Regulars Smell the Roses in Reopened Palisades Park

By Jorge Casuso

It was a homecoming of sorts for Rose McNary, and she could hardly wait.

McNary was one of dozens of Palisades Park regulars who lined up Thursday behind a long red ribbon that separated them from their first stroll in the closed-off park in nearly a year.

"I came here everyday," McNary said. "It's my second home."

So when Mayor Pam O'Connor cut the ribbon, McNary and the other regulars quickly burst through, anxious to walk the new paths, check out the newly planted flower gardens and lounge on the new benches that have been added to the northern half of the park.

Left: Regulars enjoy sunny day in improved park. Right: Mayor Pam O'Connor, flanked by Council Members Kevin McKeown and Richard Bloom, addresses crowd.

"I knew I couldn't take long cause I would get run over," O'Connor joked after her brief speech. "They were rearing to go."

The $4.5 million improvements -- from Arizona Avenue to Inspiration Point -- had kept the park fenced off since last September. But regulars, many of them elderly residents who live nearby, said it was well worth the wait.

Some admired the new drinking fountains and trash receptacles, then headed over to test out the benches in the new shadier picnic grove. Others checked out the pergola, which had new plantings or strolled among the 30 new palms and 60 new coniferous trees. The new stair case leading down to the beach hadn't been pen, but many walked to the edge to take in the spectacular view they had missed.

"I used to come here every day," said a giddy Annette Silver. "There's nothing like this in Pittsburgh."

"I've been in many parks, but this is the best," said McNary, who said felt "boxed in" walking up and down Adelaide Drive during the past year . "I bought some grapes. I'm going to walk up and down and eat some grapes and rejoice, rejoice, rejoice."

Wednesday's opening was in a sense a dress rehearsal for the big celebration and Millennium Stroll October 2. By then the three new restrooms will be completed at Inspiration Point. By winter, a 40-foot fiberglass beacon and wood seating platform
will open just south of the California incline.

"We've all been hanging on the chain link, waiting for this day when the fences finally came done," said Councilman Kevin McKeown. "Palisades Park is more beautiful that ever. This spectacular view is ours again for years and years to come."