BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I can't speak for Bike-Pgh but can say it has been as essential ingredient in getting the right things to happen: political action, getting bike lanes installed, getting the right people saying the right things to the right other people in the right way at the right time and place.

There are ways to get around and about; see the Bike Map. There are also some known major obstacles, like:

* Wabash Tunnel is still off-limits to bikes, making it much more difficult to get south easily

* No simple, legal, safe way to get from Duck Hollow to Eliza Furnace (Jail) Trail

* No simple, legal, safe way to get downriver on the Ohio past the McKees Rocks Bridge on either side of the river

* No simple, legal, safe way to get to McKees Rocks on a bicycle, like you can to Millvale

Stay tuned. Anything worth talking about will be talked about here.

channeling... I think it's swalfoort?

There's a plan out there, and a loop is part of it. It's not in the 5 year plan, though, but it might be in the 20 year plan, I'm not sure. I remember seeing an official document come out that had that in it (it was one of my suggestions during a big survey they did to prep for it), but I don't remember the thread that talked about it.

I do recall the planned loop being too large to be a "Casual sunday ride" kind of things, like not a way for me in the east to get to somewhere in the west without cutting through the city. It seemed to be styled more to provide people in the suburbs with a trail to ride along.

I wish I could find the thread, but I can't.

I guess the OP will have to clarify, but I read it as routes within the city, not out to the burbs. Bike Pgh is explicitly focused on the former per their current mission statement, although I won't try to guess at their specific project priorities.

In any case, more connections is certainly always a great idea. I'd encourage you to expand on your proposal and send your feedback to them directly - BP people do read this board sometimes but emailing them is probably better... and welcome to the board!

The city's been working on an East End Loop for years now. Here's an outdated page that describes the proposed route, which connects the Duck Hollow Trail to the Lawrenceville Trail, providing an overland link between the riverfront trails, and completing a big circle.

Some parts of the overland loop have been built since that page was written (the Nine Mile Run Trail, the Penn Avenue bike path, and East Liberty Boulevard got bike lanes instead of the proposed signed sidewalk). Others haven't.

Meanwhile, neither the Duck Hollow nor Lawrenceville trails connects to the rest of the riverfront trail system yet, so the loop wouldn't be complete if they finished everything on that page tomorrow. The city keeps building more pieces, but it's still years away from finishing the complete loop.

Expect that a much bigger loop through the hills north and south of Pittsburgh (not just across the relatively flat and bike-friendly East End) will take a lot longer. Maybe you'll be able to get your grandkids to pedal you around it.

That said, there are quite a lot of bike trail projects in various stages of development, from "later this year" to initial planning to complete blue-skying. This Friends of the Riverfront status page has an overview of many of them.

And here's a 2008 county map (PDF) showing various proposed trails (some of the blue-sky or aint-gonna-happen variety), from the county's Allegheny Places land use web site.

So there's lots of stuff in the (very slow) works, but the biggest planned trail loop I've heard of is the East End Loop.

re: "No simple, legal, safe way to get to McKees Rocks on a bicycle, like you can to Millvale" Stu, working on this! I'm going to be meeting with Friends of the Riverfront sometime related to this and the Mackin study and offering my brain (and bike) to the cause. Yay!

Thinking of that, would anyone have a helmet cam I might borrow sometime so I could show their consultants how I do it currently and how it could easily be made better? I'm thinking under the assumption that Mackin will not physically send a cyclist of their own out there for their study.

@Edmonds - Mackin has ridden the corridor, and will do so again, I presume.

@Val - I am not sure I understand your question. The City/County has been focused on using the rivers as our "trail spine lines" sort of, rather than focusing on a loop AROUND the City. The thinking is that with trails along the river, and bridges crossing the rivers, you can create your own loop.

It sounds like you have an origin and destination that require you through downtown, and that is not your preference. If you could let us know where you are coming from and going to, this group would be very happy to help you with routing options that might help you bypass the worst of your commute.

Personally, I don't remember any previous calls for a "big loop" around the City, and most efforts have focused (in my mind) on getting cyclists into and out of the busiest places in the region -- downtown, Oakland, Waterfront, South Side, etc., as well as creating comfortable and interesting recreational ride opportunities (GAP, Montour Trail, etc.)

Nice! Bonus points Mackin.

Wonder if JMT did for the other.

Once the Montour Trail, East End Loop, and some connecting pieces are finished, you'd have a 70-mile semicircle from Coraopolis to McDonald to McMurray to Clairton, then to McKeesport, Homestead, and Highland Park, mostly on trails. To complete the loop you could either stick to the river on current and future trails, or find a way through the North Hills.

...or find a way through the North Hills.

Well, there's the Red Belt, Orange Belt, Yellow Belt, Green Belt and Blue Belt, for starters.

Have there ever been any ride reports from those who've tackled one or t'other belts, posted on this board?

The problem with crossing the North Hills is that just about any way you go has 1,000 feet of elevation climb. Even people who live there who have cars don't cross the North Hills. Y'go in or aht.

I'm guessing - and it's just a guess - that the orginal poster means something of the general magnitude of:

Oakland-> Bloomfield -> Strip -> Downtown -> Northside-> West End-> Southside -> Oakland

I'm guessing Val means something that would 20 to 40 miles total, which would be far shorter and closer than most of the Beltways or the Montour trail.

It's not clear if Val means an offroad trail or some designated route of trails and sharrows.

If they got a trail along the East Busway (HUGE "if"), it would be possible to get most of this as an off-road trail.

> If they got a trail along the East Busway (HUGE "if"), it would be possible to get most of this as an off-road trail.

that would be totally fraking sweet

Well, get Edgewood Boro to change their mind about Those People In Our Town, and things start happening. As has been mentioned before, there is a paved trail from South St in Wilkinsburg almost to Rankin, except for the piece through Edgewood.

ok, I have resorted to actually googling what I was thinking of myself. Bah!

Active Allegheny plan that came out... last year I believe, has a bicycling beltway around the city described in figure E-1 here: http://www.activeallegheny.com/downloads/1_Active_Allegheny_Plan.pdf

(for shorter downloadable sections, http://www.activeallegheny.com/theplan.aspx )

It's 100% proposed. I've also noticed that 100% of the cycling projects are mid- and long-term projects. None are short term (somewhere it describes short term, I think as 0-5 years, maybe mid is 5-10 and long is 10-20, my memory is super fuzzy). Chapter 2 of the report is cycling focused. The beltway described therein is not something to get across the city, but to get across the county.

What a deluge of information. I am going to take some time to digest all the input, then continue putting together what at least works for me. I am not commuting in the true sense, but ride around the city a fair amount checking out the sites, pulling my daughter in her trailer, etc. There is some terrific road riding between the Ben Avon, North Park and Sewickley areas/neighborhoods, plenty of great climbs! Thanks again for the courtesy and information, see you guys around town...

FWIW, one of the long-term bike projects in the Active Allegheny plan is already done: the connector from the Montour Trail to the airport, opened in 2012 after a decade of work. If only they were all that easy!

Hi Val,

While we couldn't be more supportive of completing the network of trails and making them more transportation-oriented (separating peds and bikes as much as possible, better markings on the trails, better signage directing people to and from, and lighting for commuting in early morning and evening hours), we let the Friends of the Riverfront and Riverlife take on these projects as the City's two trail organizations whose sole missions are to work on these issues.

does anyone know if there still planing on building the park by the zero mike marker on the mountour trail i read about it a few years ago but im guessing there is no money avilable to build it

This page says their last grant was in July 2011, but I think there's been some activity since the page was updated. (For instance, I believe I read they finished getting environmental approval.)

I think it's still in the works, but these things take a long time.

It's possible I heeded the "No Trespassing" sign and did not ride around on this piece of property one nice Saturday. Then again anything is possible. It will be great if that plan gets done.

I have a friend who lives in the area & is very involved with organized sports teams. He said it will be years...

The biggest issue is that they most likely will need to "cap" the area due to pollution over the decades. And as always $$$$

yes, there's a reason why governments get land for "free" it's called SUPERFUND. Once they have the money, then the location will pop up on the map. it's an old Pittsburgh and Lake Erie yard, so expect oil, fuel, cresote, etc. scattered about the property.