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road closure on boundary street (at rr crossing)

does anyone know how long this is going to be closed? i portaged through/over today, but if its going to be under construction for an extended period of time, ill have to figure out a different route for work.


emilywools
2010-08-24 13:15:51

jeez why is this all happening at once?


caitlin
2010-08-24 13:23:11

You can cut across the street from Forbes to the library sidewalk, then to Schenley Drive and get over to Jonclaire, take the sidewalk and then there is a driveway looking thing that drops down to Boundary


Anybody know if the trail across the river from Sec Ave can be accessed in the morning? Like around 6:30/7am


sgtjonson
2010-08-24 13:44:29

@pierce: thanks for the info. cobbles/sidewalk is not nearly as fun as the head rush that i get zooming down boundary in the am, but i might have to sacrifice it till the construction is over.


emilywools
2010-08-24 13:46:48

I get a bit of a rush zooming down cobbles. Maybe it will grow on you :)


dwillen
2010-08-24 13:51:11

hmm... i usually get a headache. its worth another try, i suppose!


emilywools
2010-08-24 13:57:53

I encountered the same situation today except I'm coming from Boundary into Oakland. The steep driveway and cobbles weren't fun on the way up either.


iheartmybike
2010-08-24 14:12:04

ewww yes if i have to go up joncaire, i take the sidewalk, and its deceivingly steep!


emilywools
2010-08-24 14:16:34

This is such an inconvenience for me. If anyone doesn't know yet, I live on Boundary St, and getting my bike, car or legs out of Panther Hollow is a PITA.


I normally hate the thru-traffic of people thinking they can catch the shortcut, but it's like the normal tributary of stupid that runs through Boundary / S. Negley is just pouring onto Fifth Avenue.


So, matched with move-in day, this city's streets are a rising tempest of dumb. Stay on target!


msprout
2010-08-24 14:27:08

When I came through from under CMU around 7:55 this morning, the guy in the safety vest and hard hat told 2 bikes and a runner "Just be careful" as we went through.


helen-s
2010-08-24 17:00:15

If you get through then I kind of wish they'd keep this up for a while. Cars coming down Boundary treat the stop sign at Joncaire as a purely hypothetical object.


jeffinpgh
2010-08-24 17:28:03

When I went through yesterday afternoon/evening, the work crew had no problem with me and two other cyclists just portaging through the work site. I'll probably keep taking this route unless their attitude changes - particularly as long as their are no "road closed" or "detour" signs posted.


hoffmannj
2010-08-24 17:28:59

Cars coming down Boundary treat the stop sign at Joncaire as a purely hypothetical object.


+1 on that. I've almost been t-boned several times by cars soaring through that stop sign. What is it about the city of Pittsburgh that inspires drivers to think, "hmm. I could wait for this car to go before I take my turn, but... nah, I think I'm going to try and drive through him. I'm gonna be famous."


msprout
2010-08-24 17:56:59

Are you guys talking about S. Neville? I thought boundary was just the little flat stretch at the bottom.....


spakbros
2010-08-24 17:57:33

It's never quite clear to me where Neville and Boundary Begins. Google Maps refers to that whole stretch down from 5th ave as Boundary. But whatever, the stop sign is the one at the bottom of the hill where Joncaire (cobbles) goes up.


jeffinpgh
2010-08-24 18:18:06

The city's maps agreed with Google that Neville becomes Boundary right around where it goes under Forbes Avenue, FWIW.


steven
2010-08-24 19:17:21

I guess if you want to get technical, Boundary is called Boundary because, ages ago (1850?), that was the city line. So, find where current day Neville hits that ancient line, and bingo, there's your divide.


stuinmccandless
2010-08-24 20:24:19

Cars coming down Boundary treat the stop sign at Joncaire as a purely hypothetical object.


Well for whatever it's worth, so do I when I'm cycling through there. However, if there is any traffic at the intersection I stop, or if I can make it before a car gets down Jonclaire I do the same thing


sgtjonson
2010-08-24 20:44:52



spakbros
2010-08-24 20:50:28

cars coming down Boundary treat the stop sign at Joncaire as a purely hypothetical object.


Well for whatever it's worth, so do I when I'm cycling through there. However, if there is any traffic at the intersection I stop, or if I can make it before a car gets down Jonclaire I do the same thing


unfortunately, i do the same thing.


emilywools
2010-08-24 20:57:47

that is the funnest stop sign to run because you have such great visibility. Keep on truckin'


spakbros
2010-08-24 21:05:43

yeah, there's no real reason to stop at that sign when there's no traffic coming.


also:


I guess if you want to get technical, Boundary is called Boundary because, ages ago (1850?), that was the city line. So, find where current day Neville hits that ancient line, and bingo, there's your divide.


my guess is the railroad tracks. how old is that line?


hiddenvariable
2010-08-24 23:42:40

I've seen maps that have that specific track line as far back as 1850. It's been torn up and reconstructed numerous times, but that little swatch of land has more or less been reserved for track lines.


FWIW, I don't stop at that sign on my bike unless I can see a car there. It's a vastly different game for cars.


msprout
2010-08-25 01:07:20

this city's streets are a rising tempest of dumb


caitlin
2010-08-25 14:28:29

On stop signs: It's a vastly different game for cars.


Cars drivers don't see it that way.


mick
2010-08-25 14:55:40

In Henry Hornbostel's original master plan for Carnegie Tech campus, it included a train station in Junction Hollow on the other side of the train tracks compared to Boundary Street.


Just random fact for the day...


Also, I find it funny that nearly 100 years later, with the potential for light/commuter rail to be using the Junction Hollow tracks there might STILL be a CMU/Craig & Forbes train station. Amazing how some ideas never change...


impala26
2010-08-25 15:33:12

Just a quick update: I rode up Boundary/Neville this morning despite the 'road closed' sign being there, just to check it out. No one was working there at the time, but there was no longer a track crossing area... just bare tracks and stones in the road. I carried my bike over the tracks and continued on my way up the hill. I doubt that I would have been allowed to do this if anyone was working there at the time.


iheartmybike
2010-08-25 17:26:12

actually, this morning when i went through, the guy who was in a giant machine pushing the rocks all around the tracks motioned for me to cross.


also, this morning on 44th street in l-ville, the construction guy motioned for me to go through even though he was stopping the cars.


i think those construction guys are cooler than i thought.


emilywools
2010-08-25 17:38:00

FWIW, I worked road construction for 4 summers when I was in HS/College. Believe me, working on the road makes you hate cars for pretty much the same reasons cyclists hate cars. People are in too much of a hurry to bother to slow down, or they pass you with 6 inches to spare, aren't paying attention, etc. And, of course construction workers get run over and killed while doing their jobs...


Not that that explains why they'd give any special treatment to cyclists, but they probably realize (a) you can get through safely without hurting them and (b) it's more of a PITA for you to detour when you're a cyclist.


salty
2010-08-25 17:45:58

any time i've ever gone through a construction zone on a bike, i've gotten at the very least a friendly nod. usually a smile and nod, or a hello or good morning. my feeling has been that it's because we're all actual people. rather than giant weapons in a hurry.


hiddenvariable
2010-08-25 18:05:43

Back when they were fixing the sidewalk on Panther Hollow Road, they had it closed off at one point to a single lane with people at either end directing cars with stop signs. It only lasted a few mornings, but every time I pulled up, they stopped BOTH sides, and let me go through all by myself. I felt like a king.


dwillen
2010-08-25 18:24:37

I spoke with one of the CSX construction workers last night. He said that they should be pouring the concrete today. They are improving the crossing with rubber guides on either side of the rails. I would think it will be open before Monday (though they've been very nice about letting people cross over on foot or carried bike).


imdlorax
2010-08-26 13:07:59

I always ring my bell and say hi to construction workers. I feel like, as salty said, they get tired of all the car nonsense too.


caitlin
2010-08-26 15:42:50

"They are improving the crossing with rubber guides on either side of the rails"


O. M. G. This is exactly what I've been hoping for! Way to leg up and make my daily commute much, much better, CSX!


msprout
2010-08-27 00:42:19

those rubber dams are still pretty slippy in the rain, though at least they're not installing a metal crossing like the one over on river avenue by the heinz plant. that one is nasty...


sloaps
2010-08-27 11:04:20

Whatever they're installing, it's going to be way better than what's in Boundary St. right now. I loathe that part of my journey, because when I come flying down Neville at about 23 - 25 mph, jumping over those tracks really hurts. It's not even a possibility if cars are coming from the other direction.


msprout
2010-08-27 13:42:54

I came through there today on my way back from the Memorial Ride. The construction workers not only were pleasant when I asked if I could walk my bike across the tracks, but one of them offered to carry my bike over!


tabby
2010-08-27 17:33:11

Huh, they never do that for me.


lyle
2010-08-27 18:41:24

I think I must look like I can't handle it. But I can handle it! I politely declined the offer of help.


tabby
2010-08-27 18:48:01

Tabby, maybe you're just cuter than Lyle (sorry Lyle, but it's a distinct possibility).


ejwme
2010-08-27 19:01:15

rode through here today. it's fixed.


sarah_q
2010-08-28 17:29:33