BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Awesome. Can't wait for this to be done. I'm sick of riding through a gauntlet of puddles (even on dry days). This will be a great improvement and will make this a way better commuter trail.

I'm particularly interested in the fact that it will apparently be canted toward the river--maybe it'll finally drain now!

Yessss. Finally. Might I suggest that someone please post a reminder sign (y'know, an actual sign, on a post) somewhere before the railroad tracks so I don't waste 10 minutes riding down to the boathouse? There's a usually quite usable bridge across the river just prior to that, but I need to know to use it before I cross the tracks by the Rt 28 overpass. And similarly, one on Heinz St as well as the trail itself near the 16th St Bridge so I know to cross the river and go up to the 40SB.

thats good news i was able to ride just past where the crushed limestone started this morning before being directed onto river road coming from pnc park those alcosan trucks made a mess of the trail maybee now that it wont be crushed limestone it will hold up better

This is great, but I may be a bit screwed. I have not been keeping up on the boards and just saw this today. I parked in Millvale at the boathouse today right off of 28 and rode into to town. The trail was open this AM. If the trail is closed tonight after work, does any have a suggestion as to how I get back to my car tonight.

Trail or River Ave up to 16th str bridge, jump on sidewalk (downstream) make a right at Penn, make a right at 15th st, make a right at Smallman St, stay on Smallman up to 36 St, make a right on 36th st, immediate left on Charlotte St, right at 38th st, left on Mineral way, right on 39th st, left on Butler (or walk one block on sidewallk), take upstream sidewalk on 40t st bridge and it would take you to trail parking.

eppi wrote:If the trail is closed tonight after work, does any have a suggestion as to how I get back to my car tonight.

Strip District Trail to 21st, 23rd, or 25th. Railroad to 31st. (Optionally, Spruce to 33rd, though pavement's not great and there'll be giant puddles if it rains at all.) Smallman to 36th. left on 36th. (warning: really crappy pavement on 36.) At the 'Geyer' sign, turn right into parking lot. There's usually a bunch of school buses at the end--walk or ride slowly to find the gap between the concrete barriers behind the buses. Continue across the next lot. At the far end of the lot, under the 40th St Bridge, find the gap in the barriers, then turn right on 40th. At end, right on Foster, immediate right on 40SB (upstream) sidewalk. Watch for glass. At end of bridge, right on E Ohio St sidewalk down the hill to Bridge St, right to parking lot.

Thanks guys. I am all set.. Strip to 40th st bridge.

I rode a bit of that trail yesterday afternoon (starting from the stadium end), someone had been installing caution tape & atempting to block all the random entrance/exit points between 9th & 16th st. I just hope it isnt them dumping oodles of crushed rock on the trrail though, its nice for walkers/joggers, its fugly to ride over.

i rode to the trail this morning it was closed but there was asphalt put down it looked pretty good

A friend ran this yesterday and said it's looking good. Anyone know if this will open before Friday?

Bump, anyone see how this was coming along today. Wondering if it will be open for bike to work day?

Off topic but ... PennDOT has tentatively set May 24 for reopening the city end of the 31st Street Bridge.

Bah. I was hoping I could repeat my earlier first crossing (see blog post), but alas, this year I am employed, and that rather takes priority.

Looks like this was still closed as of 5pm or so. I expect it may be closed for a couple more days

they were paving the trail at lunch time i rode up river road and saw the paving equipment i dont know if its finished

Yay for trail improvements! Are they replacing all of the crushed limestone with asphalt, though? That would be unfortunate. Something like the (better maintained parts of the) Jail Trail would best accommodate all trail users.

I don't even think they had crushed limestone, it was a puddly and buggy mess every time I rode it last summer. This will be great. I'll try and scope it out tomorrow after work and see if it's open again.

A couple shots of the trail near the thirty first street bridge. The trail is rough - asphalt with oil and chips. Its loose too

now we are getting oil and chip on the trails too .... ughhhhh

This, and the latest story about the connection plans for McKees Rocks first got me very excited. Then this? I guess the new GAP segment at least is pretty well done. Will try that tomorrow if I can find a little time for it.

I may go in this way in the morning, if it's open, and will report back.

byogman wrote:This, and the latest story about the connection plans for McKees Rocks first got me very excited. Then this?

Did you read the McKees rocks plans? They want to put sharrows on west carson. I'm not excited.

Sorry, not clear. This "this" was the lesser of the two "this"s to which I referred to in "Then this?". I wrote Rich Fitzgerald and submitted the form to SPC to voice my incredulity and extreme disapproval at the primary "this".

byogman wrote:I wrote Rich Fitzgerald and submitted the form to SPC to voice my incredulity and extreme disapproval at the primary “this”.

This is good :)

Sharrows are ok when the average speed is under 50 mph and the majority of drivers arent complete lunatics. But down that far on West Carson seems to be a misuse of the materials that could be better used elsewhere within the city.

Trip report. Nicely done oil-and-chip surface. No loose gravel. Very even, thick application. This starts from the back of the building where the kayak folks gather, near the Millvale Industrial Park, all the way down to the condos next to the 9th Street Bridge. If there was asphalt already there, it's still there. If it was dirt, it's now this. There are a couple of places where, if you wander off the edge, you drop down several inches. I'm OK with that, as you would already be heading off into the weeds if you did that. There are few pinch points on this trail. The application goes the entire width of the very wide trail. At one point, I passed two women riding side by side and had plenty of space to do so without crowding them or feeling squeezed against the opposite edge. I am trying to remember if, at the point where the trail splits for a bit, both sections are paved. I had to deal with some traffic at that point in my travels so did not take notice. All in all, thumbs up.

Can we please take the West Carson discussion back over to the West Carson thread?

Sorry for going OT. Thanks for the Ride Report Stu. Glad to hear the surface is smooth and not loose. I'm going to check this out today.

I found it to be loose and rough, just yesterday. I think it needs a lot of wearing down. I ride a 28 x 1-1/4 x 1-3/4 tire (thin hybrid, if there is such a thing) - and I wanted off the trail as soon as possible.

Compared to the tar-and-chip treatment county roads get, I didn't find anything dangerously loose. It isn't asphalt smooth; yeah, it's a different kind of rough. But IMHO it's an improvement over the holes and rough surface it replaced, more of an "even roughness".

it may not be perfect, but i think its better now than the hardpack dirt & pothole (with / without stagnant rainwater) surface that it had before.

Agreed, better than what it replaced.

Rode it last night. It was nice. It wasn't as smooth as asphalt, but way better than puddles. I think there were even a few less bugs than usual. A lot of other people thought it was a good idea to use them too, the trails were really busy. They used tar and chip for a reason, it's cheap, and doesn't crack like standard asphalt, so it requires a lot less maintinance and patching. Actually, it might be pretty nice in the winter and in the rain since it's got a little more traction.

i also had a trip on the completed surface, when i rode it last week, it was the rough paving, but now its the stone & chip. its not too bad, its probly something that will require a bit of wear.

For those who use the north shore trail. It looks like you'll be able to get there via the 31st st bridge after today. http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/section-of-31st-street-bridge-from-lawrenceville-to-washingtons-landing-to-reopen-688963/

Rode it yesterday. Not so impressed but its better than the water filled holes. I think once things get flattened more it will be better but now still seems a little loose.

I took a ride up the Millvale/Northside trail the other day, and noticed that the tar-and-chip is already worn in pretty well, making some pretty smooth inbound and outbound "lanes" in the surface. Must be getting a good bit of traffic. Hopefully the completion of this paving project will lead to an eventual extension out to Etna/Sharpsburg/62nd St Bridge/etc.

i hope so. rode it a week or so ago--might be better for those with bigger wheels, but on my road tires it was awful. got on at the city end, got right off at the first parking lot, opposite the confluence building.

I haven't tried it in the dark yet. But previously, night riding on that trail was a bit of a crapshoot, as you couldn't see the holes and puddles/lakes to avoid them. I am also curious to see how well this holds up over winter. Perrymont Road in McCandless got a tar-and-chip re-do in June of 2011, and by February 2012 had a nasty pothole.

I think the tar and chip is 'supposed' to be a bit better since it's more flexible than asphalt and won't chunk off in the same way. Only time will tell though. I've been through at night, it's not bad. A bit buggy, but predictable assuming you've got a half way decent commuter light. I can't even ride on the strip district trail now, there are more bugs there than I've ever seen before. Just waves and waves of them. There are a few on the north shore side, but the strip side is way too much.

Are there any bat enthusiasts in the house? Bats are excellent bug eaters. If we could entice a couple colonies of bats to set up shop along in there somewhere, that would help, I'm sure.

There used to be some bat houses near panther hollow lake- I suspect the aformentioned bugs are midges, small black flying insects that sometimes hatch out in large numbers. They usually will not remain real thick for a long period. We do have some mayflies hatching out on the north shore today. First ones aI have seen this year.