Bike Ped Committee supports safe sidewalks and local history in the west side

Written by: Crystal Witt, Riverlife

The West Pittsburgh Bike/Ped Committee has started back up with a meeting at the Carnegie Library in the West End on April 1st. This committee, which had not been active for several years, is expected to reinvigorate the community of residents who walk, bike, and roll in neighborhoods across the West End Bridge.

The meeting was led by John McNulty of Elliott, who leads history hikes and is an advocate for the Old Stone Tavern, a local landmark that is known to be an early stop for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  John is a living history educator, musician and environmentalist. He hopes that the trails being developed in the area – like the Trolley Trail, Saw Mill Run Connector, and West Busway Trail – will help connect local, regional, and national trail networks with the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and raise awareness of local history. 

John also participated in the Pittsburgh Walks Sidewalk Survey event on April 8th and works to encourage participation in the Safe Sidewalks Crew throughout the west side neighborhoods.  The next West Side Safe Sidewalks Crew event will be hosted by Pittsburghers for Public Transit on Saturday, May 16th at 10:00 AM at the Sheraden Healthy Active Living Center at 720 Sherwood Avenue. 

The West Pittsburgh Bike/Ped committee holds meetings during the first week of each month, The next meeting is Thursday, May 7th. Follow the group on Facebook for details.  More information about Walk/Ped Committees all over Pittsburgh can be found on the BikePGH Website. 

Volunteers use a web survey to collect data about sidewalks in the West End.