South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association Step Trek 2022. Get your tickets, donate, and buy the swag online!
In Pittsburgh, the public stairways were the first transportation system for the masses that was completely free of charge. Horse-drawn and electrified trolleys and trains may have filled the streets, but they came with a cost many immigrants and working-class families could not afford. So, the large number of city steps in neighborhoods like the South Side Slopes is not surprising. One hundred years ago, this hillside area had three times as many people living within its boundaries, many of them the skilled and unskilled laborers who made Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. Their jobs were physically demanding and dangerous (even after unionization) in ways that our 2022 first-world bodies and minds may never fully understand. However, it is possible to travel the paths of those who came before and be inspired by their resiliency. On Saturday, October 1, the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association will hold its 22nd annual Step Trek. For a small, pay-what-you-can donation, you can join exercise and orienteering enthusiasts, history buffs, and walkers from near and far to climb the stairs and streets of this historically significant neighborhood. Your participation links the past with the present and creates enthusiasm for the future. Get your tickets now, and I hope to see you there! www.southsideslopes.org #StepTrek2022 #MayTheLaborsOfOurAncestorsNeverBeForgotten
Field Notes: The South Side Slopes has 66 flights of city steps, the most of any neighborhood in Pittsburgh. I’ve visited and photographed them all. All you need to do is click the link and all of them will appear! 🙂
Love city steps? Get yourself the latest issue of Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh’s City Steps! Each copy is unique and features 10 randomly selected “trading cards” of Pittsburgh’s 739 public stairways. Visit the Mis.Steps online store to see all issues and place your order.
Want to visit these stairs? You can locate them on the Pittsburgh City Steps Plan website!
Be a good neighbor! Have you visited these stairs and found them in poor condition or that illegal dumping (large items like tires, old furniture, and construction debris) and trash were abundant in the area? There are two things you can do to take action and make our city steps cleaner and safer for everyone! First, grab a photo if you can, and submit a report to Pittsburgh 311. All problems, both broken stairs, and railings, as well as trash and dumping, should be reported to the city. You can easily do this online or by calling.
