BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I think There should be at least one wide sidewalk the Length of Ohio River Blvd. from the McKees. Rocks Bridge to at least Ferry St. in Leetsdale.The speed limit should be reduced from 40 MPH to 25 MPH along the sections in residential and business districts. Instead of two car lanes each way in residential and business districts, the road should be reconfigured in a similar way to Negley Ave. and Forbes Ave. with one bike lane each way, one car lane each way, and a center turning lane. Cyclists can use the sidewalks on the undeveloped sections with few pedestrians.

There is a sidewalk already present for most of that distance, though not all. For some of those breaks, there is space for a sidewalk, but not all. In many spots, what sidewalk exists is in poor condition, weed-choked, or both.

@Stu, Do those sections which lack sidewalks have any usable shoulder? I know there are shoulders by I-79 in Glenfield, but the have intermittent rumble strips that take up the entire width of the shoulder. Any sidewalk/shoulder repair should be prioritized. Does this remind anyone of Negley Ave. before the road diet?

Yes, with about 3x the traffic, moving on average half-again faster than Negley. You’re not getting a road diet here. You’re just as likely to have them scrap the sidewalk space altogether and make it five lanes. I am simultaneously curious and scared of what they will come up with here.

Negley before the road diet wasn't terrible. When there wasn't a lot of traffic cars would move into the other lane to pass. When there was a ton of traffic things moved very slowly. It's better with the bike Lanes but it wasn't awful before. I biked that stretch daily for years commuting to Oakland in all weather and all times of day. ORB is scary. Highway scary.

If the road wasn't so dangerous, less people will be driving and more will ride bikes and walk.

Today, I rode from Downtown to Sewickley. The only major issue I had was on Rt. 51 between the McKees Rocks Bridge and the bridge to Neville Rd. as there were copious amounts of high-speed truck traffic and the sidewalk is in terrible disrepair as well as blocked by telephone poles. If at all possible, I would like to avoid that stretch of Rt. 51 and all of Rt. 65. What would be the safest/easiest way to go from Emsworth to Glenfield while avoiding Rt. 65, buses, and narrow, shoulder-less Roosevelt Rd.? I have 25mm tires so I'm not sure about Toms Run Rd. Toms Run Rd. terminates at Rt. 65 in Kilbuck Twp.

Outbound I do Mickey's Rocks Bridge, Neville, and Sewickley Bridge, but that involves two trafficky bridges and two short but unpleasant stretches of 51. Once out there I often do Little Sewickley Creek, Audubon, then inbound Mt. Nebo (big hill) and Roosevelt. Hilly and not direct, so it might not be the best option if you're not into distance and hills, but a shitton safer than 65.

@Ornoth, That's exactly what I already did yesterday. That first stretch of Rt. 51 in Stowe Township is horrendous. It has nonstop heavy truck traffic that is very stinky and intimidating to be behind. The sidewalk is in horrible disrepair, covered with sand in areas, and also blocked by telephone poles and illegally parked cars in places. That was the worst part of the trip and exactly what i want to avoid. Rt. 51 west of Coraopolis to the Sewickley bridge was totally fine as it has wide, rumble strip protected shoulders. If needed, I can dismount and walk across the rightmost lane into the lane connecting to the bridge. The main issue with Rt. 65 in Kilbuck Township is that the rumble strips take up the entire width of the shoulder which is a death sentence to cyclists. The shoulder should be redone with the narrow rumble strips like those on McKnight Rd., and Rt. 51.

Here is a link to an article about “bicycle tolerable” rumble strips. https://bicyclecoalition.org/penndot-amends-rumble-strip-guidelines-to-improve-bicycle-compatibility/

Bump!

I'm not sure what type of response you're looking for, ZZ. your last few posts don't have a clear question in them other people can answer.

About the shoulder-wide rumble strips on Rt. 65 in Kilbuck Township and Glenfield. These rumble strips make cyclists have to risk there lives by forcing them into the travel lanes with high-speed traffic, or take a very long, hilly, and convoluted route just to go from Emsworth to Haysville where they can get on Beaver St. and continue to Sewickley and beyond. Honestly, I do not see a reason for letting cyclists on the I-79 bridge to Neville Island if there really is nowhere to go once they are in Glenfield unless Glenfield is a town full of cyclists that commute to Neville Island for work.

These rumble strips are unacceptable.

Zz, you should contact Penndot and let them know. That's the best I can offer. https://customercare.penndot.gov/Intranet/PennDOT/Press/eCCC.nsf/m_Start.xsp

@Eric, Yesterday, I filed a report on the problem with the above picture attached. I hope something will get done about it. I also reported about glass on the Highland Park Bridge sidewalk.

Good job. Out of the three reporting websites (Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, and Penndot) I've found Penndot to be the most helpful time after time with actual communication and status updates and actually getting work done very quickly.

@Eric, Maybe, should I suggest sidewalks in Harmarville as well?

I got a response.

Good Morning Zach,

While we understand your concern of the rumble strips in the shoulder on 65 the Department is unable to address this until we have a project come through that would be able to redo the shoulders. When the project comes through we will take this into consideration and coordinate with the project manager. Your interest in our transportation system in Allegheny County is greatly appreciated and if you have any questions or would like to discuss further please feel free to reach out to me directly preferably by phone.

Thank you,

William Lesterick | District Safety Manager

PA Department of Transportation | Engineering District 11-0

Traffic Engineering Unit | Safety Section

45 Thoms Run Road | Bridgeville PA 15017

Phone: 412.429.4803 | Fax: 412.429.4978

www.dot.state.pa.us

Subject: CCC Submission: Concern #54739

A new concern was submitted on 09/20/2019: Tracking Number: 54739 Reference Number: 20190920-BG7UYA Estimated Initial Contact Date: 09/24/2019 Estimated Completion Date: 10/04/2019 Source: Public User {Web Browser} Category, Type: Road or Bridge Conditions, Shoulder, Curb, Barrier Mapped Location: 8387 Ohio River Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15202, USA Nearest Cross Street Or Intersection: - County, City, State Route: Allegheny, Pittsburgh, PA - 065 Description: There are shoulder wide rumble strips in various places along the shoulders. This kind of rumble strip is not compliant with Pennsylvania rumble strip guidelines and are a death trap for cyclists. This is a very important connection for cyclists traveling from Emsworth to communities upstream on the Ohio River. Going from Emsworth to Sewickley requires a hilly, convoluted, and long detour around this stretch of road. Contact Preference: Email Email: Zachzwergel15 AT hotmail.com Phone: - Name: Zwergel, Zach Mailing Address: -

 

WTF is wrong? I need to remove the HTML

Good Morning Zach,

While we understand your concern of the rumble strips in the shoulder on 65 the Department is unable to address this until we have a project come through that would be able to redo the shoulders. When the project comes through we will take this into consideration and coordinate with the project manager. Your interest in our transportation system in Allegheny County is greatly appreciated and if you have any questions or would like to discuss further please feel free to reach out to me directly preferably by phone.

Thank you,

William Lesterick | District Safety Manager

PA Department of Transportation | Engineering District 11-0

Traffic Engineering Unit | Safety Section

45 Thoms Run Road | Bridgeville PA 15017

Phone: 412.429.4803 | Fax: 412.429.4978

www.dot.state.pa.us

Subject: CCC Submission: Concern #54739

A new concern was submitted on 09/20/2019: Tracking Number: 54739 Reference Number: 20190920-BG7UYA Estimated Initial Contact Date: 09/24/2019 Estimated Completion Date: 10/04/2019 Source: Public User {Web Browser} Category, Type: Road or Bridge Conditions, Shoulder, Curb, Barrier Mapped Location: 8387 Ohio River Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15202, USA Nearest Cross Street Or Intersection: - County, City, State Route: Allegheny, Pittsburgh, PA - 065 Description: There are shoulder wide rumble strips in various places along the shoulders. This kind of rumble strip is not compliant with Pennsylvania rumble strip guidelines and are a death trap for cyclists. This is a very important connection for cyclists traveling from Emsworth to communities upstream on the Ohio River. Going from Emsworth to Sewickley requires a hilly, convoluted, and long detour around this stretch of road. Contact Preference: Email Email: Zachzwergel15 AT hotmail.com Phone: - Name: Zwergel, Zach Mailing Address: -

Good Morning Zach, While we understand your concern of the rumble strips in the shoulder on 65 the Department is unable to address this until we have a project come through that would be able to redo the shoulders. When the project comes through we will take this into consideration and coordinate with the project manager. Your interest in our transportation system in Allegheny County is greatly appreciated and if you have any questions or would like to discuss further please feel free to reach out to me directly preferably by phone. Thank you, William Lesterick | District Safety Manager PA Department of Transportation | Engineering District 11-0 Traffic Engineering Unit | Safety Section 45 Thoms Run Road | Bridgeville PA 15017 Phone: 412.429.4803 | Fax: 412.429.4978 www.dot.state.pa.us Subject: CCC Submission: Concern #54739 A new concern was submitted on 09/20/2019: Tracking Number: 54739 Reference Number: 20190920-BG7UYA Estimated Initial Contact Date: 09/24/2019 Estimated Completion Date: 10/04/2019 Source: Public User {Web Browser} Category, Type: Road or Bridge Conditions, Shoulder, Curb, Barrier Mapped Location: 8387 Ohio River Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15202, USA Nearest Cross Street Or Intersection: - County, City, State Route: Allegheny, Pittsburgh, PA - 065 Description: There are shoulder wide rumble strips in various places along the shoulders. This kind of rumble strip is not compliant with Pennsylvania rumble strip guidelines and are a death trap for cyclists. This is a very important connection for cyclists traveling from Emsworth to communities upstream on the Ohio River. Going from Emsworth to Sewickley requires a hilly, convoluted, and long detour around this stretch of road. Contact Preference: Email Email: Zachzwergel15@hotmail.com Phone: - Name: Zwergel, Zach Mailing Address: -

Z, I think you figured it out. Next time, though, use the Edit button within an hour of the post to do any cleanup. I’m almost always going back in to edit something, whether for content or cosmetics. And while you can’t delete a post, you can remove all the content and replace it with a “.” I usually also uncheck the “keep a log of this edit” box.

probably also good in the future to edit out your full name and/or contact information (email, phone, address, etc.) if you're worried about privacy issues.

@Stu, @Eric, I'll have to remember that. Today, I rode from Downtown to Glenfield. The hardest part was climbing Josephs Lane which I had to walk. Dealing with traffic and road construction on Mt. Nebo Rd. was no fun either. Some other day, I will take the bus to Glenfield and try to bike to Sewickley from there via Neville Island and Coraopolis. Here is a link to Strava. https://www.strava.com/activities/2739761771