Since the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed on February 21st, 2022 we have worked to protect Fern Hollow from the impacts of the bridge collapse and reconstruction. Today, with the bridge completed, we call on our community, our partners and our friends to join us in reimagining Fern Hollow, and helping us create a vision for its future.
In Fall of 2022, UpstreamPgh was awarded a grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to undertake a multi-year visioning process of the Fern Hollow Valley. Through this process we have engaged with park users, area residents, artists, partner organizations, technical experts, and officials from the City of Pittsburgh to create a list of key interventions to reinvigorate the enchanting ecosystem that lies within this space.
We recently completed the first phase of our Fern Hollow Vision Plan which involved 4 community visioning walks and 1 community meeting, 427 survey results to inform the plan, walks with local elected officials and partners, an experimental art project and steering committee meetings comprised of representatives from the following organizations; U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Friends of the Riverfront, East Hills Consensus Group, The Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory, Operation Better Block, Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, Shiftworks Community + Public Art, Point Breeze Organization, City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. To view the survey results and design selections click here.
When the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, it fell directly into Fern Hollow, into Frick Park and into the Nine Mile Run Watershed area we’ve spent over 20 years stewarding. At UpstreamPgh, we feel this is a chance to turn a tragedy into an opportunity.