Aspinwall seeking more than $215,000 in grants for townwide upgrades

Aspinwall council is seeking three grants totaling more than $215,000 for townwide upgrades.

They include money for trail improvements at Fireman’s Memorial Park, sewer separation along Western Avenue and work at the Aspinwall Volunteer Fire Department garage.

Work at the park in upper Aspinwall will include replacing the current asphalt trail with a wider, wheelchair-friendly walkway, Manager Melissa Lang-O’Malley said.

A grant for $41,000 was submitted to the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments.

The plan also includes adding two handicapped-accessible spaces to the parking lot.

Bid requests for the work are expected to go out soon. Councilmember Jeff Harris said at last month’s meeting that coal tar will not be used in the project.

Council is considering banning the chemical from use boroughwide after hearing a presentation from Fox Chapel Councilwoman Mandy Steele that detailed its hazards. Aspinwall is expected to vote on the ban during its council meeting April 14.

Other grant requests went out to the Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund that include $85,000 for a stormwater separation project along Western Avenue.

The total cost of the work tops $600,000, most of which will be covered by an ALCOSAN GROW grant.

Construction will include separating stormwater from the existing combined municipal sewer system to alleviate overflows along the stretch of road from Fourth Street to Alley A.

The third grant applied for by the borough is a $90,000 application to reconfigure the door at the fire department garage along First Street.

“The borough is starting the process of purchasing a new fire truck,” O’Malley said. “We found that the newer trucks are taller than they were in the past and we’ll need to raise the door space and install a new door.”

The total cost is about $125,000.

O’Malley said she also wanted to remind people that street sweeping began April 1. Motorists should remember to move their vehicles to avoid tickets. Streets are marked with signs about the sweeping program, which runs through Dec. 15.