This trip to a 2020 constructed flight of city steps in the West Penn Park in Polish Hill, Pittsburgh took place on May 2, 2021, and was published on May 14, 2021.
Bob Regan’s work of locating and mapping all the city steps took place twenty years ago. It was a time when Pittsburgh could not do much beyond the most basic repairs in high-traffic areas. As a result, the perception of our public stairways tends to be one of gracefully (or catastrophically) decaying infrastructure. A review of the 585 flights I’ve photographed in the past three years confirms this. But BONUS FLIGHT #3, located in Polish Hill near the West Penn Rec Center (and not included in Bob’s book), is a new example of what happens when walking, the environment, and caring for our neighborhoods takes priority. Built on city property in conjunction with Tree Pittsburgh and Landforce PGH, these steps support a short, kid-friendly nature trail by doing what stairs do best: transporting pedestrians through a significant elevation shift. It’s exciting to know that our tradition of making unruly hillsides safer to travel and easier to enjoy is making a come-back.
Field Notes: This is a new flight of city steps built through a collaboration between TreePittsburgh (who is engaged in hillside remediation in Polish Hill) and LandforcePGH. Landforce volunteers are responsible for the creation of the walking trail that runs along the top of the hillside and this flight of steps that leads to the parking lot at the West Penn Rec Center. Pretty nice!
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.
