Pittsburgh's unique topography has made us famous for our bridges. But bridges are not the terrain's only byproduct. It's also created a vast, and largely overlooked, system of public steps that snakes up and down our hillsides, connecting neighborhoods to one another and pedestrians to the places we most want and need to go.
Like most of Pittsburgh's heritage, the steps have roots in the steel industry (workers would use them to navigate between home and the mills). But today, the steps continue to be important as both an historical landmark and as a practical way to walk around.
Pittsburgh has 712 sets of steps, more than any other city in the country--as many as both runners-up Cincinnati and San Francisco combined. Almost 70 of our city's neighborhoods have these steps, and the South Side Slopes is home to nearly 10 percent of Pittsburgh's steps--that's about 5,447 stairs (totaling 2,995 vertical feet) that intertwine with the streets and sidewalks of the neighborhood that rises above Carson Street.
The South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association (SSSNA) is holding its StepTrek event on Sun., Oct 4. The tour is self-guided (participants are provided with maps), with suggested stops at about 15 area open houses, and concludes with eats, drinks and live music.
StepTrek, which has been held annually since 2000, has a twofold purpose--expose the world to the South Side Slopes' prized amenity (participants have registered from as far as Rochester, N.Y. and Washington, D.C.), and get the steps the tender, loving care they need. Each year, the StepTrek route changes, because each year, the neighborhood association submits the route to Public Works for repairs.
"They trim the grass and the bushes, and fix the trails and the railings that have rusted. StepTrek is fun, but also productive," says Joe Balaban with SSSNA, which addresses the step's higher-risk maintenance issues as they arise throughout the year.
Writer: Caralyn Green
Source: Joa Balaban, South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association
Photography courtesy of South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association