Oakmont Council discusses possibility of scenic byway

Rick Duncan, president of the Allegheny River Boulevard Preservation Association, and Michael Dawida, chairman of Scenic Pittsburgh, attended Oakmont’s Sept. 5 work session to begin a discussion in support of naming the Allegheny River Boulevard a scenic byway.

Duncan said that he has already received a resolution of support from Penn Hills Council, and he appealed to the Verona and Oakmont council members for the same support for the title change.

“Nothing in this resolution, and nothing about (Allegheny River Boulevard) becoming a scenic byway obligates Oakmont or any communities along the way to anything,” Duncan said. “It does not mean that it interferes with anything that you might plan to do. It does not mean that it limits you.”

He said that the association has been working with Scenic Pittsburgh for “guidance and partnership” throughout the project because of Dawida’s experience as the head of the board of Scenic America.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation website, PennDOT designates state byways at the request of communities “seeking to highlight cultural, historical, recreational, archaeological, scenic and natural qualities.” The website cites benefits such as recognition of the byway and the towns it runs through, and opportunities to enhance the byway’s visual quality.

“There’s an opportunity right now for money,” Dawida said. “The scenic byway program has been reinstituted in Pennsylvania with money and at the national level.”

Dawida said that Oakmont has beauty, but officials need to recognize it and keep it to continue to bring more people to the town.

“It’s a multi-community road and it’s a beautiful place,” Dawida said. “We’re going to keep this road protected and make it even better– maybe even to the point of what it once was.”

Council members said that they would further discuss a course of action before officially backing or denying support for the project.

Duncan also shared that the Preservation Association was recently awarded a $20,000 Keystone grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for the upkeep of the boulevard. The award is a one-to-one grant, meaning the association will begin fundraising to match the state’s amount.