Down by the rivers

Last week I attended a presentation by Bob Gangewere about the Heritage Signs on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. I was looking for an update on the progress of the Great Allegheny Passage (which still has gaps at this end), which will eventually make it possible to bike from the Point to DC without having to dodge any traffic more threatening than cycling parents pulling those kid-trailers.

He tossed out some alluring ideas from the land of Friends of the Riverfront and the greenway community about what it would mean for Pittsburgh to be a "trail town," a destination for tourists riding up from DC. And here's an interesting question, particularly in these dire penny-pinching times: Can we get a hostel or campground in the city? We used to have a hostel -- are we so unhip we don't want European university students to bivouac here on the cheap in the summer? Someone has proposed a campground on a barge, which sounds very cool. There's also a plan floating around for a greenway around Mt. Washington with interpretive signs.

And speaking of signs, which was the thrust of the presentation, if you've never been out on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail (the Jail Trail, the South Side Trail, the North Shore trail that goes up and around Washington's Landing, etc.) and seen the historical signs, get out there when Pittsburgh thaws out and watch for them instead of jogging/skating/cycling past. The artwork is beautiful (when it isn't graffitied) and the historical tidbits are fascinating; I'd wager there are city and area natives who will discover things they never knew.