Loading ...Won’t you be my neighbor?
by Mountain Girl ~ September 10th, 2007. Filed under: Community, Transportation.In the midst of navigating the clashing ideologies in Mt. Washington, I sometimes lose sight of why I choose to live in the city in the first place. I got some nice reminders the other day.
Feeling ambitious, I walked from a client’s office downtown to the Mon Incline and took it home in favor of waiting for the 41E. I met a couple from another state who marveled at the ingenuity that went into constructing the incline and at the prospect of living in Pittsburgh and “getting” to take it to work everyday. I take it for granted and it was a nice reminder to be more appreciative of what we have here.
As I settled into my seat and waited for the incline to ascend, an older gentleman struggling with groceries was intercepted on his way up the stairs to board. A middle-aged woman took his groceries from him and loaded them into the car before gently guiding him to his seat. She didn’t expect a ‘thank you’. She just acted as if that’s what neighbors do. And she’s right.
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November 7th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Yeah, the incline is cool but could be so much more. The views of the city are diffused through dirty windows that have been scratched and etched with grafiti. Paint is chipped and the service not friendly at all. The station below is in need of a paint job and that rusty railing along Carson is a disgrace.
Most of the people working there have zero personality and send a terrible message to the thousnads of visitors that come through the station. Its almost like they are annoyed by the fact that they have to engage people from other parts of the world. Pittsburgh should be embarrassed by the fact that one of thier signature tourist attractions are maintained and operated so poorly. If Port Authority can dig a tunnel under the river, they can afford some paint, railing, replacemnet glass and some enthusiastic employees.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Great point about the Incline in Decline (could be a slogan!). I had never even associated the deteriorating railings and peeling paint with people’s perception of our neighborhood.
It’s actually ashame that the Mon Incline hasn’t been preserved. After all, it’s supposed to be a mobile museum. I don’t know that we can do anything about PAT employees, but we can certainly make people more aware of this.
Thanks XPLOR.
MG