Cheswick residents cite fishing, amenities as renovation ideas at Rachel Carson Park

Jacob and Devin Abramson of Springdale think there’s potential to make Rachel Carson Park in Cheswick special.

“This area is beautiful,” Devin said. “I never realized how close it is to the river.”

“It has good bones,” Jacob said. “If they do some fishing stuff, that would be great, too.”

Ultimately, the couple would like to see the park tap into nature and offer more educational, fun and accessible programming for children. They usually drive to O’Hara to go to the park with their 10-month-old daughter, Vivenna.

“We want to be active in the community,” Devin said.

Those opinions were among many shared as the borough solicited feedback on a master plan for the riverfront park during a public meeting. Held Sunday at Rachel Carson Park, it was the first public meeting on the park plan.

Earlier this year, Cheswick and Tarentum boroughs were jointly awarded a $50,000 state grant through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for riverfront planning.

“We want to know what they — the community and residents — want,” said Shawna Almes, a Cheswick councilwoman. “It’s brainstorming as a neighborhood.”

Borough officials previously said they’re excited by the prospect of revitalizing the waterfront, especially with the decommissioning of the former Cheswick Generating Station and the decrease in barge traffic.

Consultant Jim Pashek is leading the public engagement sessions. He said Sunday’s meeting was the first of two in Cheswick, and he will return to present the information compiled at the meetings. The second meeting has yet to be scheduled.

Bill Doyle of Cheswick would like to see restrooms, a dog park and increased fishing availability along the Allegheny River, the latter perhaps the most common request recorded among people’s input.

“Cheswick’s festivals could be here,” he said.

Tarentum’s public engagement meetings have yet to take place. Its steering committee will meet soon with Pashek, and then public meetings will be scheduled, Manager Dwight Boddorf said.

“Once the meetings are announced, we will post them on our website, social media and the Savvy Citizen App to encourage community input,” he said.