Park Projects
Park Projects
Wonderful things are happening at Riverview Park.
Friends of Riverview Park is a coalition of North Side neighbors dedicated to supporting positive change within the park. Here are some of the projects we are working on that will help make Riverview Park more accessible, sustainable, and beautiful.
Landside Remediation
The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) is remediating 10 identified landslides in Riverview Park. The methods of doing so have included soil nails, beam and concrete walls, and grading and benched the ground and slopes.
These 10 landslides can be identified on this park map by numbers. Remediation of landslides marked 8,9, and 6 have been completed. Landslide 6 just finished as of 8/22/25. Remediation on landslides 1 and 3 are set to begin on 8/25/25 and end on 11/7/2025 although this timeline is subject to shift, if needed. The remaining five landslides (2, 4, 5, 7, and 10) are being monitored, and remediation will begin once funding is identified.
For more information, visit Riverview Park Landslide Remediation | Engage Pittsburgh.
Deer Management Program
The Deer Management Program was initiated by the deer committee of Friends of Riverview Park (FORP). This committee was the first Friends group to start a discussion around management of the deer population before turning into a city-wide coalition.
A healthy deer population is vital for both the ecosystem and the deer themselves. Without natural predators and proper management, deer populations can double every 2-3 years, growing beyond what the environment can support. This can put a strain on native vegetation, damage the local habitat, and increase the potential for vehicle collisions with deer.
For more information about the program, visit Deer Management Program | Engage Pittsburgh.
Art in the Parks
Artist collective Sans façon (Tristan Surtees & Charles Blanc) and Steve Gurysh have created Pictures of the Future, a multi-faceted public artwork consisting of a series of interwoven elements that reframes Riverview Park’s existing elements, landscape, and history. The grand opening of Pictures of the Future was on April 27, 2024, at the City of Pittsburgh’s Arbor Day celebration in Riverview Park. Starting in 2022, FORP supported the efforts of these artists through the coordination of public meetings and site walks to familiarize the artists with the park and gather feedback from the community. FORP also raised additional funds to close the funding gap when the project went over budget and was in need of additional resources to be completed.
Grand Avenue/Kilbuck Valley Project
The City of Pittsburgh has committed to relocating the current Department of Public Works’ (DPW) Division 1 Depot that exists along Grand Avenue in Riverview Park. Given the future relocation of this building, FOR Park has initiated a community process where park stakeholders re-envision a new plan for what Grand Avenue entrance will look like.
On Monday, March 2, 2020, the first of four planned community engagement meetings took place at Providence Connections. Representatives from both IKM and Civil & Environmental Consultants (CEC) reviewed the history of the current storage depot site. Through a visioning exercise, attendees shared their thoughts on the new entrance. Nearly 55 Northside residents attended the meeting.
The Pandemic delayed this process, but on Monday, May 22, 2023, we held the second round of community meetings. Representatives from Eisler Landscape and Oikos Environmental, and Evolve EA were on hand to review the input we received from the 2020 meeting on site at the Valley Refuge Shelter. They then led the 35 attendees on a guided tour of the Kilbuck Valley to discuss key problems and opportunities.
The third meeting was held on Monday, July 24, 2023 at 6 PM at the Valley Refuge Shelter. The consultant team took the feedback received from the Community and begin to lay out options for the community to review.
This planning work is being funded by a grant from the Buhl Foundation.
Davis Avenue Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge
The Davis Avenue bridge reconstruction project aimed to reconnect the Brighton Heights neighborhood to Riverview Park. The previous bridge, constructed in 1898, was a pin-connected, cantilever deck truss, and featured ingenuity for its day. However, the bridge lacked modern insight into necessary safety and maintenance features and had limited capacity for heavily-loaded vehicles. Ultimately, the bridge was demolished by the City in 2009.
Engineering work began in the summer of 2021 and the City held the first public meeting on 12/13/21. The design engineers incorporated that feedback and also continued their work and began developing more accurate cost estimates. The final public meeting on the project was held on 9/29/2022. At that meeting, DOMI informed the community that a local artist, Brighton Heights resident Lori Hepner, had been selected to create public art for the bridge project. You can see what Lori has planned by following the Davis Avenue Bridge Project on the City’s Engage Pittsburgh web site: https://engage.pittsburghpa.gov/davis-avenue-bridge/davis-avenue-bridge-public-art
The new Davis Avenue bridge will function as a bike and pedestrian bridge and feature modern building designs, materials, and insights, while emulating the aesthetic established by the prior bridge. The bridge reopened to pedestrian traffic in Spring of 2025.
https://engage.pittsburghpa.gov/davis-avenue-bridge
Sustainable Trail Plan
The Friends of Riverview Park has identified the need to improve the park trail system
as a key priority for improvement. The trails suffer from extreme erosion and landslides in multiple locations, creating a highly negative impact on the visitor’s experience, while also degrading the park’s ecology and wildlife habitat. The City has approved FORP’s plan for trail and drainage improvements, maintenance and community connections that will make Riverview Park’s trail system more sustainable, accessible and enjoyable.
Mairdale Entrance Reconstruction & Stormwater Project
FOR Park is currently working with the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) on stormwater improvements in Riverview Park. This project will see the installation of green stormwater infrastructure such as rain gardens and tree plantings in the park to help capture rainwater runoff and reduce park flooding, erosion, and combined sewer overflows to the Ohio River.
PWSA installed the first Phase of the project that dealt with upstream stormwater flows into Wood Run. The project stretched from Horseshoe Bend to the entrance to the Watson Cabin site. Two new wet weather retaining basins were installed. You can view that project here: https://www.pgh2o.com/projects-maintenance/search-all-projects/woods-run-stormwater-project-phase-one
Phase 2 of the project is currently underway. There are impacts to the park such as closed trails and temporary parking closures. Construction is expected through 2026. You can get more information about the project on PWSA’s web site here: https://www.pgh2o.com/projects-maintenance/search-all-projects/woods-run-stormwater-project-phase-two
Snyder's Point Meadow
Friends of Riverview Park is proposing the creation of native plant meadows within parts of the existing fields and open areas that make up Snyder’s Point in Riverview Park. The meadows will feature an assortment of native perennial flowering plants and grasses that will provide wildlife habitat as well as be visually pleasing. We see the project as offering numerous benefits, including the enhancement of an already frequented destination, the provision of opportunities to engage volunteers and the creation of habitat for animals (particularly pollinating insects).
Work began in the Fall of 2022 to prepare three sites. Seeding occurred in April of 2022. There are ongoing volunteer opportunities to help with maintaining these sites from invasive species – check our facebook page for more information.