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Time to tear down walls, build bridges

4 min read
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As Washington County enters 2016, it is an excellent time to reflect on the future.

The landscape is rapidly changing with natural gas drilling, new retail establishments and residential enclaves sprouting up throughout the county. Growth brings additional pressures on established institutions, like county and municipal governments, the courts and even Washington’s City Mission.

While absorbing this growth is an important issue, I am most concerned about our social and creative development. Let me propose some issues to consider for 2016 and beyond.

Washington is becoming a tale of five counties. The identities of Peters Township and Southpointe are most aligned with Allegheny County. They are high-income business and tax havens bordering the Pittsburgh metropolis. The Trinity Point/Old Mill retail centers and The Meadows Racetrack and Casino and the Tanger Outlets shopping center, both on Racetrack Road, draw patrons from a wide area, but do little to enhance the lives of local residents who do not have the means to access them.

The City of Washington and borough of Canonsburg seek respect, but continue to fall short on major redevelopment. The Mon Valley has become a struggling afterthought, with its dying industrial towns. The countryside has morphed from scenic farmland to the heart of an energy industry, with wealthy landowners leasing their holdings to the highest bidders.

Do we want a future Washington County that encourages such splits? Are we living in a county that does little to eradicate the separation of different social and economic populations, and little to bring us together?

Did the people who work at Southpointe or live in Peters Township take notice when the county lost Wash Arts? Or when the City Mission had a major fire? Or the ongoing struggles of Citizens Library? How many residents in the hamlets on the perimeter of Washington County are aware of Washington’s farmers market or symphony orchestra? Or that many businesses have closed in the City of Washington? Are the residents of Monongahela informed about and able to find transportation to the excellent performances at the Olin Fine Arts Center at Washington & Jefferson College? Many more examples abound in a county where the wealthy wall themselves off from the rest of us. The elderly and less fortunate who don’t have access to reliable transportation are at a distinct disadvantage in enjoying the county’s many pleasures.

There are certainly actions elected officials and business leaders can take to foster interaction among the disparate parts of the county. A county that is more socially integrated would not only make us a better place to live, but also an example for other counties around Pittsburgh. Jeff Kotula, the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, recently told the Observer-Reporter, “Our county is well-positioned, probably better than any other county in the commonwealth, to maintain our positive growth.” This growth can support a vigorous social and economic master plan for the county where everyone would share in the spoils of development.

Consider an arts center in Southpointe, which could be a home for the Washington Symphony, theater groups, or a reborn Wash Arts, with countywide public transportation to the facility. Further, the placement of some county social services, public housing, group homes and mental-health facilities in our wealthiest communities could help tear down the walls of social segregation. Why not the building of affordable garden apartments in our towns to encourage retail development around them?

Societies are complex and contain conflicting interests, and Washington County is no exception. If we determine that our aim is to make life more pleasant for the majority of people and maybe a little less pleasant for the wealthiest among us, Washington County will truly be a socially integrated community and an inspiring place to live and work.

Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.

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