BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Yeah, they're going to be shoulders for now. we know how important this connection is, and we're trying to explore options to slow traffic down to actually do the posted speed limit.

I have been guilty of going way to fast on that stretch as well. It's especially bad during rush hour, even when I am in my car if I go 35mph people can't WAIT to get around me only to get caught at the light.

i think we've all been guilty of that.

it's a poorly designed city road that goes through a park

that's really exciting. !

They're not bad at all! I was pleasantly surprised to see how much room they carved out for the bike lanes. I did my usual roll-up-the-sidewalk thing this morning and observed all the cars -- I saw NO cars cutting onto the striped bike lane. Sure, the car lanes were tighter, but no one seemed to have any trouble driving within the stripes. Good news!

So it's simply a matter of putting the road on a diet -- bike lanes for the cost of paint only.

Only a couple of complaints -- first, I will now feel obligated to ride my bicycle rather than roll on it. I already feel somehow guilty for trundling along at 5mph, looking around at the trees, scanning for deer in the cemetery and generally being lazy.

Second it is too bad the lane striping only extends between Dallas and the bridge. I guess that's all we get for free as the road narrows beyond those points. I'd like to see some explicit marking to connect the lanes to Beechwood. I wonder whether it would make sense to mark (inbound) a left-turn bike lane from Forbes onto Dallas left-right onto the Beechwood bike lane up the hill. I'll try it out this week when I start riding.

Once you're past Dallas it gets much safer and slower after the light so to me it's not such a bad thing for it to end there, the bridge can still be a little scary though.

Something I saw a lot in Hawaii were bike lanes that turned into yielding shared roads usually at intersections with a turning lane. Basically the bike lane would merge into a turning lane for cars and widen a bit. Lots of signage and a new style line kept drivers in the know about the situation.

Ryan, can you describe the "new style line" in more detail or better yet send us a photo?

Like meow?

Yes, thank you. They had those style lanes along with a sign just before telling everyone what was coming up.

I agree about the traffic speed past Dallas, and if you are used to cycling on roads in Pittsburgh it's no big deal. But from the point of view of popularizing cycling it's a shame that we have two bicycle lanes within a hundred feet of each other which don't connect. And one of them just ends right there.

we're exploring getting them to connect with sharrows.

I rode it today. It's a bit narrow for my taste, especially given the storm drains and branches to dodge (it was right after the hail storm). It's more than a shoulder but less than a bike lane.

As was mentioned above, cars still tend to pass uncomfortably close on the bridge. I don't know what can be done about that.

It's better than nothing and I commend the city for doing it. I'll probably take Forbes more in the future, but it's still not a bike-friendly road.

It is an improvement, I will most likely ride as close to or on the stripe as possible.

Is it legal to ride slowly on that sidewalk? My wife is still not that experienced a cyclist and I recommend to her she go around Forbes over into Point Breeze, but this is a more direct route for her.

as far as i can tell, it is legal to ride the sidewalk.

there are also very few peds on there, so it would make a fine route for a slow ride

Yeah, doesn't the law state that you can ride on the sidewalk as long as it is:

1) Not expressly prohibited (i.e. signed)

2) Not a business district (i.e. Carson Street)

I rode this on Sunday afternoon inbound from Edgewood. I live in Sq. Hill and had made the trip out via a different route. Imagine my surprise when I saw a lush, smooth, clean, boldly striped shoulder to ride on. Fine, it doesn't have bike markings, but this is a heck of a lot better than riding the right lane and screaming back and forth with car drivers jacked that you are taking up one of "their" lanes. Last time some jerk told me to share the road even though he had the full left lane to pass. This new lane is going to make the trip to the co-op a fun ride instead of a dreaded nightmare.

This just in, a good way to get killed is being too lazy to ride up to dallas and prematurely cutting left onto beechwood via the break in the median used by cars on beechwood to enter Forbes.

Yeah, I wouldn't do that.

But it bring to mind another (pretty minor) complaint -- in the other direction, outbound, downhill, the shoulder markings begin right at that cut-through, which would encourage the downhill cyclist to hug the right edge at that point. THAT'S DANGEROUS.

Cars sit at the intersection on Beechwood waiting to enter Forbes. Are they looking for cyclists? You never know for sure. Since this is the downhill direction, much better to take the lane at speed (at least at that point) and even veer well left in order to dodge that inattentive entering car. AFTER the intersection, move over to the shoulder.

[edit -- posted by Nate]

Also, beware when heading towards Squirrel Hill that the lane suddenly ends and the car lanes do shift pretty quickly. Just watch out for drivers since they won't see it coming as well as a cyclist will.

Other than that the new shoulder is awesome, super wide at points and the cars seemed to respect my right to the road more than in the past.

took this bike by shooting yesterday

the cars were stopped, bumper to bumper for like a mile, and there was plenty of room to fly past them all as they watched. made me feel so good, couldn't keep the smirk off my face.