Sarah Street. Light refreshments will be served and entertainment will be provided. Donations of toys and food items are welcome and encouraged.
The Holiday Assistance Program serves the communities of Allentown, Arlington, Alrington Heights, Beltzhoover, Bon Air, Carrick, Knoxville, Mount Oliver, South Side Flats, and South Side Slopes.
More Information on the Holiday Assistance program and Brashear’s efforts in our communities here: http://www.sopghreporter.com/story/2013/11/05/news/brashear-begining-holiday-assistance-program/13999.html
This year the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association will be on Tuesday, December 10 at 7PM at St Paul’s Monastery Retreat Center.
Dinner will be provided, but feel free to bring a dessert or appetizer.
Hope to see you there!
Join us at Acacia to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Repeal Day, when Prohibition officially ended Dec.5th, 1933.
Acacia is featuring drinks using rum from the first craft rum distillery in Pittsburgh: Maggie’s Farm Rum! There will be a specialty rum punch, a rum old fashioned, and a couple of crafted drinks tailored to Maggie’s Farm Rum.
Acacia has invited friends of the South Side Park and South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association to join us for this event as another fundraiser towards signage for the park. Currently we have raised about $1700 as a result of these events for a park entrance sign.
If you haven’t heard of it, the Dirty Dozen is an annual bike race in Pittsburgh that climbs the city’s 12 steepest hills. The event is now in its 30th year and attracts hundreds of bikers. Needless to say, the race passes through the South Side Slopes.
The race occurs on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and features Welsh Way and Eleanor Street. If you’re home, show some support and cheer them on as they struggle up our streets!
More Information: http://wesa.fm/post/going-dirty-dozen-bike-race-rides-again-weekend
Photo: Welsh Way, Dirty Dozen 2012
Did you know there are multiple war memorials on the South Side Slopes?
Along 103-105 Pius Street, you can see the “All Wars Memorial”. This memorial was restored with an Elm Street grant in 2007 with new landscaping, sidewalk, fencing, and a flagstone.
Additionally, there are 2 honor rolls in the South Side Slopes. One is on Mission Street across from St Josephat’s church. Another is at the intersection of 18th St and Quarry St. For a full list of Pittsburgh memorials, click here.
There are at least 2 sides to every story.
From our perspective: 10 of the residents of Monastery street received letters on June 27, 2013 that the city had funding to replace the Monastery Street Sidewalk & Steps this year. They were directed to a contact number at the Department of Public Works if they wanted more information.
Throughout the summer, the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association (SSSNA) met with city officials (including the city’s public works director Rob Kaczorowski) to discuss our plans for the 13th annual StepTrek and make requests for step repairs. Many minor repairs were made. The Monastery Street project was never mentioned.
On October 5, StepTrek brought ~800 people onto the Monastery Street Steps – unknown to us that they were considered dangerous and structurally deficient by the city. We just thought they were another set of steps.
A board member who lives on Monastery Street (but did not receive notice) woke up Monday morning to the sound of steps being demolished, and since then the SSSNA has been on full alert to this project.
The original plans call for reducing the number of stairs from 118 to 30. To remove these stairs, requires a very steep grade of 17.5% along the sidewalk. A benefit with this plan is that all of the houses on Monastery Street would have direct access to the roadway. It is also cheaper.
As an association, we want to reach a compromise that will bring the grade into standard architectural guidelines (maximum of 10%) while improving the safety and livability of our neighbors. Furthermore, we demand an opportunity to learn about capital projects in our neighborhood before the backhoe shows up. The city publishes paving schedules for the season ahead of time. The city requires all zoning hearings to be published in the newspaper and open to public discussion. Why isn’t a $177K re-design of our steps and sidewalks given the same requirements for public disclosure? With time, we could potentially have raised private funds to offset the city’s cost and create a win-win situation for everybody as opposed to a last-minute frantic compromise.
Additionally, we want to work with the city to come up with a reasonable set of guidelines that the city will follow for determining which steps need to be replaced. Currently, Mr Kaczorowski says that the city guideline for a maximum sidewalk grade is 20%. For reference, here is a 20% grade hill:
Both KDKA and the Post-Gazette have given some coverage to the sensitive issue of tearing down city steps without adequate public input.
Post-Gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2013/11/06/Tearing-down-city-steps-draws-ire-in-Slopes/stories/201311060085
Board members are meeting with the Department of Public Works this morning to try to reach a compromise. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for timely updates as we make any progress in this important safety issue.
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!
