South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association

"Neighbors working together to make the Slopes a more livable, beautiful, and safe community"

Author: cara.jette

  • Déjà vu: StepTrek huge success

    A message of thanks to our Trekkers, volunteers, and sponsors from the South Side Slopes Association President, Brian Oswald:

    brian-shark

    The first Saturday of October is fast becoming a favorite of people both near and far as they make their annual pilgrimage to the South Side Slopes. This year we welcomed over 700 people that enjoyed gorgeous 80+ degree weather as they sweated out the their boredom with cookie cutter neighborhoods and suburbs as they climbed the steeps of the slopes. In our most financially successful trek in the 13 years of its existence we expanded our signature event to include an orienteering course thanks to the Western Pennsylvania Orienteering Club and Alexis Rzewski, as well as having mobile maps for smart phone users. The expanded StepTrek Marketplace welcomed both food trucks and fashion trucks to create a great atmosphere among the music, volunteers, and trekkers. The PPG Zoo and Aquarium even got in the fun this year with a chalk artist and Shark mascot. This event is defying the theme of this year’s event of “what goes up must come down” as we grow to entertain and work out a consistent crowd of enthusiasts falling in love with what our neighborhood has to offer year after year. The successes of the past few years are going to allow us to even further expand this event in the years to come as the financial gains increase our ability to promote the event to an even wider audience.

    If you’d like to know the exact revenues and attendance of this year’s event come join us at our general meeting on Tuesday October 15 at the St. Paul of the Cross Monastery Retreat center at 7 PM.

  • StepTrek is Saturday!

    Last chance to buy tickets at the advanced price is today! Save $3! (Children under 12 are always free!)

    Click here to Buy Tickets!

    Never been to StepTrek before? It’s a great way to get outside and explore a gem of a neighborhood in Pittsburgh – the South Side Slopes. The South Side Slopes has the most sets of stairs of any neighborhood in the city (and probably the world) and this is an opportunity to take 1 (or 2) self-guided tours up and down the steps visiting historic sites in the neighborhood and enjoying spectacular views of Downtown and Oakland.

    But don’t just trust us:

    Post-Gazette http://blogs.post-gazette.com/news/city-walkabout/39238-she-discovered-her-study-city-by-steps

    http://franklinchen.com/blog/2013/09/25/why-you-should-go-out-to-the-pittsburgh-south-side-slopes-step-trek/

    Come hungry! There will be 4 food trucks in the staging area to give you energy to climb those stairs!

    Advanced tickets are only $12 (including the booklet with map, water, and fresh fruit). All proceeds benefit the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association. Tickets will be available at the event for $15. Children under 12 are free.

    Click here to Buy Tickets!

  • Give to South Side Slopes on Pittsburgh’s Day of Giving

     Make October 3rd a Day of GIVING to the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association!

    Day of Giving

    The annual Day of Giving is just around the corner…October 3rd!  Please mark your calendar and make a donation on that day if possible.

    What?
    Each year, the Pittsburgh Foundation offers this special opportunity to make donations go further!

    This year’s matching pool is $750,000 and all participating charities (within Allegheny County) will receive a portion of that amount with each donation made.

    Why?
    Donations to South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association help further our work towards making the South Side Slopes a more livable, beautiful and safe community !

    • Improving trails and access to South Side Park
    • Working to keep South Side Slopes Steps Maintained
    • Upkeep on the 80 plus plot community garden at Bandi Schaum Field
    • Efforts to keep the neighborhood clean and litter free
    • and much much more!

    How?
    It’s easy!

    • Log on to Pittsburgh Gives.org on Thursday, October 3, 2013 starting at Midnight
    • Click on Day of Giving
    • Click on Donate Now
    • Complete the personal information on the donor form and choose South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association from the drop down menu
    • Enter your credit card information and click Submit

    Meanwhile, please keep in mind that there is a minimum donation of $25 and that ONLY Visa and Mastercard donations made on October 3rd will qualify for the Day of Giving match.

  • Paper Streets of Pittsburgh

    Last year Harvard Graduate student, Anna Cawrse, received a Penny White Grant to study the paper streets of Pittsburgh. She came to visit our city, walked StepTrek, and had a great time. Click here to read her thoughts: Paper Streets of Pittsburgh

    Come to StepTrek this October 5 to see for yourself how the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association is improving the neighborhood ‘one step at a time.’

  • Election of Board of Directors

    At our Tuesday October 15 General Meeting we will have an election of new members for our Board of Directors.

    Mark Zalenchak and Fr. Donald Ware are stepping down from the Board. We thank them for their efforts and energies spent in service to our neighborhood.

    Two slopes members have been nominated thus far for the Board: Cara Jette and Dawn Lorincy. The current Officers of the Board have unanimously approved of their nomination. (See By Laws, Article VI, Section 5.) Any others wanting to be considered must contact Brian Oswald, Board President.

    Voting Members of SSSNA are eligible to vote at the October Meeting. Voting Members must be eighteen years old or older and have attended at least two General Meetings this past year. (See By Laws, Article IV, Section 1.)

  • One month till Step Trek!

    Step Trek is Saturday, October 5, 2013.

    IMG_6504

    The Step Trek committee is busy cleaning up the routes along with help from the city and students from Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Feel like helping clean up Jeux gonflables the neighborhood in advance of Step Trek? Email brian.oswald@southsideslopes.org

    Want to join the fun? Buy Tickets!

    Have questions? Check out our Event Description and FAQs.

    See you soon!

  • ReClaim South with GTECH

    What is it?
    ReClaim South is a year-long community-based initiative hosted by GTECH Strategies. It is focused on addressing vacancy in the Hilltop neighborhoods through education, training and the implementation of green strategies.

    How does it work?
    Commit to attend a series of education sessions and networking events at least once a month from October 2013 – May 2014.
    Once complete, participants will be charged with designing and implementing their own Hilltop-based green project, repurposing vacant land in their own community. A micro grant and technical assistance will be provided along with a stipend for participating in this initiative.

    Who can apply?
    Motivated Hilltop residents who are ready to use their creativity and connections to
    combat vacant land in their own backyard. Apply online at gtechstrategies.org or stop into the Hilltop Alliance at 512 Brownsville Rd to get an application.

  • Gateway Clean Up Saturday, July 13

    Help pull some unsightly weeds and pick up litter around our gateway to the Slopes, South 18th Street. We’ll meet at the base of the steps and work our way up the street, time permitting. Just bring yourself and a friend or two–we’ll provide gloves, trash bags, and cold water. Email jamin.bogi@southsideslopes with any questions.

    Here’s two pictures of a mini-clean up we did a few days ago. Before, this patch of Oakley Way was barely passable. After, it’s a safe, shady way to get around. Your work has an immediate, visible effect!

    Oakley Way Before 07-05-13Oakley Way After 07-05-13

  • Let’s Talk Trash

    Do you hate seeing so much litter and unsightly trash in your Slopes neighborhood?

    We do too. We, the Outreach Committee of the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association, have started a campaign we hope will make change in the Slopes. We’re calling on you, our neighbors, to join us in the fight to clean up the ‘hood. As we continue to battle the ever-present litter on our streets, we are trying to make sure all residents are aware of the City of Pittsburgh rules around trash storage and collection (see below for rules) outside the home.

    Click here for more information!

  • Ongoing Work in South Side Park

    Newly blazed loop trail in South Side Park

    In the South Side Park decades of neglect allowed invasive vines to cripple much of the ecology. Use of the park was almost exclusively by dirt bikes and partying campers, further eroding the landscape and forest and littering the park.

    Throughout the past several years our volunteers and the Student Conservation Assocation (SCA) have worked constantly to improve the South Side Park for use and preservation. Hundreds of trees have had their trees disentangled from invasive vines, garlic mustard has been removed in droves, and japanese knotweed has been eradicated as much as we can. Many tons of trash have been removed. Through it all, the goal has been to allow for a healthy forest and for a pleasant and peaceful place to visit.

    To improve the park more permanently though we really need people to use it. One of the long-term goals has been building a trail system that can be utilized by walkers, joggers, and hikers throughout the 65 acres of forest. One of the best things for the South Side Park will have to people walking the trails and using it in an eco-conscious manner.

    The first step to this is getting all of the trails blazed with painted way-signs, so users can follow the trails easily. There are a lot of crisscrossing paths within the forest due to deer, mountain bikers, and dirt bikers, so it is incredibly confusing without the signage. To build upon the way-makers we need permanent wooden signs marking the junctions. We also need trail maps both printed in map-form and at the entrances. Lastly in the trail department we need to sign the entrances to invite people into the park as so few people know that it even exists, or what it contains.

    Please help us continue to save our forest by encouraging its use, and using it yourself! Please join us for a fundraiser on June 3 at Acacia to help support these efforts. Click here for more information.