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Crews from Joseph Palmieri Construction are finishing the installation of sidewalks and new curbs along Walnut Street between the 15th Avenue Bridge and Christy Park.

New landscaping and benches are slated to follow. The work could significantly improve the appearance of a corridor traveled by 12,000 to 15,000 cars daily, according to state Department of Transportation estimates.

But on Internet message boards and at a May 1 "meet the candidates" forum sponsored by the McKeesport NAACP, some residents --- including at least one political candidate --- have criticized the $181,000 project as a waste of money.

They say investment in sidewalks along the unoccupied stretch of Walnut Street would have been better spent on other neighborhoods.

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And there have been allegations that Mayor Jim Brewster, who lives in Christy Park, is focusing on his neighborhood at the expense of other sections of the city.

That charge raised Brewster's hackles.

"It was insulting," he says. "Those are the kinds of comments you get, particularly at election time. If I sound a little bit upset, that's because I am."

Walnut Street is being improved under the state's Elm Street Program because it was one of the few parts of the city that qualified --- not because the mayor lives there, Brewster says.

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The money being provided by the state can't be used in other parts of the city, or to raise salaries, he says. It's designated for the Walnut Street corridor.

"Everybody knows what we need," Brewster says. "We know what streets need to be paved, we know what houses we need to tear down. What we need is the money."

Constructing the sidewalk will get pedestrians out of the mud alongside the street, he says, "so we look like a city and not some hick town."

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According to the Elm Street Program's website, McKeesport is one of only a few dozen municipalities participating in the initiative, which was created in 2004 by the state Department of Community and Economic Development to "strengthen older historic neighborhoods."

To be recognized as an "Elm Street" neighborhood, a district must be adjacent to a borough or city's downtown business area and include a heavily traveled thoroughfare.

The non-profit Pennsylvania Downtown Center, which provides assistance to communities in the program, calls such areas "the heartbeat of Pennsylvania's cities, towns, and boroughs."

Locally, several sections of Pittsburgh, including Lawrenceville, East Allegheny, East Liberty, Friendship and South Side Slopes; parts of Irwin Borough along Pennsylvania Avenue; and the Gallatin neighborhood of Uniontown have also been designated as "Elm Street" neighborhoods.

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Downtown areas are not eligible for the designation, according to PDC, because "most downtown revitalization programs ... have had little impact beyond the borders of downtown into adjacent neighborhoods."

Besides the sidewalks along Walnut Street, Elm Street grants are available for homeowners and business owners in Christy Park to improve the exteriors of their buildings. Five people sit on the local committee overseeing Elm Street improvements, including three business owners in Christy Park.

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Councilman Darryl Segina, who's seeking re-election to a third term and running for the Democratic nomination in the May 19 primary, says preserving and redeveloping the Walnut Street corridor is key to the city's future.

"We all feel bad about what's happened in our (Downtown) business district," he says, "but if you look at Walnut Street, that is becoming our business district, and it's very important to us from a business standpoint."

Brewster's more blunt, and earthy. The only reason McKeesport is receiving money for Walnut Street or any other project, he says, is because he and other city officials swallow their pride, "go to Harrisburg and pucker up."

"Anyone who wants to go with me, you're welcome to go," Brewster says.

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Update, 11 p.m. May 14: Jim Haughey, Elm Street Coordinator and deputy director of McKeesport Housing Corp., points out that a sidewalk connecting Christy Park with the Third Ward was a requirement imposed by the state Department of Community and Economic Development in order for the city to receive Elm Street designation:

"The state funding for this project was specific and could not be allocated to another project within the city.

"Designation could mean upwards of $250,000 per year for a five year period for both housing facade and neighborhood improvements in Christy Park.

That would translate into more funding (CDBG, HOME, etc.) availability throughout the other city neighborhoods."