URBAN TRAILS

Urban Trails began as the Woods Run Watershed Taskforce, a collaborative project established between the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, 3 Rivers Wet Weather, and a team of partners including CivicMapper, Ecosophic Strategies, and evolveEA, as part of a broader effort to address stormwater issues in PWSA’s priority sewersheds.

During the pandemic, the Woods Run Watershed Taskforce, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and the National Park Service partnered to create a blueprint for the Woods Run Green Corridor. This initiative envisions the restoration of ecological habitats on vacant and underutilized land throughout the watershed. By transforming these spaces, the Green Corridor aims to manage stormwater more naturally—keeping excess water out of the overburdened sewer system.

Thanks to support from the National Park Service and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the Taskforce now has a set of compelling visual aids that illustrate this vision. These include large-format posters with aerial views of Marshall-Shadeland and the Woods Run watershed, overlaid with mapped “potential projects” that highlight key opportunities for green infrastructure, habitat restoration, and trail connections.