Pittsburgh extends and expands contract with Parks Conservancy

Pittsburgh City Council voted Tuesday to expand its contract with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, clearing the way for the nonprofit to work at additional city parks.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has worked with the city since 1998 to restore and improve the city’s parks, starting with its biggest ones: Frick, Schenley, Highland and Riverview. Today the group is active in 22 of the 165 city parks.

The new contract will extend the conservancy’s partnership with the city for an additional 10 years and allow it to work in even more parks.

“This expanded partnership embraces the ‘Restoring Pittsburgh Parks’ model, where equity will remain at the forefront for all projects and enhancements, including large-scale park infrastructure improvements, environmental education, green jobs preparedness and much more,” said Catherine Qureshi, president and CEO of the conservancy.

Qureshi said the conservancy hopes to team with community groups and residents on such initiatives.

The new contract will operate on a project-by-project basis.

The agreement approved Wednesday calls on the conservancy to present an annual report to City Council on work that it has completed and its budget priorities.