The municipality is gearing up for the first phase of a plan to improve public spaces along Washington Road. Last year, the Mt. Lebanon Commission approved a $6 million bond issue to fund infrastructure improvements, of which $221,000 has been earmarked for costs associated with getting the Activate Uptown plan off the ground.
“We have the money in place; now we’re ready to take the next step,” said Commercial Districts Manager Eric Milliron.
“These are necessary upgrades that are going to enhance the uptown experience.”
The Activate Uptown project calls for improvements to Clocktower Plaza; the portal leading to the Mt. Lebanon T Station; Parse Way and Clearview Common.
The next step is to come up with a viable plan for the multiphase project. Milliron will be meeting with Gateway Engineers, the municipality’s engineering consultant, with the public works department and with a design committee from the Mt. Lebanon Partnership, a nonprofit that supports Mt. Lebanon’s business districts.
Clocktower Plaza is slated to be the first phase of the project, followed by the portal, then a phase connecting those two elements. Parse Way is next on the list, and the final phase of Activate Uptown will center on Clearview Common.
Activate Uptown follows the two-year Vibrant Uptown project, which concluded in 2023 and resulted in new sidewalks, planters, seating, lighting and electrical conduit for the area, and the adoption of Ascend Lebo, Mt. Lebanon’s Comprehensive Plan, which the Commission adopted in 2023.
The top three priorities residents listed in the comprehensive plan’s initial questionnaire were: Safe streets for pedestrians and cyclists, recreation/park facilities and strengthening the business districts. Activate Uptown addresses all of these concerns.
Planning firm Pashek + MTR worked with Mt. Lebanon on the comprehensive plan, and also on the development of Activate Uptown, receiving input from more than 1,300 residents and stakeholders on what they would like to see in the business district. The most common improvements requested were:
At Clocktower Plaza, in addition to requesting some shade from the sun, 73 percent of respondents wanted the municipality to address the adjoining vacant lot, following the demolition of a house in 2023. More directional signage, public art and more color also topped the list.
Visions for the portal that leads to the T station included more lighting, signage, color and the most popular, requested by about 2/3 of the survey takers, was simply a power wash to remove the stains and rust from the walls, steps
and railings.
Parse Way, the alley that runs behind the North Garage, is lined with trash bins belonging to various Washington Road restaurants and to the SpringHill Suites Marriott. About 70 percent of the survey respondents asked for some kind of plan to screen or relocate the bins. However, Pashek’s report noted “no practical alternative location in which the bins would be both accessible to the businesses that use them and more invisible to everyone else.” Residents also wanted to see planters, trees and outdoor dining spaces along Parse Way, and a space for food trucks.
Wishes for Clearview Common, along with the typical requests for more shade, more plantings and more seating, included expanding the space to allow for more events and small festivals, more spaces for vendors, play features for children and better visibility and accessibility from Washington Road.
When asked whether expanding the common would be worth the tradeoff of losing parking spaces in the Alfred Street lot and possibly closing part or all of Alfred Street, about half the respondents were in favor of fully closing Alfred Street, while other suggestions were eliminating on-street parking and making Alfred a one-way street.
Before Vibrant Uptown, the last time Washington Road saw any cosmetic changes was during a 1993 streetscape project.
“What house looks the same as it did 30 years ago? Business districts are no different,” said Milliron. “You’re competing with malls, you’re competing with other commercial modes, you’re competing with other towns.”
Dorene Ciletti, president of Mt. Lebanon Partnership, served on the Activate steering committee.
“I’m really excited about the improvements,” she said. “The way we use municipal resources changes over time. The Pashek survey asked not only how respondents use uptown now, but also how they will use it in the future.”
Although it’s the earliest of early days for the project, Milliron hopes that by the end of the year – “the first phase of Phase One,” he said — Uptown will have sun shading around Clocktower Plaza, improved electrical wiring and more artistic lighting, possibly more of the gobo light projectors that today dot the Washington Road streetscape. Gobos are stencils placed over a light source to project patterns on the sidewalk.
Although Milliron again emphasized that it’s too soon to talk in absolute specifics, he’s confident that the finished product will leave the business district in a better place.
“It’s a never-ending project,” he said. “Like a house, you’re always upgrading and improving, to protect your investment.”
Ciletti agrees.
“The Partnership wants to partner with the community to make the business districts more vibrant,” she said. “That’s what we’re here for. An active and vibrant business district impacts not only the business owners, but also the residents’ property values. Enhancing our public spaces is a benefit for everyone.”