Riverlife paying off. (Pittsburgh, Carnegie, McKees Rocks: insuring, home, neighborhood)

[krogerDisco]

Looks like the efforts of Riverlife are coming to fruition.

Riverlife ramping up green projects in Pittsburgh | TribLIVE

It will take a few more years but hopefully there'll be a "green necklace" around da 'burgh. Shame that the South Side has those railroad tracks along the river. And all those parkways along the opposite shore block access to the Mon.

[krogerDisco]

And the Army Corps of Engineers want to restore a stretch of the Ohio.

Corps of Engineers proposes restoring Ohio riverbanks | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Should make the ducks and geese happy.

[Bobjefferson]

The Ãœber expansion plans also include riverfront improvement works. Slowly but surely that "Green Necklace" is taking shape.

Huge project up in Aspinwall/Sharpsburg area too.

Although every time a new project is announced, I can't help but wonder where is the love for the Ohio? The riverbank stabilization project is a start I suppose, although it does nothing to benefit the residents of McKees Rocks or West End Village or Coraopolis. Tons of work to be done on all three rivers still, but once in a while I would like to see something going on along the Ohio. The neville Is bike lanes will be nice but that's probably the safest most relaxed part of the whole journey anyways, with it's 25 mph streets, flat topography, and low traffic. There seems to be no impetus to throw a bone to any of the communities along the Ohio.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Bobjefferson

The Ãœber expansion plans also include riverfront improvement works. Slowly but surely that "Green Necklace" is taking shape.

Huge project up in Aspinwall/Sharpsburg area too.

Although every time a new project is announced, I can't help but wonder where is the love for the Ohio? The riverbank stabilization project is a start I suppose, although it does nothing to benefit the residents of McKees Rocks or West End Village or Coraopolis. Tons of work to be done on all three rivers still, but once in a while I would like to see something going on along the Ohio. The neville Is bike lanes will be nice but that's probably the safest most relaxed part of the whole journey anyways, with it's 25 mph streets, flat topography, and low traffic. There seems to be no impetus to throw a bone to any of the communities along the Ohio.

You mean to tell me that with the multiple years of delays and cost overruns of the West Carson Street project that there won't be ANY recreational riverfront improvements included? It's just taking them this long to stabilize and rehabilitate the road structure and surface?!

[Bobjefferson]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

You mean to tell me that with the multiple years of delays and cost overruns of the West Carson Street project that there won't be ANY recreational riverfront improvements included? It's just taking them this long to stabilize and rehabilitate the road structure and surface?!

I remember reading originally that they considered incorporating biking infrastructure into that project but it was ultimately nixed.

The trail should at least extend to McKees Rocks, or at the very least we should be seeing some plans to make it happen in the future. With Alcosan in the way on the north shore, the only logical thing is to find a way to continue it on the south shore. I am not sure if the old railroad bridge over Carson will be maintained (maybe it's already gone) but that could and should have been used already to improve connections between the West End Bridge/Village and onto McKees Rocks.

I am thrilled to see these new projects announced but there is absolutely zero love from the city or Riverlife to suggest we will see the kind of improvements along the Ohio that we have seen along the Allegheny and Mon over the last decade or so.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Bobjefferson

I remember reading originally that they considered incorporating biking infrastructure into that project but it was ultimately nixed.

The trail should at least extend to McKees Rocks, or at the very least we should be seeing some plans to make it happen in the future. With Alcosan in the way on the north shore, the only logical thing is to find a way to continue it on the south shore. I am not sure if the old railroad bridge over Carson will be maintained (maybe it's already gone) but that could and should have been used already to improve connections between the West End Bridge/Village and onto McKees Rocks.

I am thrilled to see these new projects announced but there is absolutely zero love from the city or Riverlife to suggest we will see the kind of improvements along the Ohio that we have seen along the Allegheny and Mon over the last decade or so.

I will say that Elliott is still on my short-list for my eventual first home purchase, and it would be even more enticing for me to live there if my partner and I could walk to work on the North Shore and Downtown, respectively, via utilizing a riverfront trail along the south bank of the Ohio vs. walking along West Carson Street. I'd actually prefer to live in the West End Village itself instead of Elliott, but for some reason there's very little residential infill going on there.

[Bobjefferson]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I will say that Elliott is still on my short-list for my eventual first home purchase, and it would be even more enticing for me to live there if my partner and I could walk to work on the North Shore and Downtown, respectively, via utilizing a riverfront trail along the south bank of the Ohio vs. walking along West Carson Street. I'd actually prefer to live in the West End Village itself instead of Elliott, but for some reason there's very little residential infill going on there.

I see West End Village as an excellent opportunity to get a cheap place if it goes on the market. With that location and the inevitable future trail links (including hopefully the West End Bridge crossing which has been in a conceptual phase for years now), it is simply too enticing to not consider. A $10,000 investment would almost certainly increase dramatically with proper renovations if you truly believe the core of the city is on an overall upswing.

One of the biggest downfalls IMO is that the area is gridlocked during the morning rush. Even with all that work done on the Circle it is still over-capacity, I wonder if a huge roundabout utilizing the RR underpasses somehow would have been a better option here rather than stacking up traffic through the neighborhood.

Still, so much potential. Elliott is boring and always will be boring. West End Village could take off with the right group of people and a few tweaks to the infrastructure on that end of the immediate downtown area.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by Bobjefferson

I see West End Village as an excellent opportunity to get a cheap place if it goes on the market. With that location and the inevitable future trail links (including hopefully the West End Bridge crossing which has been in a conceptual phase for years now), it is simply too enticing to not consider. A $10,000 investment would almost certainly increase dramatically with proper renovations if you truly believe the core of the city is on an overall upswing.

One of the biggest downfalls IMO is that the area is gridlocked during the morning rush. Even with all that work done on the Circle it is still over-capacity, I wonder if a huge roundabout utilizing the RR underpasses somehow would have been a better option here rather than stacking up traffic through the neighborhood.

Still, so much potential. Elliott is boring and always will be boring. West End Village could take off with the right group of people and a few tweaks to the infrastructure on that end of the immediate downtown area.

I worry about the West End Village and flooding. It's the same valley as 51 and I've heard that insuring is difficult because of previous flood issues. I'd take a hard look and research before buying anything there.

[szug-bot]

I am looking to the west also - Windgap, Sheridan, Chartiers City - as long as bike options to Carson do not involve dangerous streets. So about Carson - does anyone know if the final product will include any wide sidewalks or even an adjacent bike path?