hi all, we are looking for houses, mainly in the following areas: Bellevue, Ben Avon, Emmsworth, maybe Ross or mcandless
id like to know how bike friendly it is to live in these places? I can see Bellevue as being easy as it has easy access to the north side trail and you can be downtown in under an hour. Do you feel as if emmsworth is a stretch in this regard? What about Sewickley? I would like to live somewhere that I can easily bike into town, to the trails, and maybe even north park.
also how is the general population in regard to driver knowledge of how to drive with cyclists? I'd imagine the roads and the drivers get more non-advocated the further you get from town.
What do you think? I live in Swissvale now and I'm really going to miss all of trails around here and the easy access to the city.
italianblend
2017-07-07 09:38:41
Take a few dozen trips up and down Liberty between downtown and the Bloomfield Bridge, then come back and talk. If you are not already unabashedly taking the lane on high-capacity, high-speed thoroughfares like Liberty around 29th St, all suburban roads will seem hostile.
stuinmccandless
2017-07-07 12:12:28
The main drag through bellview / ben avon / emsworth etc via California / church is not bad if you just stay in traffic. I find it's a great weekend ride out to emsworth for coffee at anchor and anvil. YMMV during rush hour.
Might Consider scoping out the strava heat map to see what's frequently used. Though, some of those are definitely faster roads used for longer road rides to escape the urban core, so use your best judgement.
http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#14/-80.02647/40.48214/orange/bike
benzo
2017-07-07 13:43:31
As @Benzo said, the main drag through those boroughs (California/Lincoln/California/Church/Center) is not bad, and taking the lane is not a big deal. The busiest stretch is through Bellevue on Lincoln Ave, since that's a business district. Once you are past the so-called Avalon Loop (where the 16 PAT bus turns around) and Lincoln Ave ends/Church Ave begins, it becomes mostly residential and it's a pleasant ride. That main stretch through Bellevue, Avalon, Ben Avon, and Emsworth is way more enjoyable than the scenario @Stu described above. I think what he described applies more to Ross or McCandless, or the PA565/Ohio River Blvd section of Bellevue, Avalon, etc.
chrishent
2017-07-07 13:59:50
Thanks all. I have no qualms about taking a lane and would prefer it through the Bellevue business district. Just want a general sense of a cyclist living in these suburbs. Don't want to move somewhere far enough from the city that I never visit it anymore.
Is the ride from emmsworth to say the rivers casino something you would do on a regular basis?
italianblend
2017-07-07 14:39:19
Something else to consider is winter riding. I don't frequent it, but others have commented that the N.S. trail is not maintained much after snow/ice events. You can always use Beaver Ave, but just something to add to your decision making.
marko82
2017-07-07 15:33:43
The authority on the NW part of town, other than @Vannevar, is @swalfoort, who lives near that closed bridge.
stuinmccandless
2017-07-08 17:30:28
Yeah, pretty much the entire north shore trail is unmainted through the winter. When there is no snow / ice on the road, doesn't mean that there won't be snow / ice on the trail. I would be heading via beaver inbound/ california outbound. Trails get rutted and icy and may be unrideable.
Brighton Rd is an option that isn't a bad ride, but is quite hilly if coming from those areas as well. There is also a switchback ramp to connect from california / beaver ave to marshall ave. Not necessarily too useful depending on where you're headed, but nice to know about.
Personally, I like this ride for the most part, I would do it regularly if I had more reasons to.
benzo
2017-07-09 10:05:03
If you don't like the up-and-down nature (and traffic volume) of Brighton, try Shadeland, which bridges Woods Run rather than dropping into and climbing out of it, and doesn't have nearly as many cars to boot.
epanastrophe
2017-07-09 15:13:18
We are looking at a house in emmsworth and as we were leaving I saw a few cyclists on church Ave. having a mini tour de avonworth. God's way of saying "yeah , you can bike here, relax."
italianblend
2017-07-10 13:16:51
I live at the edge of Bellevue and Brighton Heights and regularly bike into downtown via the river trail or surface street of California Ave. It's not bad at all. Getting back up the hill can be less fun at the end of a long day, but the other nice thing about the area is that there are several PAT bus options to get you over the hump on a long day. Once you're up the hill from the river, there are plenty of reasonably-flat neighborhood riding options to get around.
carlydb
2017-07-11 11:08:37
