Pittsburgh is working to obtain land from rail freight company CSX to fill gaps in the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in the Strip District and Duck Hollow.
Mayor Corey O’Connor announced the memorandum of understanding — a kind of non-binding agreement — for a 4.61-acre plot of land in the Strip District the city plans to use to lengthen the trail from 24th Street to 33rd Street, reducing its gap with Lower Lawrenceville.
The city seeks to acquire an existing stretch of the trail between Duck Hollow and the Carrie Furnace in Rankin to facilitate future connections to surrounding communities.
It has proposed to construct a pedestrian bridge from Duck Hollow to Hazelwood and also upgrade the Melanchton Pedestrian Bridge in Hazelwood to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
O’Connor said growing the trail network would appeal to locals and visitors alike and could help Pittsburgh become a more attractive destination for potential residents.
“Trail connections are something that we all love and we all use way more often than we actually think,” he said.
The Three Rivers Heritage Trail, first formed in the 1990s, currently spans 35 miles in total across several stretches hugging the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers. The city owns the majority of the trail, which draws more than 1.3 million visitors per year.
Kelsey Ripper, executive director of Friends of the Riverfront, which manages the trail and helped to coordinate the agreement, said her organization has long prioritized increasing trail access in the Strip District.
Ripper stressed that Thursday’s agreement needs to be finalized, and actual trail expansion could be a long way off since the city will need to acquire funds and design the projects. The Surface Transportation Board and City Council will need to approve the plans.
“There’s still a lot to get done, but we know that with these partners at the table working towards the same vision, we can make these trails connect and become a reality,” Ripper said.