Congratulations to Scott and his organization for their good works. More cities need to make changes that benefit all modes of transportation and slow the traffic.
Pittsburgh is definitely making steady progress, and for an American city it's pretty good. My main concern is the compromise on cyclist safety by using plastic flex posts and paint instead of concrete barriers or bollards, but it looks like BikePGH is in agreement that these eventually have to be replaced by real barriers and traffic calming. I just hope it won't take a mountain of martyrs to get it done.
I am definitely with you there! I observe this as a consistent approach in car-centric cities around the globe that are trying to move fast. The plastic flex posts are deployed as they quickly redesign the street space and demonstrate to the public that the world didn't stop spinning. This approach must, however, not be misused. These are truly temporary placeholders until more permanent infrastructure can be designed and installed. Additionally, one critical point is that adjacent motor vehicle traffic speeds and volumes must be reduced to non-lethal levels if your goal is to build a high-comfort "All Ages & Abilities" cycle network that people will actually use. When this can't be achieved then the facility is best positioned away from the highway or traffic sewer, if you will, with a grade-separated pathway network, similar to that employed by Oulu, Finland: th-cam.com/video/HlhNk5tn878/w-d-xo.html Thanks so much for watching and for your contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John
One of the effects of separate bike lanes is that most bike lanes are created by narrowing the other lanes, and narrower lanes are known to reduce traffic speeds. In effect narrow lanes are much more effective at reducing automobile speeds then are tickets (But most Government units perfer tickets for the revenue such tickets provide).
Pittsburgh needs to reinstate the Penn Avenue and Knoxville Inclines. Unlike the existing Mongohelia and Duquesne Incline (which are passenger only inclines) the Penn Avenue, Knoxville and Castle Shannon North inclines were Vehicle inclines, designed to haul horse drawn wagons up the Cliffsides of Pittsburgh. If the Penn Avenue Incline was rebuilt, you could ride to the strip district, take the Incline to the top of the Hill District and have a gentle down hill ride to Oakland and Shadyside. As to the Knoxville Incline, Bicyclists could take it the top of Mt Washington instead of having to climb up McArdle Roadway, Sycamore Street, Arlington Avenue, Brosville Street or South 18th Street. All of those roads are long climbs and the Mongohelia Incline is just not big enough to fit more than one bicycle At a time on it (If the transit authority would run its Light Rail.Vehicles over Arlington, you could put your bike it it, but except when the transit tunnel is being worked on, no LRVs on Arlington Avenue). If you want to see a vehicular Incline in operation go visit the Johnstown Incline. The Johnstown Incline can and even today haul automobiles in addition to bicycle and is the best way to get to the top of the hillside that overlooks Johnstown. Pittsburgh use to have other vehicular inclines, the Castle Shannon North being the most famous after the Knoxville and Penn Avenue inclines but it's location, like the long closed and torn down Vehicular Mongohelia Incline (which was right next to the existing Mongohelia Incline) in my opinion inferior to the Knoxville Incline to get Bicyclists to the top of Mt Washington. There is talk about rebuilding those inclines but it is only talk no real plans or proposed funding for such plans. Here is Video on the Johnstown Incline (Each car has two compartments, a small one on the side of the car for people on foot, then a much larger compartment, orginally drsigned for horse drawn wagons but used for automobiles today (Up to the size of 3/4 ton suburbans ane Pickups and I think one ton truks but I have seen 3/4 ton suburbans on that incline, but never anything bigger): Bicycles are permitted on the Johnstown Incline. The Johnstown Incline is presently closed till February 23, 2024. www.google.com/search?q=johnstown+incline&sca_esv=583685006&rlz=1C1CHZN_enUS1042US1042&tbm=vid&sxsrf=AM9HkKlXCQijkZKUXB4NFcXHRxvaE4Eogg:1700353778119&ei=8lZZZcHwBujMptQPz5-OoAc&start=10&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwjBsb-3586CAxVopokEHc-PA3QQ8NMDegQIDhAW&biw=1920&bih=923&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9b0368b2,vid:4g-kEOqqlAU,st:0 More on the Johnstown Incline: www.inclinedplane.org/project-updates/ Fares are (2023): Adults - $5.00 Round Trip, $3.00 One-Way Children under 2 - FREE Children 2 to 12 - $3.00 Round Trip, $2.00 One-Way Seniors (65+ with ID) - FREE All Day Wristband- $15 (unlimited rides the day of purchase) Commuter Pass - 10 One-Way Rides - $20.00, 22 One-Way Rides - $40.00 Automobiles - $8.00 One-Way (includes driver) Motorcycles - $6.00 One-Way (includes driver) Bicycles - FREE (with paying rider) Groups of 20+ - Adults- $4.00 Round Trip, $2.00 One-Way Children- $2.00 Round Trip, $1.25 One-Way School Groups of 20+ - Students- $1.75 Round Trip, $1.00 One-Way (all chaperones FREE) www.inclinedplane.org/visitor-information/fares/
Thanks for watching and for your comments, Paul. I had the chance to profile some cool inclines in Switzerland way back in 2015. They were quite useful for getting around the neighborhoods. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
I currently live somewhere I am able to cycle everywhere all the time and not be too scared about dying. I might have to move back to PA. Maybe it will be Pittsburgh now, not sure I want to go back to Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh is NOT Philadelphia. Philadelphia was actually PLANNED, Pittsburgh just happened. Thus you have several grid patterns through out Pittsburgh and there do NOT always match up. The problems with Pittsburgh streets: 1.Just image where the grid pattern for Philadelphia meets the grid pattern from Germantown except this happens several times and none of the grid patterns are anywhere near the size of the Grid plans of Philadelphia and Germantown. Road often stop at a cross street then restart less then a block down that cross street. Then there is the “South” numbered streets. 2.When Pittsburgh was first “designed” it had numbered streets, as did the town of Birmingham that became the Southside of Pittsburgh. These numbered street did NOT line up with each other and the City decided rather then renamed those streets on the Southside but just put the word “South” in front of those numbered streets. 3.The City has turned some street around, thus you have Sixth Avenue at Fifth Avenue (These are “Avenues” that should go east to west but these two “Avenues” meet and intersect each other and neither have any connection with Fifth or Sixth Streets, Worse these are all downtown roads. The Streets are near the Allegheny River, both Avenues are nearer the Mongohelia river. 4.Some names are close, for example Brownsville Road (Technically it is 18th street til it leaves the City) and Brosville road. Both go over Mt Washington but in two different directions. 5.The South Hills is truly a mess and if not a native hard to understand. The main problem is in the 1800s the South Hills was the source of most of the coal used in the steel mills . Since the Steel mills (With just a few exceptions, for example J&L on the Southside) were NOT in the City of Pittsburgh but on the Mongohelia River near McKeesport AND around Carnegie and Chartiers Creek, the roads and railroads all tended to to to those two areas NOT to Pittsburgh itself. This was complicated by the cliffside that is Mt Washington.that made it difficult to go from Pittsburgh to the Southhills other then by McKeesport and Peters creek and McKees Rocks and Chartiers Creek (McKeepsport is upstream from Pittsburgh on the Mongohelia River, and McKees Rocks was downstream on the Ohio River). Thus roads from the South Hills to Pittsburgh proper where not developed till the Streetcar tunnel (still in use) was opened in 1905 followed by the Liberty tunnels for Automobiles in 1926. This created a three way push fro roads in the South hills, Roads to the Mongohelia River, roads to Carnegie and Chartier CreeK and then the third way directly to Pittsburgh via the Liberty Tunnels. 6.Another complications in the South Hills was and is Brownsville Road, which was used by stagecoaches to by pass a huge curve in the Mongohelia River and oday is a combination of a two lane street with businesses on both side till you get to PA 51. 7.Another complication is Parkway West which was built in the 1950s when Greater Pitt Airport was built. 8. Pa 51, Four Lane Highway built in the 1930s intended to bypass Brownsville road by shifting that traffic to the Liberty Tunnels. As you can see no actual planning, just patch work after patchwork complicated by the fact all of the South Hills was undermined in the 1800s (as was the rest of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, not just the South Hills) and thus any new road has to make sure the ground the road is built on is solid enough for a road (AND that requires finding out where the mine are and filling them In, many were never mapped and those that were map the maps were often inaccurate and years behind what was actually being mine. These old coal mines do have a good side, for exmaple, the Montour Trail follows an old coal train track, as does the Great Allegheny Passage. The Allegheny River trail also follows old coal train routes. There are plans to try to do a "Trail with Rails" along the old Wabash train route to Pittsburgh (its bridges tend to be painted "Norfolk and Western"). For at least a couple of decades that route has been owned by the Whelling and Lake Erie railway and that Railroad agreed to such a Trail with Rail on the Westland Branch of the Montour trail. Thus, unlike other plans that are all talk and no action, this may even occur.
Absolutely amazing!, well done Pittsburgh, keep going! 😄😊✌🏽👌🏽..
Thanks so much for joining us, Nova. Cheers! John
Congratulations to Scott and his organization for their good works. More cities need to make changes that benefit all modes of transportation and slow the traffic.
Agreed! Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Pittsburgh is definitely making steady progress, and for an American city it's pretty good. My main concern is the compromise on cyclist safety by using plastic flex posts and paint instead of concrete barriers or bollards, but it looks like BikePGH is in agreement that these eventually have to be replaced by real barriers and traffic calming. I just hope it won't take a mountain of martyrs to get it done.
I am definitely with you there! I observe this as a consistent approach in car-centric cities around the globe that are trying to move fast. The plastic flex posts are deployed as they quickly redesign the street space and demonstrate to the public that the world didn't stop spinning. This approach must, however, not be misused. These are truly temporary placeholders until more permanent infrastructure can be designed and installed. Additionally, one critical point is that adjacent motor vehicle traffic speeds and volumes must be reduced to non-lethal levels if your goal is to build a high-comfort "All Ages & Abilities" cycle network that people will actually use. When this can't be achieved then the facility is best positioned away from the highway or traffic sewer, if you will, with a grade-separated pathway network, similar to that employed by Oulu, Finland: th-cam.com/video/HlhNk5tn878/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much for watching and for your contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John
One of the effects of separate bike lanes is that most bike lanes are created by narrowing the other lanes, and narrower lanes are known to reduce traffic speeds. In effect narrow lanes are much more effective at reducing automobile speeds then are tickets (But most Government units perfer tickets for the revenue such tickets provide).
Great job Scott!!
Yes, indeed! And the entire Bike PGH team as well. Cheers! John
Pittsburgh needs to reinstate the Penn Avenue and Knoxville Inclines. Unlike the existing Mongohelia and Duquesne Incline (which are passenger only inclines) the Penn Avenue, Knoxville and Castle Shannon North inclines were Vehicle inclines, designed to haul horse drawn wagons up the Cliffsides of Pittsburgh. If the Penn Avenue Incline was rebuilt, you could ride to the strip district, take the Incline to the top of the Hill District and have a gentle down hill ride to Oakland and Shadyside.
As to the Knoxville Incline, Bicyclists could take it the top of Mt Washington instead of having to climb up McArdle Roadway, Sycamore Street, Arlington Avenue, Brosville Street or South 18th Street. All of those roads are long climbs and the Mongohelia Incline is just not big enough to fit more than one bicycle At a time on it (If the transit authority would run its Light Rail.Vehicles over Arlington, you could put your bike it it, but except when the transit tunnel is being worked on, no LRVs on Arlington Avenue).
If you want to see a vehicular Incline in operation go visit the Johnstown Incline. The Johnstown Incline can and even today haul automobiles in addition to bicycle and is the best way to get to the top of the hillside that overlooks Johnstown.
Pittsburgh use to have other vehicular inclines, the Castle Shannon North being the most famous after the Knoxville and Penn Avenue inclines but it's location, like the long closed and torn down Vehicular Mongohelia Incline (which was right next to the existing Mongohelia Incline) in my opinion inferior to the Knoxville Incline to get Bicyclists to the top of Mt Washington.
There is talk about rebuilding those inclines but it is only talk no real plans or proposed funding for such plans.
Here is Video on the Johnstown Incline (Each car has two compartments, a small one on the side of the car for people on foot, then a much larger compartment, orginally drsigned for horse drawn wagons but used for automobiles today (Up to the size of 3/4 ton suburbans ane Pickups and I think one ton truks but I have seen 3/4 ton suburbans on that incline, but never anything bigger): Bicycles are permitted on the Johnstown Incline. The Johnstown Incline is presently closed till February 23, 2024.
www.google.com/search?q=johnstown+incline&sca_esv=583685006&rlz=1C1CHZN_enUS1042US1042&tbm=vid&sxsrf=AM9HkKlXCQijkZKUXB4NFcXHRxvaE4Eogg:1700353778119&ei=8lZZZcHwBujMptQPz5-OoAc&start=10&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwjBsb-3586CAxVopokEHc-PA3QQ8NMDegQIDhAW&biw=1920&bih=923&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9b0368b2,vid:4g-kEOqqlAU,st:0
More on the Johnstown Incline:
www.inclinedplane.org/project-updates/
Fares are (2023):
Adults - $5.00 Round Trip, $3.00 One-Way
Children under 2 - FREE
Children 2 to 12 - $3.00 Round Trip, $2.00 One-Way
Seniors (65+ with ID) - FREE
All Day Wristband- $15 (unlimited rides the day of purchase)
Commuter Pass - 10 One-Way Rides - $20.00, 22 One-Way Rides - $40.00
Automobiles - $8.00 One-Way (includes driver)
Motorcycles - $6.00 One-Way (includes driver)
Bicycles - FREE (with paying rider)
Groups of 20+ - Adults- $4.00 Round Trip, $2.00 One-Way
Children- $2.00 Round Trip, $1.25 One-Way
School Groups of 20+ - Students- $1.75 Round Trip, $1.00 One-Way (all chaperones FREE)
www.inclinedplane.org/visitor-information/fares/
Thanks for watching and for your comments, Paul. I had the chance to profile some cool inclines in Switzerland way back in 2015. They were quite useful for getting around the neighborhoods. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
2024 - i live here and I'm a daily biker - dont own a car - and its grown even more these past 12 months.
Yay! That’s great. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! 😀
I currently live somewhere I am able to cycle everywhere all the time and not be too scared about dying. I might have to move back to PA. Maybe it will be Pittsburgh now, not sure I want to go back to Philadelphia.
I was impressed with PGH when I was there. And I look forward to a return visit. 😀
Pittsburgh is NOT Philadelphia. Philadelphia was actually PLANNED, Pittsburgh just happened. Thus you have several grid patterns through out Pittsburgh and there do NOT always match up. The problems with Pittsburgh streets:
1.Just image where the grid pattern for Philadelphia meets the grid pattern from Germantown except this happens several times and none of the grid patterns are anywhere near the size of the Grid plans of Philadelphia and Germantown. Road often stop at a cross street then restart less then a block down that cross street. Then there is the “South” numbered streets.
2.When Pittsburgh was first “designed” it had numbered streets, as did the town of Birmingham that became the Southside of Pittsburgh. These numbered street did NOT line up with each other and the City decided rather then renamed those streets on the Southside but just put the word “South” in front of those numbered streets.
3.The City has turned some street around, thus you have Sixth Avenue at Fifth Avenue (These are “Avenues” that should go east to west but these two “Avenues” meet and intersect each other and neither have any connection with Fifth or Sixth Streets, Worse these are all downtown roads. The Streets are near the Allegheny River, both Avenues are nearer the Mongohelia river.
4.Some names are close, for example Brownsville Road (Technically it is 18th street til it leaves the City) and Brosville road. Both go over Mt Washington but in two different directions.
5.The South Hills is truly a mess and if not a native hard to understand. The main problem is in the 1800s the South Hills was the source of most of the coal used in the steel mills . Since the Steel mills (With just a few exceptions, for example J&L on the Southside) were NOT in the City of Pittsburgh but on the Mongohelia River near McKeesport AND around Carnegie and Chartiers Creek, the roads and railroads all tended to to to those two areas NOT to Pittsburgh itself. This was complicated by the cliffside that is Mt Washington.that made it difficult to go from Pittsburgh to the Southhills other then by McKeesport and Peters creek and McKees Rocks and Chartiers Creek (McKeepsport is upstream from Pittsburgh on the Mongohelia River, and McKees Rocks was downstream on the Ohio River). Thus roads from the South Hills to Pittsburgh proper where not developed till the Streetcar tunnel (still in use) was opened in 1905 followed by the Liberty tunnels for Automobiles in 1926. This created a three way push fro roads in the South hills, Roads to the Mongohelia River, roads to Carnegie and Chartier CreeK and then the third way directly to Pittsburgh via the Liberty Tunnels.
6.Another complications in the South Hills was and is Brownsville Road, which was used by stagecoaches to by pass a huge curve in the Mongohelia River and oday is a combination of a two lane street with businesses on both side till you get to PA 51.
7.Another complication is Parkway West which was built in the 1950s when Greater Pitt Airport was built.
8. Pa 51, Four Lane Highway built in the 1930s intended to bypass Brownsville road by shifting that traffic to the Liberty Tunnels.
As you can see no actual planning, just patch work after patchwork complicated by the fact all of the South Hills was undermined in the 1800s (as was the rest of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, not just the South Hills) and thus any new road has to make sure the ground the road is built on is solid enough for a road (AND that requires finding out where the mine are and filling them In, many were never mapped and those that were map the maps were often inaccurate and years behind what was actually being mine.
These old coal mines do have a good side, for exmaple, the Montour Trail follows an old coal train track, as does the Great Allegheny Passage. The Allegheny River trail also follows old coal train routes. There are plans to try to do a "Trail with Rails" along the old Wabash train route to Pittsburgh (its bridges tend to be painted "Norfolk and Western"). For at least a couple of decades that route has been owned by the Whelling and Lake Erie railway and that Railroad agreed to such a Trail with Rail on the Westland Branch of the Montour trail. Thus, unlike other plans that are all talk and no action, this may even occur.
Peaceful streets might be harder to quantify.
There are definitely some good resources for establishing metrics of measurement