The sign is gone and the timbers deteriorating.  The Greenfield Organization and Connect Greenfield are teaming up to address the deteriorated condition of one of Greenfield’s most prominent portals -  the Welcome to Greenfield sign and landscaped median located on the Greenfield end of the Greenfield Bridge at Beechwood Boulevard and Ronald Street.

The space was professionally designed in the 1980s as part of a neighborhood-wide PR effort to raise the image and profile of Greenfield and market the neighborhood to passing commuters.  It was designed by GWSM, a Greenfield landscaping design firm.  The sign was made by neighborhood woodworkers.  The landscaping was installed by Kimicata, a Greenfield landscaping firm, and funded by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.  Since its installation, Kimicata has been maintaining the landscaping.  Twenty years later, time, weather and passing traffic have taken a toll on the sign and plantings.

In response, a core group of community volunteers have agreed to help lead and facilitate the process by which the triangular median space will be updated and reshaped as a welcoming, sustainable portal for the neighborhood.  An online community survey has been developed to solicit community input as to the proper design principles and design features to be included in the updated portal.  The survey can be accessed here.  The results will be discussed at a community meeting in late February.  Stay tuned.

If you have comments or suggestions you’d like to share outside the survey, you can e-mail them to Patrick Hassett at hassettpgh [at] aol [dot] com, replacing the words with their proper symbols.