BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Once you're in the strip, I'd recommend taking Smallman St rather than Liberty. Smallman has a lot less traffic at slower speeds. Make a left at the Greyhound station and turn right onto Smallman right there to avoid fast moving cars.

I used to work in that building for Dollar Bank, I think it was 2700 Liberty Ave? It was great biking to work since showers are provided in that office building.

I'd be very concerned about the trolley tracks.

Back when I was commuting, I'd take West Liberty to Southern Ave. to Sycamore then Carson to the Smithfield St. Bridge. Worked okay for me.

Pioneer is not a lot of fun. I have not taken it in the AM but I used to drive it all the time. The problem is it's too narrow to really pass a cyclist well. Plus you'll be heading in the direction as all of traffic as well.

Take W. Libery. It's wider and your speed will more closely match traffic. When you hit the backed up traffic there will be more room to move rather than the two lanes of Pioneer.

Take Boggs or Southern. (Southern is flatter) I agree, the tracks are no good. Come down McArdle instead.

If you have any questions let me know. I ride the above route a couple of times a week and I know there are a few other guys that do roughly the same thing every day.

Personally, I avoid Warrington & Arlington. Streetcar tracks give me the heebie-jeebies -- they really limit your options on the road. You're either trapped in the door zone, or you're trapped in the center of the lane with motorists breathing down your neck and no easy way to let them over even if you find a stretch of road with no parked cars. Maybe a fat-tire hybrid won't drop into the track? I haven't tried...

I would prefer Boggs-Southern-Wyoming-Sycamore, though I gather there's some debate about Sycamore among the forum denizens.

I'm not familiar with the West Liberty - Sawmill Run intersection but it looks like it could be challenging at rush hour. Fortunately, there's a left-turn only lane, so it shouldn't be too bad.

I might use the sidewalk up that on-ramp, depending on how the traffic behaves.

I suggest giving your route a dry run on a Sunday morning, with low traffic, just to time it and see how early you need to leave to get to work on time. My SWAG is roughly an hour.

Have you tried driving it during rush hour?

One thing for certain: you're going to be in great shape if you do that ride every day!

(Edit: Make a left at the Greyhound station and turn right onto Smallman right there to avoid fast moving cars. That would be Penn. Easy to ride Penn up to Wholeys and then jog over to Smallman up to 26th St. What's better may depend on the time of day and how much traffic is going into those parking lots on Smallman).

Thanks for the great advice. I'll try the Southern route tomorrow if I can, but need to get a few more miles under my belt before using it for an actual commute.

I work at the buncher building (liberty tech. center) on 21st.

I take grant, left to twelfth street, right to penn avenue, left on fifteenth, right on smallman and then a right at 21st street.

I prefer penn over smallman between 12th and 15th, because there is no traffic on penn outbound and the cars are mad when queuing up on penn to turn into the various surface lots in the morning.

if you're working at one of the buncher buildings between 26th and 28th streets on liberty, then you could take the alley behind all the buildings that runs next to the railroad tracks. I see other cyclists take this route throughout the day and I take it home sometimes. it starts at 21st and runs all the way to 33rd street.

The W Liberty/Saw Mill intersection isn't too bad. The light at the left turn lane will not pick up a bike if there are no cars in line with you, so you may need to run it while the straight traffic has their green. You can wait at the edge of the island for a pause in traffic coming out of the tube or the green going your way. Doesn't usually take too long.

When approaching the tubes, if traffic is backed up, get to the left side of the road sooner rather than later. If you stick to the sidewalk until Pioneer you have to get across 2 lanes of cars that have been waiting in line for a while, are packed tightly and are anxious to cheat the lights. There is generally plenty of room down the middle of the road or along the left shoulder once you get passed the bus ramp.

The ramp from W Lib up to Southern never really gets crowded and the curb is high, so just stay in the street.

IMHO, Pioneer avoids the easy part of W Liberty. Just don't pass a 44U unless you can stay in front of it.

Ditto on the T track on Warrington/Arlington. Besides the usual wet track problems there just isn't enough room for you and the T to occupy the same section of road at the same time.

If you want to hook up with the car free Friday ride, I should be passing by Pioneer and W Liberty around 7:45.

The light should pick up a metal rim if you can find the sensor wires (if you can't... I dunno, I guess someone could get a metal detector and mark the location with paint?) and lay the wheel down across one corner of the sensor loop. If not, the sensor is not properly adjusted, call 311 and tell them they need to turn up the gain. If you are riding a carbon fiber bike with composite rims and kevlar spokes in to town... Well. Where do you park it, again?

(edit: This paper says you should keep the wheel vertical directly over the wire instead of tipping it sideways. Sure is less funny-looking than what I usually do. )

The sensors are there and I've waited two rounds while on top of them in the past to no avail. I've even had cars sit back from me trying to be nice and give me space be back too far to trigger it. Since the handy dandy PA Guide to Cycling says I have a legitimate reason not to have to wait through a loooong red light (http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdBikePed.nsf/infoChapterNine?OpenForm) I'm in no hurry for them to change it.

Affix a chrome bumper from a vega or somesuch to the front of your bike.