ROCK ALLEY GREENWAY TRAIL PROJECT
Figure 1: Illustrative Rock Alley Trail Map.
The Rock Alley Greenway Trail Project is the result of dedicated collaboration between the Oakcliffe Housing Club and Oakland Planning and Development Corporation. Rock Alley is a proposed recreational trail through South Oakland’s Oakcliffe greenway with a connector to the trail system. There are few connections between Oakland’s residential neighborhoods and the pedestrian and bicycle trails along the riverfront. During the Oakland 2025 planning process, Oakland residents identified an opportunity to connect the Oakcliffe area of South Oakland to the Eliza Furnace Trail via an existing tunnel under the Penn-Lincoln Parkway. The Rock Alley area, immediately to the right as you enter Oakland on Forbes Avenue from Downtown, used to have streets and steep staircases connecting Oakland workers to the factories along the riverfront. It is now a forested hillside in the middle of the city.
Figure 2: Rock Alley circa 1914. This area once housed over 100 families.
Figure 3: View from Lawn Street down the Rock Alley slope. Fall 2011.
Residents throughout Oakland are excited to build, use, and maintain the Rock Alley trail, which will conveniently connect them to the South Side, Downtown, and beyond. A committee of passionate residents formed in mid-2011 to develop the trail, and its members have been working with city agencies to determine the feasibility of the trail and to resolve issues as they arise. One of the biggest issues is the steep slope and the potential for landslides and erosion. In order for the project to move forward, we need to engage a consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study for a pedestrian trail on the Rock Alley slope. The goal is to determine if, where, and how to build a trail that will improve the existing hillside conditions and connect pedestrians to the Eliza Furnace Trail. For more information, contact Elly Fisher or Dave Panasiuk: Elly Fisher, Assistant Director Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (412) 621-7863 efisher@opdc.org www.opdc.org
Figure 4: View of the existing tunnel under the Penn-Lincoln Parkway. Spring 2012.
Dave Panasiuk, Chairman Oakcliffe Housing Club (412) 246-1619 oakcliffehousingclub@gmail.com