On February 24, members of the NPP came together at Steel City Squash to enjoy a meal and reflect on the past year of activities.
The meeting started with an update on the traffic calming street mural from Tacumba Turner. He shared news that the design is finalized, the permitting process with the city is moving forward, and sponsors for the work have made commitments to support maintenance.
Paint is scheduled to hit the street this summer!
Participants then had an opportunity to reflect on our time together over the past year in a reflective activity led by Ruth Howze.
She posted meeting agendas on the wall and invited participants to reflect on the things they learned and other takeaways from the past year. Takeaways were organized by meeting and posted chronologically.
Participants walked around the room reviewing prior discussions, reflecting on connections across the different topics, and leaving notes that prioritized specific takeaways for emphasis in an upcoming health equity plan.
Some of the reflections from the group included:
- It was very impactful to learn that the life expectancy in Larimer is the lowest in the city vs Highland Park having one of the highest life expectancy rates – and the two neighborhoods are only separated by a bridge
- They learned a lot overall and about the street calming and lighting efforts in the Larimer community
- One participant noticed the difference in the street lighting in the neighborhood. They said they feel a lot safer and the lights installed earlier this year made a huge difference
- Over the last year, one participant talked about being more aware of surroundings such as lighting and what to do about it. For example, they took pictures of a broken light and staff from the City helped the participant to report the light on the City website. They really appreciated the City being involved.
- The engagement of the group and commitment by the MADE team was expressed by several participants.
Following this activity, we then asked participants to help to put action steps on a timeline to guide future investment and project priorities in the neighborhood’s built environment through the lens of public health.
Before the meeting, facilitators Bob Gradeck and Liz Monk went through meeting notes and slides over the past year and listed actions that were mentioned on post it notes.
The actions were color coded by topic, and participants were asked if they wanted to see activities happen in the short term, or mid/long term.
The participants had a lively discussion in which they sorted specific actions into two primary categories. They defined short term as within the next year, and long term as two or more years from now.
| Topic | Short term actions | Mid / Long term actions |
| Traffic calming | • Complete the mural • Report issues to 311 and • Engage PGH Attend Bike PGH advocacy training | • Request traffic calming study • Safe driving education campaign • More $ / Ask city council/mayor for more budget funding • Engage the youth! |
| Street trees | • Discuss benefits of trees | • Continuing discussing benefits of trees! • ReLeaf plan(?) • Engage the youth! |
| Lighting | • Report issues to 311 and Engage PGH | • Engage the youth! |
| Vacant property | • Report issues to 311 and Engage PGH • Training in how to use data tools • Identify lots where kids play • Request soil tests | • Participate in City Council meetings + contact council rep • Work with LCG to plan: greenways, adopt a lot, vacant structure stabilization, etc. • Engage the youth! |
| Sidewalks | • Report issues to 311 and Engage PGH • Explore funding for sidewalk replacement | • Engage the youth! • Organize sidewalk audits to collect dataPlan to fill sidewalk gaps with city program |
After looking back over our last year together, we then made sure participants had time to offer final reflections.
Everyone who spoke was grateful for the opportunity to engage in this work, a sentiment that was resoundingly echoed by all the facilitators and project partners.
What a journey this last year has been!
