The Central Bethel Park Trail (CBPT)
Bethel Park is a suburban community located in an area known as the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A portion of an old coal hauling railroad, known as the Montour, used to run through the community. The railroad was abandoned in 1977. In 1989, a group of citizens organized and formed the Montour Trail Council for the purpose of using the old railroad right-of-way to build a recreational trail. The Trail Council has had a great deal of success, establishing a regional rail trial that forms a roughly 47 mile arc to the South of Pittsburgh. The trail is very popular and a portion of it runs into Bethel Park.
In the 12 years that elapsed before the formation of the Trail Council, some properties in Bethel Park were sold off to private individuals and groups, so the focus was turned to the larger portions of the rail line that were still owned by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, from whom the railroad line was eventually purchased. A decision was made at the time to not pursue acquisition and development North of the Industrial Park in Bethel Park.
In Bethel Park, the finished Montour Trail (MT) runs from the Southern border with Peters Township (near Iron Run Road, pictured above) to a point overlooking the intersection of Logan and Irishtown Roads (lower arrow in map below). The Industrial park can be seen from this vantage point. The railroad used to run roughly on what is now the left (West) border of the Industrial Park (pink area on the map below). A bridge used to cross over Logan Road at this point but it was removed, approximately 30 years ago, for driver safety and better sight lines. Because the Logan Road area is seeing much more traffic than in the past, it has become problematic. A traffic roundabout is planned for the area the trail overlooks and a pedestrian bridge will carry trail users safely over the intersection with Irishtown and Patterson Roads.
Getting through or around the Industrial Park area is a problem that is not currently being addressed but will be necessary to link the CBPT with the MT. A local citizens group of volunteers, known as Friends of the Montour Trail in Bethel Park, is led by Dr. Peter Kohnke and is working on the CBPT along with performing meticulous care of the portion of the MT that passes through Bethel Park. Beginning at the intersection of South Park Road and Bertha Street (upper arrow in the map above), the CBPT has been divided into 8 sections, each of which has at least a temporary name. Each section has its challenges and successes and will be briefly described in this blog post.
Section 1 is called Tischler. It starts in the wooded area across Bertha Street from the rear of Virgili's Beer Distributorship and Joe's Bike Shop. The property is in the final stages of being acquired and will make a nice section of trail that has the feel of being in the middle of the woods (see photo above) even though there are homes lying on both sides and a little below the built-up right-of-way. The side streets are Bertha, on the right and Tischler, on the left. Below is a link to a short you tube video on the Tischler section.
The CBPT will run nearly all the way to the back of the Bethel Park Municipal Building. It is there that the 2nd section of the CBPT begins. Section 2 is referred to as UBS (Universal Builders Supply). The railroad used to run behind the Municipal Building and through property currently owned by Kiefer Supply. While there are some issues with passing through a property actively in the business of supplying coal, gravel, sand, and other construction materials to contractors and individuals, there is a possibility of the trail using some road and sidewalk access along West Library Road.
At West Library, a long bridge used to cross an infrastructure triad of 2 roads (West Library and Brightwood) and an active (Port Authority) light rail line before continuing on. That bridge was also removed some 30 years ago. The crossing can be visualized in the photo below. The trolley station in the photo is called Lytle.
Once across this area, Section 3 begins. It is called BPPW, for Bethel Park Public Works because it runs on the lightly traveled Slater Road (photo below) to and through the BPPW complex. The trail will eventually need to cross Brightwood Road, which sits at the bottom of a little 30 foot deep chasm. Section 4 lies on the other side.
The potential for a historical marker lies at this spot. In 1927, the first documented armored car robbery occurred on Brightwood Road below the railroad bridge. The thieves blew up the road, causing the car to flip over. They made off with the $104,000.00 payroll for the coal miners working the Number 8 Coverdale Mine operated by the Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company. Thankfully, nobody was killed and the crooks were apprehended 48 hours later.
Section 4 is called MTC, for Montour Trail Council, because The Council owns all of the land needed to develop the trail in this section. The main problems are the aforementioned bridge to cross Brightwood Road, clearing some dumping along a portion of the section behind Hillcrest Shopping Center, and a bridge across Route 88 to reach Section 5. A portion of this section is pictured above and some volunteers are currently working on clearing and leveling out the surface.
Because the old (and very rundown) Allegheny County garage used to loom above Route 88 at this spot, Section 5 bears the county name. The garage was sold off, torn down, and is currently being developed by the Deram Greener landscaping company. To get through that area, some details will need to be worked out. Section 5 will run from Route 88 to Broughton Road and can be seen in the map above.
The MTC owns the slopes on either side of the former railroad right-of-way that comprises Section 6, aka Demmler. Negotiations to acquire the middle piece are currently underway. Upon completion, this section will be a straight shot from Broughton to Horning Road. It too has that woodsy/wilderness feel, as can be seen in the photo above.
Section 7 is currently named for a property owner but due to a sensitive situation, the name will be left out. The former railroad right-of-way is privately owned, complicating the alignment of the trail at this time. There are 3 possible options for getting the trail through Section 7 and to Millennium Park, which is Section 8. They will be briefly discussed below.
Option 1 assumes the trail will be able to use the former right-of-way (see above) that is now privately owned. It will run through this area and then turn right, descending into a public easement area where there is currently a water detention pond below the Millennium Woods development. It would then turn uphill briefly, continuing on the public easement, and pass between two homes on Millennium Drive, where a left turn will be necessary.
Option 2 assumes the private property will remain that way, necessitating a left turn onto Horning Road and then a right turn onto Hilltop Lane (see photo above). At the top of Hilltop, there is a cul de sac where an easement permits passage to Millennium Court after passing between two homes.
Option 3 (see map above) also assumes the private property (in Option 1) will remain that way and that Option 2 may not be viable. Here, a right turn onto Horning Road is taken and the road is followed until Baptist Road is reached. Once there, a left is taken and is followed by a another left onto Millennium Drive and into the Millennium Woods development. The road is followed until reaching Millennium Court, where a left is taken. The court ends at another cul de sac where there is a public easement into Millennium Park (pictured below).
Once Millennium Park (Section 8 - see photo below) is reached, the trail can terminate at one of the ball field parking lots. There is access to the elliptically shaped Millennium Woods Trail (2nd photo below), one of several ball fields, a walking trail, Hillside Drive, and Route 88. It may even be possible to eventually get to Bethel Green (3rd photo below) which lies a short distance away.
Millennium Park
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