Harrison kayak launch parking lot inching closer to reality
Good news keeps rolling in for park-goers in Harrison.
The township will receive $70,100 from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for work on its kayak launch parking lot in the Natrona section.
The grant covers about half of the $141,000 cost to transform a vacant lot into a nine-space, paved parking area at the corner of Sycamore Street and River Avenue.
The township also has applied for two grants from the Department of Community and Economic Development for the balance of the work.
“It’s such good news,” Commissioner Chuck Dizard said.
“If the other grants are funded, it will permit construction of a paved parking lot, landscaping, stormwater control, welcome signage to Natrona, new sidewalks and pavement markings to permit safe passage from the parking area to the kayak launch on the other side of River Avenue.”
Constructed in 2013, the kayak pad sits along Veterans Way and is part of the Friends of the Riverfront’s Three Rivers Water Trail.
The new parking area will include green space and art and will further develop access to the trail along the Allegheny River, according to Courtney Mahronich Vita, Friends’ director of trail development.
The project will enhance safety for people who use the riverfront since they currently are forced to find available parking on nearby residential streets.
It also will provide landscaping, stormwater control and a crosswalk to promote a safer way across River Avenue, Mahronich Vita said.
In late-August, a short trail opened two blocks up the road to link Natrona Community Park with the riverfront.
The project cost $43,000 and was funded by a $10,000 grant from the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, along with private donations.
“On the northern end of Veterans Way, there is now the new trail connector with mosaics,” Dizard said. “Veterans Way goes about two blocks south to the kayak launch and then returns to River Avenue. This short route represents an attractive and safe local route for residents and visitors.”
If the other grants are approved, the project would get underway in the spring with construction expected in 2024.
Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at tpanizzi@triblive.com.
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