Copyright © 2018
John F. Oyler
February 8, 2018
The Chartiers
Greenway Trail
I participated in an interesting meeting at the Bridgeville
Public Library recently, focused on connecting the different communities in the South Hills through trails.
The event, called, “Growing Together Through Trails,” was hosted by Justin
Beinhauer, an Upper St. Clair resident with a commitment to connecting the
communities of Upper St. Clair, South Fayette, and others to Bridgeville, which
he calls the “heart of the community.”
The meeting was surprisingly well attended, with
representatives of the Montour Trail, the Rachel Carson Trail, South Fayette
Township, the Allegheny Trust, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Planning
Commission there, as well as a number of interested unaffiliated local
residents.
Mr. Beinhauer opened the meeting by recounting the enjoyment he had on trails as a
child, and his belief that his initiative would promote a healthy lifestyle for
South Hills residents. He then presented a series of slides documenting the
success of a number of organizations dedicated to the development and
maintenance of recreational trails in Western Pennsylvania. Included were the
Montour Trail Council, the Allegheny Trail Alliance (the Great Allegheny
Passage), the Rachel Carson Trail Conservancy, Bike Pittsburgh, the Ohio River
Trail Council, and the Hollow Oak Trust.
It was apparent
that the host was indeed “preaching to the choir”, as all of the meeting’s
participants were in full agreement about the benefits of developing a formal
trail along the Chartiers Valley and particularly between Carnegie and the
Montour Trail at Hills Station. They were aware that planning for the section
between Boyce-Mayview Park and the Montour Trail is in its preliminary stages;
one of our Senior Design Project teams in the Civil and Environmental
Engineering Department at Pitt made a major contribution to these plans last
semester.
The emphasis of
the attendees in this meeting appeared to be on cycling; that certainly is the
most glamorous purpose for recreational trails. My personal interest is more
related to walking and to enjoying nature. This conflict was highlighted in the
previously mentioned Senior Design project. The biker faction wanted a
straight, high speed link to the Montour Trail, while the less athletic folks
preferred one that followed Chartiers Creek closely and emphasized access to
nature.
Mr. Beinhauer
acknowledged that his idea was not a new one, showing a map from a 2010 study
entitled “ActiveAllegheny” which clearly indicates a trail closely following
Chartiers Creek. The study suggests accessing the ActiveAllegheny website for
further information; a website that no longer exists.
Similarly, a
newspaper article in 2003 reports the result of a $54,000 study commissioned by
the Chartiers Nature Conservancy which outlined a proposed route for the trail, which would begin at
Canonsburg Lake in Washington County and end in McKees Rocks, where Chartiers
Creek empties into the Ohio River. This organization, too, has ceased to exist.
Despite the
failure of these earlier efforts to develop such a trail, it is possible that
the “time is ripe” to revive them. In the intervening years there have been
numerous successful ventures of this type, as enumerated by the host. It
certainly is our opinion that it warrants an effort.
Assuming the
Boyce-Mayview to the Montour Trail portion does go ahead, the next obvious link
is from it through the Wingfield Pines Conservancy site to Chartiers Park and
Bridgeville. The Conservancy site and Chartiers Park are already connected by
an informal path.
Equally
intriguing, especially to South Fayette Township, is the prospect of linking
two future developments – Hastings and Newbury – with a water level
hiking/biking trail along Chartiers Creek, most of which would pass through
Upper St. Clair Township and Bridgeville.
This situation highlights the necessity of involving all the local
municipalities in the planning of such a trail.
We were impressed
with Mr. Beinhauer’s vision of Bridgeville as the “heart of the
community with veins or arteries reaching out into different neighborhoods
and communities.” I have felt for a long time that a trail from Bridgeville
through Panhandle to Bower Hill Road and then up Painter’s Run to Cedar
Boulevard would be a natural. The same could be said for one up McLaughlin Run
at least as far as Clifton.
Remembering hikes from my boyhood days, how about a
trail up Coal Pit Run all the way to Hickory Heights Golf Club? Or one up Cow
Hollow and through the Indian Tunnel? Or a new “swinging bridge” and a trail to
Mayview Cave? It is certainly easy to get me enthusiastic about this concept.
The host closed the meeting with the obvious
question – What can we do to make the dream of a Chartiers Trail a reality? Is
the revival of a non-profit organization necessary? What about a regional
organization made up of the Parks and Recreation Departments of all the
affected municipalities? Should the Chartiers Trail be another of the branches
of the Montour Trail?
The latter appears to be the most probable solution.
It is easy to imagine an Upper St. Clair Friends of the Trail sponsoring and
maintaining the section from the main Montour Trail to Boyce-Mayview park,
complemented by Bridgeville Friends, Collier Friends, Scott Friends, etc. at
least as far as Carnegie.
We were greatly impressed with the host’s enthusiasm
and with the general supportive attitude of the participants in the meeting.
Let’s hope this produces a real asset for this area and not just another map by
another defunct organization.
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