Wexford, Pennsylvania

Wexford, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated community

Fire station on Chapel Drive
Wexford
Coordinates: 40°37′35″N 80°3′21″W / 40.62639°N 80.05583°W / 40.62639; -80.05583Coordinates: 40°37′35″N 80°3′21″W / 40.62639°N 80.05583°W / 40.62639; -80.05583
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Allegheny
Township Pine
Elevation 1,227 ft (374 m)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 15090
GNIS feature ID 1191197[1]

Wexford is an unincorporated community in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The area known as Wexford is split among multiple municipalities, including Franklin Park, McCandless Township, Pine Township, and Marshall Township. It is named after County Wexford in Ireland.[2]

Home to many upper-middle-class people, Wexford's commercial landscape is dominated by a mixture of corporate chains, car dealerships, and a number of local small businesses, giving this small town much diversity. Wexford concentrated on the main thoroughfare of the "Wexford Flats", U.S. Route 19. It is also home to what is considered to be one of the top high schools in Pennsylvania, North Allegheny Senior High School.[3] Other schools in the area are Pine-Richland High School, Marshall Middle School, Wexford Elementary School and Vincentian Academy.

It was recently ranked the twenty-eighth best place to live by Money magazine,[4] despite it being essentially a postal zip code and a general descriptor of a section of the suburban Pittsburgh metropolitan area, not a municipality of any type. The presence of North Allegheny Senior High School, a large, well funded public high school, the numerous businesses, and a number of churches along the "Wexford Flats" gives the area a more distinct community identity than simply an otherwise unremarkable suburb in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Adjacent to Wexford is North Park and North Park lake. This area is a great asset to the community featuring many hiking/biking trails, 5-mile paved running path around the lake, many pavilions for outdoor events, outdoor ice rink, golf course, dog parks, many playgrounds, a C.O.P.E. course, and local restaurants and shops. The lake underwent construction, including dredging and refinishing shore lines, between 2009 and 2012.

The Wexford area is a growing community with subdivisions and neighborhoods constantly increasing. To account for the immense increase in population in the past few years and for years to come, the county ultimately expanded U.S. Route 19, the road that runs through the "flats", by adding a center turn lane. Before its expansion, the road was four lanes (two each way), and heavy traffic caused significant problems for drivers attempting to perform left turns.[5]

Unlike most of Allegheny County, Wexford was removed from area code 412 when it was subdivided in 1998, being placed in area code 724 instead. Part of this was because of Wexford's close proximity to Cranberry Township, one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States.[6]

Notable natives and residents

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wexford, Pennsylvania
  2. ↑ "County Wexford, Ireland - Wexford, PA Connection". Wexford Volunteer Fire Company. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "North Allegheny SHS Adequate Yearly Progress Overview". Pennsylvania Department of Education. eMetric. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "Best Places to Live 2005". CNN Money. Time Warner. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "2012 Construction Projects". Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Cranberry Today". Cranberry Township. CivicPlus. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
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