One of Pittsburgh’s most popular and historic park shelters is set to get an upgrade next summer.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is spearheading an effort to revitalize Riverview Park’s Valley Refuge Shelter and improve accessibility at the site.

The shelter is one of the most popular in the city, with permits issued 77 times last year. It was the tenth most heavily-used shelter out of all of Pittsburgh’s seasonal shelters last year, according to city data, and was used for picnics, parties, reunions and even yoga.

Revitalizing the aging site was a “major priority,” said Brandon Riley, director of community projects and engagement with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

The shelter was originally constructed in 1939 as part of the National Youth Association, which was an arm of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers to conduct public works projects.

One of the stones on the shelter is marked with the year and an indication it was a Works Progress Administration initiative, Riley said.

The conservancy’s work will include upgrades to the bathrooms to make them ADA-compliant, as well as upgrades to the lighting, plumbing and electrical systems, Riley said. A new drinking fountain will be installed to replace one that doesn’t work there now. Crews will repair the roof and historic masonry on and around the structure.

Some of the historic flagstone paving that has “fallen into disrepair” and made the site less accessible will also be fixed, he said.

The goal, Riley said is to give it “an overall repair and upgrade so that it can continue to be a joy for future generations.”

“What we’re really focusing on is improving accessibility, improving functionality and making sure we’re providing for the longevity of the structure,” he said.

A grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will require the project shows “respect for the history” and meets standards for preserving historic materials, Riley said.

The open-air shelter is used predominantly in the warmer months, Riley said, though it appears at one point there had been sliding doors that could enclose the shelter. He believes those may have been installed during a renovation in the 1960s, but they’ve since been removed.

The project is currently in the design phase, Riley said, with construction expected to start early next spring. Work should be finished by mid-summer 2025.

The $240,000 project is funded, in part, by $130,000 from Pittsburgh’s parks tax.

The city allocated money from the controversial 0.5-mil tax — which the city started collecting in 2021 after voters narrowly approved it in a 2019 ballot referendum — to help the conservancy fund upgrades at Allegheny Commons Park and build a sensory-friendly classroom in Frick Park.

“It demonstrates we can do more, we can get a lot more work done, if we’re partnering on these things and sharing these costs,” Riley said.

Riley said the city also may provide labor from its construction division. Spokespeople for Mayor Ed Gainey did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

PITTSBURGH — Don’t ask the Pittsburgh Steelers about adding an 18th game to the NFL’s regular season. You’ll only get a mixed bag of responses. Some couldn’t care less, some are for it, and some are vehemently against it.

Steelers safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott are firmly in the “against it” category. Speaking to Brooke Pryor of ESPN, both players were unabashed in their thoughts on adding another game.

“They’re not paying us enough money already,” Elliott said. “They’re stingy with their money, so they want to make us play 18 games, as a player union, we should get way more money than what we’re getting — and not just the top guys. ”

Elliott continued his rant by expressing disappointment in the league’s greed. In his view, the owners have no risk but gain all of the reward.

“And the thing is, they’re not out here playing football,” he said. “They’re not here running around putting their bodies on the line. They don’t care. All they care about is making money, but if you’re going to make money on the top end, the bottom end has to make money too.”

Fitzpatrick was in full agreement with his fellow safety. The leader of the Steelers’ secondary is not a fan of more games in the regular season. He doesn’t understand the point of changing or why they would remove a preseason game to do that.

“Why do we keep adding games?” Fitzpatrick said. “I think 17 is more than enough, plus a playoff…The dudes that play a hundred percent of the snaps in the regular season are probably barely playing in the (removed) preseason game, so it doesn’t really do too much.”

The views of the team’s safeties are likely felt across the league. ESPN surveyed NFL players about this issue to gauge the temperature. 46% of the respondents voted in favor of an additional regular season game to the schedule. 8% voted yes, but required some stipulations, and 19% voted against it. Pryor also noted that multiple concerns from players were raised during the survey, but 27% felt they didn’t have a concrete response.

The other main issue to figure out is the revenue split. With the current 17-game schedule, players receive a revenue share of just under 49%. The current collective bargaining agreement is in place until 2030, so a concrete decision will likely wait until the next CBA negotiations. Until then, the Steelers safety duo is unlikely to change their opinions on this matter.

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