Emerald View Park has a new trail.
Unveiled Sunday by The Washington Community Development Corporation (MWCDC), the trail connects Sycamore Street to Bigbee Field where it joins other trails leading to Grandview Park.
Ilyssa Manspeizer, director of park development and conservation with the MWCDC, said the trails add another dimension to the city.
“The people who are using it and enjoying it can see Pittsburgh in a whole new way because from those trails, you really can get new views of the city of Pittsburgh, the rivers, downtown and of the Southern Hills and of all places,” she said. “The trails and the view still go hand in hand.”
The trail was constructed as part of Emerald View Park’s 2010 Master Trail Plan.
Completed in 2009, Emerald View Park brings together several parks and green spaces in Allentown, Duquesne Heights and Mount Washington. The 257-acre park currently includes more than 10 miles of trails and is Pittsburgh’s fifth regional park.
The group is also celebrating the completion of the cleanup of an illegal dumpsite. MWCDC set a goal in 2007 to clear a 13-acre dumpsite located between Route 51 and Marne Way in Mount Washington. More than 300 volunteers spent 1,000 hours over the last six years removing 32,000 pounds of garbage.
Manspeizer said the dumpsite was overwhelming at first, but things got easier as the project progressed.
“You see engine blocks and you see tires and you just see this space that should be beautiful and it’s horrible,” she said. “And with some effort within a few hours, you can have the entire area cleaned up.”
The park is also having a positive financial impact on the region, according to Manspeizer.
“We’ve seen changes economically,” she said. “There are developers who are developing large and substantial housing projects next to the park because the park and the trails are there.”
More than 1 million people visit Mount Washington every year for the view, according to the MWCDC.
