Pittsburgh considers renaming portion of riverfront trail after former Mayor Murphy

Pittsburgh plans to rename the North Side portion of the Three Rivers Heritage Tail in honor of former Mayor Tom Murphy, who led efforts during the 1990s to create riverfront parks and trails.

City Council on Tuesday introduced a resolution for renaming the trail, running from the former SCI Pittsburgh at Woods Run to the city’s boundary with Millvale.

Mayor Bill Peduto proposed the name change last week to mark the 25th anniversary of Murphy’s inauguration in 1994 as the city’s 57th mayor. Peduto last week presented the former mayor with a ceremonial key to the city.

“I always said I didn’t want anything named after me until I was dead, but I’ll accept this because it’s so important to me,” Murphy said last week when informed of the honor.

Council’s legislation does not say what the trail will be called.

Murphy, 75, of the North Side, who now works for the Washington-based Urban Land Institute, advocated parks and trails along the rivers while serving as a state representative from 1979 to 1993 and made it a priority while serving as mayor from 1994 to 2006.

Peduto’s first executive order in 2015 prohibited politicians’ names from appearing on city-owned property. The order allows council to name a property after a former city elected officials “in an honorary or memorial fashion.”

Council is required under the City Code to hold a public hearing prior to a vote. The name change requires a “supermajority,” or approval of at least six of nine members.

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bob at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobbauder.