Pittsburgh releases community visioning studies for East Hills, Lincoln-Lemington Belmar

Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning has released the inaugural Neighborhood Visioning Plans for the city’s East Hills and Lincoln-Lemington Belmar neighborhoods.

The plans were developed through a 14-month process with the East Hills Consensus Group and Lincoln Lemington Collaborative, with support from Councilman Ricky Burgess’s office.

Neighborhood visioning aims to give residents, businesses and property owners an opportunity to identify a unified vision for their neighborhood. That results in a comprehensive plan that will guide future revitalization and reinvestment programs.

“I applaud the East Hills Consensus Group and the Lincoln Lemington Collaborative for their work in developing these Neighborhood Visioning Plans,” said Mayor Ed Gainey, who is from Lincoln-Lemington. “It is critical that we plan for growth in our communities in a smart, efficient and intentional manner. These plans will help protect the integrity of our neighborhoods.”

Burgess said he believed neighborhood redevelopment needs to start with a community-based plan.

“These plans provide us with a common vision by which we can collectively support their neighborhood to realize their vision,” Burgess said.

The involved groups will continue to work with the Department of City Planning and other organizations and stakeholders to implement the strategies outlined in the vision plans. The plans recommend community, development, mobility and infrastructure strategies to be implemented over the next two to five years.

A vision statement from East Hills reads, “East Hills residents are working toward building a safe, vibrant and unified neighborhood to offer accessible parks, locally grown businesses and a variety of housing.”

The East Hills plan highlighted several major themes. The first was to create “a unified neighborhood with more capacity” — a theme identified after residents spoke during community meetings about how many residents who live in the western half of the neighborhood don’t identify as East Hills residents. There were also concerns about the capacity of existing community organizations to take on new projects and implement the plan.

To address those concerns, the plan laid out several goals. Among them were establishing the East Hills Consensus Group as a “community voice,” recruiting new members and finding a local resident to assist the community group with grant writing efforts.

Additionally, the plan proposed gateways at “key locations” in the neighborhood and a new public art program to help create a more unified East Hills community.

A second theme was the desire to create a safer community. That, according to the plan, encompasses safety in terms of crime, as well as safety for pedestrians and assurances that basic needs are met to deter future crime. Improved lighting was another suggestion to curb crime and improve feelings of safety.

Another identified in the project was the need for a healthier community. The plan calls for ensuring residents have access to safe parks, healthy food and affordable housing.

The East Hills vision plan called also for safer routes to schools and parks to make the neighborhood more walkable and improvements to East Hills Park, plus a playground in the western portion of the neighborhood and added mini parks. Additional goals included increasing home ownership and encouraging more businesses and amenities.

Lincoln-Lemington Belmar’s vision statement reads, “Lincoln-Lemington Belmar is a welcoming, family-friendly neighborhood that boasts mixed-income housing, a growing local business community, amenities, safe parks and recreation and dependable public transportation.”

In the Lincoln-Lemington Belmar vision study, residents said the community feels like three separate neighborhoods rather than one community. They questioned the capacity of existing community organizations to implement their neighborhood plan.

The plan calls for establishing the Lincoln Lemington Collective as a community voice, while also creating gateways at key locations and establishing a public art program.

Residents expressed a need for better sidewalks, safer intersections and transit shelters. The report suggested creating a streetscape along Lincoln Avenue, improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, fixing roads and creating a network of greenway and trails.

Other goals included developing a plan for vacant lots, improving Chadwick and Paulson playgrounds, expanding a community garden, increasing home ownership, addressing blighted housing, supporting small businesses and creating a vibrant business district and community space along Lincoln Avenue.

Their report called for creating a healthier community by adding more affordable housing, safe parks and healthy food.

Covid-19 complicated the process of developing the vision plans, which are “necessary to move a community forward,” said Diane Daniels, founder of the East Hills Consensus Group.

“The implementation means progress and change,” she said. “Our goal is to become renewed and vibrant.”

The complete plans for East Hills and Lincoln-Lemington Belmar are available on the city’s website.