3 acres of Frick Park will more accessible to people with disabilities

A project by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to make 3 acres of woods in Frick Park  more accessible to people with disabilities has passed muster with the city’s Historic Review Commission.

The conservancy, which operates the Frick Environmental Center, plans to renovate the existing path that runs through about 3 acres of the park to the east of the environmental center. The new path, which in part will replace a 20-year-old asphalt path that is crumbling, will be compliant with the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

The project also will upgrade the observation deck and add two learning areas. The whole project is being called the Outdoor Sensory Classroom.

“What we are proposing to do is redevelop existing spaces and existing pathways to provide a more comprehensive, inclusive and accessible sensory learning experience,” Brandon Riley, the conservancy’s capital projects manager, said at the meeting on Dec. 6. Details of the project are available on the City of Pittsburgh website.

There are currently two areas that serve as outdoor gathering spaces for classes. One is a bunch of logs that form a seating area. Another has play tables. Neither of them are wheelchair accessible.

The conservancy plans to pave a path to those two areas, pour concrete floors and build pavilion roofs above to provide shade. One of the outdoor rooms will have a low retaining wall on one side and a low fence around the other. One will have work tables and a storage area for art supplies. 

Riley said the spaces also will be available for the general public to use.

All of the trails will be 5 feet wide. The loop trail will have areas where there are sensory objects, such as a retaining wall so that the forest floor will be high enough on one side for someone to experience it in a wheelchair. Also planned for the loop are two pebble harps, which are boxes with small metal tines inside that make a light cascading noise when pebbles are dropped through.

The conservancy is planning to renovate the existing observation deck, a wooden structure built out over a hillside. Participants will feel as though they are in the trees when they stand there. The plan is to replace the decking and install guard rails about the edges that are easier to see through than the current wood posts.

“The goal of this project is to create a series of spaces that provide opportunities for users to learn about the environment and engage with the environment, really using sensory experiences as a mechanism to do that,” Riley said. “Nature is the classroom and we’re trying to encourage people to use it.”

The plan was met with the unanimous approval of the Historic Review Commission, which oversees projects in the park because it has city historical landmark status.

The design budget is $100,000 with a $1.5 million construction and maintenance budget. The Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust is supporting the project. The City of Pittsburgh will provide $200,000.

Commissioner James Hall said Frick Park is perceived as a woodland park “so keeping accessibility at the center is really great.”

Commissioner Karen Loysen said she has seen concrete areas decorated with items from nature such as leaves, which she suggested for the classroom areas. Riley said they were considering that, or marking the concrete with animal footprints.

Commission chair Lucia M. Aguirre noted, “My son is neurodivergent so I am excited to see that there are places that will be more welcoming for him and others like him.”