City, Contra Costa County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94565
One of the
old-new towns of East Contra Costa. Population 63,771. Changing demographics;
more middle class. A slow commute but much better than what other East County
cities endure.
In 2004 and 2006, the Pittsburg Unified School District passed construction-renovation bonds worth $126 million. Some of this money was used to rebuild Pittsburg High School and equip it with a technology center.
These bonds require approval of 55 percent of voters. In recent years, many school districts have passed them.
Very few districts have passed parcel taxes, which are used to pay teachers and improve programs. These taxes require two-thirds approval, hard to get. In 2008, Pittsburg passed its first parcel tax. Some of the money will be used to upgrade instruction for high-scoring students. www.mccormacks.com
Good town
for new homes. Family town, many kids, (about 31 percent of under age 18, unusually high).
The state
in 2009 tallied 20,848 residences: 14,299 single-detached homes, 1,298
single-family attached, 4,570 multiples, 681 mobile homes. Pittsburg has just
about tripled its population in the last three decades. Diverse population.
Many efforts to get along.
In 1996,
BART (commute rail) extended its line to Pittsburg area and located the station
next to some of Pittsburg's new subdivisions. Highway 4 through most of
Pittsburg was widened from four to eight lanes. All this is making Pittsburg a
faster commute but the freeway still congests (on the evening commute, often
about three miles before it reaches Pittsburg.)
Click for regional or detailed map
Two large private schools in town. New
and expanded adult school. Community college that, thanks to passage of a bond
and state money, recently built a library and a math and science complex. The
college, Los Medanos, offers over 350 classes and activities, many open to the
public.
First a
fishing village, then a coal-mining town, Pittsburg during World War II was an
industrial center and a staging camp for Pacific troops. After the Korean War,
the camp was dismantled, industry declined and Pittsburg returned to its
self-contained existence but not for long.
Highway 4 was
extended to East County, opening the land for suburbia. About the same time,
major firms built office complexes in the Central County, bringing thousands of
jobs within driving distance of the East County.
In poured
the newcomers. When the freeway came, it bypassed and just about killed
Pittsburg’s downtown. Some industries remained but because of automation and
foreign competition thousands of factory jobs were lost. Several downtown
neighborhoods went into decline. www.mccormacks.com
Later, through redevelopment, a tax-capture,
rejuvenation plan, the city
bulldozed many blocks in old town. With the expansion of the marina and
the addition of new homes, the middle class has somewhat returned to the
downtown. The old town has some
older streets that have held their value and show a lot of tender loving. Some
of the newer homes run to two story with plenty of space. The marina, 575 slips, is located the downtown. It
also has been improved, with the hope of bringing in people who will spend in
the downtown.
Most of
the new housing has been erected south of the freeway and in price aimed at the
middle class. More middle class usually means higher school rankings, lower
crime.
Three homicides in 2008, eight homicides each in 2007 and 2006, five in 2005. Counts for previous years are 8, 6, 6, 4, 4, 2, 8, 7,
2, 9, 9, 2, 10, 4, 3, 4, 6.
New police
station. Homicide detective slain in 2003; suspect died days later in shootout
with police in Modesto. In 2005, another officer was shot to death while
pursuing two suspects, who were later captured.
For years,
Pittsburg, especially in parts of the downtown, suffered from a reputation as
being high in crime. With redevelopment, with new housing and businesses and
new police administrators and more attention, the city hopes to reduce the
crime, erode this perception and make the downtown more inviting.
In recent years, the police department has been quietly installing surveillance cameras around town. Preliminary numbers for 2009 show drop in crime. www.mccormacks.com
Highway 4
runs over Willow Pass, for decades a notorious bottleneck in Contra Costa
traffic. But in recent years the pass has been widened and the climb, which
slowed the trucks, lowered.
The BART
extension follows the freeway. Pittsburg and neighboring cities are working
with Union Pacific to run passenger trains from the Pittsburg BART station to
Byron.
Kirker
Pass, a four-lane expressway, scoots you down to Walnut Creek but the road
crawls during peak hours. Metering lights have been installed on Kirker Pass.
Tri Delta Transit runs buses throughout the East County. County Connection runs
express buses to the Walnut Creek and Concord BART stations.
At least
16 parks, baseball, soccer, softball, football, fishing, boating, water sports,
bocce (annual tournament), Boys and Girls Club, 18-hole golf course with
clubhouse, YWCA. Bowling alley. One of largest marinas in northern California.
Swim center, seniors center, community center. Several other golf courses closeby.
City hall
runs classes-activities for kiddies. Movie complex, 12 theaters. Roller-skating
rink. Small World Park chugs kids around in a miniature train. Regional park is
restoring some coal mines as exhibits. www.mccormacks.com
Music
Pavilion and Waterworld are just over the hill. Annual Seafood Festival draws
over 100,000. Pittsburg also celebrates Juneteenth Days and Columbus Day.
Wal-Mart,
Target, Home Depot. For more
shopping, Antioch has a mall, with Macys, on Somersville Road at the Pittsburg
border.
Historical
museum. New civic center. Closed for eight years, Los Medanos Hospital was
reopened as clinic.
Power
lines from generating plant range across town. Big industry (Dow, U.S.
Steel-Posco) a major presence. In recent years, the town opened two power
plants, cleaner and more efficient than the old plants. To some oldtimers, Pittsburg will always be an industrial, blue-collar town. But industry for the most part is removed from the
residential sections. These days construction tilts heavily to suburban housing.
Pittsburg is not showcase town but many of its streets are quite presentable in a suburban way. Mt. Diablo
is in the background.
• In 2001
it was the toast of Pittsburg. About 30 people camped out to be the first to
buy. The store was Krispy Kreme Donuts. In 2006, low-carbed by a fickle public,
the store was toast.
• Job boost in 2009 with plant opening. Steel piping using advanced technology, 120 jobs.
• Pittsburg is right on the edge of the Sacramento Delta, hundreds of miles of winding rivers and channels and resorts. If you like fishing, boating and water sports, this might be the town for you.
• Just west of Pittsburg is the town of Bay Point, also known as West Pittsburg and Shore Acres. This town is situated within the Mt. Diablo Unified School District; older kids attend high school in Concord.
• What's the difference between this Pittsburg and the other Pittsburgs? The letter "h," as in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
City hall, recreation: www.ci.pittsburg.ca.us
School District: www. pittsburg.k12.ca.us
Chamber of commerce: www.pittsburg.org
March 9, 2010
