Dec 22, 2017 4 min read

Efforts to better connect Monongahela’s business district with the Aquatorium and Monongahela River are getting a boost as result of a $25,000 grant from Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

The grant allowed the city to contract with Klavon Design Associates of Pittsburgh to develop ideas for improving walkability between the downtown and riverfront amphitheater and encouraging the use of all the city has to offer.

With 9,000 followers on Facebook, the Aquatorium is well-known to Monongahela area residents. The problem, according to Claudia Williams, board member of Aquatorium Innovations, which hosts the annual series of summer concerts on the riverfront stage, is with those who don’t live in the area but drive through town.

“They don’t realize that the river is just two blocks away from Main Street because it’s hidden from view,” she said.

Members of the community were invited to attend a town hall meeting Dec. 6, where officials of Design Center Pittsburgh, Klavon Design Associates and Mon River Towns Program discussed potential ideas.

“They gave us some good ideas and some expensive ideas,” said Williams. “This is just a first step. Now we have to go out and find funding to implement the ideas.”

Some of the proposals included planting shade trees, building a shell-style roof over the aquatorium seating area for shade and protection from the rain, installing swings, painting fish or waves on the street between the business district and aquatorium and installing new trash receptacles.

Another proposal would include the installation of kiosks and markers on shore visible from the river that would point the way into the business district to entice boaters to tie up their boats and walk into town.

“Some people liked some of the ideas, others didn’t,” Williams said. “We got a varied reaction.”

At the end of the meeting, attendees were asked to fill out a questionnaire with the three ideas they liked the most along with three they liked the least.

The design document will be used as a springboard for the implementation of some of the ideas.

A number of city organizations, such as the Main Street Program, Monongahela Area Revitalization Corporation, Chamber of Commerce, City Planning Commission and Aquatorium Innovations, will participate in planning and securing funds for the projects.

“I felt that all of the ideas were good, but the one that really struck my fancy was the plan to improve Railroad Street with the addition of new sidewalks, lighting, trees and festive painting on the road surface, which, coupled by the presence of event vendors will give the street a festival atmosphere,” said Ken Kulak, city councilman and meeting chairman. “The design document is a wonderful tool that we now have at our disposal,” Kulak added.

With 9,000 followers on Facebook, the aquatorium is well-known to Monongahela area residents. The problem, according to Williams, is with those who don’t live in the area but drive through town.

“They don’t realize that the river is just two blocks away from Main Street because it’s hidden from view,” she said.

Williams cites the aquatorium as having “a tremendous economic impact” on the city.

The concerts alone bring in 40,000 people, including some from other counties and states, and the Witch Festival, a Halloween-themed event in October, attracts visitors from at least a dozen states who often stay overnight, eat in the restaurants, shop in the stores and visit the business district.

“We can identify where the visitors come from because we scan IDs because they come in costume and we have to make sure everyone is safe,” Williams said.

The Mon River Towns Program and National Road Heritage Corridor worked with Design Center Pittsburgh to develop the connectivity program. Currently, there are two Design Center Pittsburgh programs underway in Washington County – the one in Monongahela and another walkability/connectivity project in Fredericktown that’s also considering ways to link the town with the river.

“The people and organizations in Monongahela now have to take a look at the proposed ideas, prioritize them and see which are most advantageous, because everything can’t be done at once.” said Donna Holdorf, executive director of the National Road Heritage Corridor. “The River Town Program will then help them identify potential sources of funding.”