Scott Township?? (Pittsburgh, York, Bethel Park: house, construction, school districts)

[HomerJ]

Im looking to move to a Pittsburgh suburb from New York. From looking at some homes/properties online, I seem to be interested in the south/southwest burbs. I'm familiar with the reputations of Mt. Leb, UPC, Bethel Park.. etc but I never see any information on Scott Twp. The homes seem pretty nice and the area appears to be suburbia, not too rural and not as congested as Mt. Leb.
I would really appreciate if anyone had some additional info on this town.

ie: safety, schools, approx. commute to downtown??? and/or a comparison between scott and the previous towns i mentioned. Thanks everyone.

[Hopes]

Scott is top notch. Basically, everyone who wanted to escape the taxes in Mt. Lebanon, UPC and Bethel Park moved to Scott so safety, schools are very compariable. The main difference is your saving money in taxes, and your commute will be longer since it's farther away. I'd say count on a solid 45 to 60 minute commute during rush hour. If you can flex your work schedule to catch a window in traffic, you'll be able to shave off some time.

[TRO Z]

I will echo what hopes has just stated to you HomerJ, my sister currently lives in scott twp..convienent for her because she works in foster plaza..If you work in downtown, you might want to reconsider, unless you enjoy sitting in traffic for a living..

Taxes are reduced there, descent school system, if you have kids check out the scott twp park and the MEGA sized pool they have..Incredible..I actually drive my kids from Mt. Lebo to scott just for that reason, they LOVE it..

Major plus --if you like great Italian food, Antonini's and Carbonara's right there..

FYI....All in All, it's a winner..But remember the traffic is brutual on greentree rd and the parkway during rush hour..

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by TRO Z

FYI....All in All, it's a winner..But remember the traffic is brutual on greentree rd and the parkway during rush hour..

If I were driving to downtown from Scott Township, I'd cut through Bethel Park and take the back way in through Southside via passing the Allegheny County Airport.

Mapquest suggests going through Mt. Lebanon and Dormont and claims it's a 30 minute commute but I know better. Even during the daytime, it takes longer than 30 minutes to make that drive.

I supsect the best way into the city from Scott Township would be a route somewhere inbetween the mapquest suggestion and my way. Looks like Bethel Park via Baptist Road to the Provost area, then catching Maytide Street and shooting up over Mt. Oliver to get into the Southside might be a faster way into the city.

[TRO Z]

I got stuck over that way a few times during rush hour, taking greentree rd straight in brutual...next time i tried cutting up through carnegie and getting stuck on the parkway...last time i came back through dormont and jumped on banksville in...

Any way you cut it from scott twp..get ready for heavy traffic...heading into town

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by TRO Z

Any way you cut it from scott twp..get ready for heavy traffic...heading into town

But the same goes for traffic into town from Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park too. Peter's Township is literally right next to them.

[HomerJ]

Thanks for all the helpful info Hopes and Tro Z, much appreciated. It seems that Scott is relatively close to I-79. It would be a bad idea to just jump on 79 to Parkway West into city? I assume from what you're saying that would be a nightmare then. Hopes.. would you still avoid that route when not rush hour either? Is it always just best to take the side roads? Hey, I live in the NYC tri-state area , so Im all too familiar with brutal traffic, so I'll put up with it.

Can you compare the travel time with Cranberry Twp? I think Cranberry is considerably further (distance wise) but how about actual drive time to the city? It's another option that Im considering when moving to western PA. Any thoughts again would be much appreciated.... thanks again!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by HomerJ

Thanks for all the helpful info Hopes and Tro Z, much appreciated. It seems that Scott is relatively close to I-79. It would be a bad idea to just jump on 79 to Parkway West into city? I assume from what you're saying that would be a nightmare then. Hopes.

Not really. From the exit on 79 from Peter's Township to Downtown, it will be a 25 to 30 minute drive if you get on I-79 at 6:30 in the morning. You'll spend 10 minutes sitting in traffic on greetree Hill (the parkway hill between Greentree and the tunnels). My BIL lives in Upper St. Clair and that's the exact time it takes him when he leaves his house at 6:30am. If you leave your house 30 minutes later, getting to I-79 at 7:00 in the morning, your commute will probably be an hour.

Originally Posted by HomerJ

. would you still avoid that route when not rush hour either?

I actually prefer to Parkway and I-79---when it's not rush hour at it's heaviest and when there's no highway construction.

Originally Posted by HomerJ

. Is it always just best to take the side roads?

You might enjoy them. I'd change it up and take the side roads on occassion or when there is construction on I-79 that makes the commute worse. Sometimes PennDot can keep an area under construction for months.

Originally Posted by HomerJ

Hey, I live in the NYC tri-state area , so Im all too familiar with brutal traffic, so I'll put up with it.

A traffic nightmare to a PIttsburgher is nothing like what other cities deal with. We've got it really good here as far as traffic is concerned.

Originally Posted by HomerJ

Can you compare the travel time with Cranberry Twp? I think Cranberry is considerably further (distance wise) but how about actual drive time to the city?

It will take the same time or less to get into Pittsburgh---count on 25 to 30 minutes even during rush hour. The northern suburbs of Pittsburgh are not as densely populated as the southern townships. The infrastructure of the south hills is ancient. The highway (I-279) into the city from Cranberry was built within the last 30 years with the main goal of making the commute from Cranberry into Pittsburgh easier. The road and bridge system into the city from the North Hills can handle traffic better than those on the southside of town. Plus, there aren't any tunnels to contend with when coming from the North Hills. Cranberry might be farther away, but the drive is a straight shot on highways whereas the drive from Peter's township is looping around the southern suburbs.

Originally Posted by HomerJ

Cranberry's another option that Im considering when moving to western PA. Any thoughts again would be much appreciated.... thanks again!

In my opinion, Cranberry depends on other factors----your children, your religion, your financial means. The reason I say this is because I do not consider the public school system in Cranberry to be comparable to Peter's Township. There's a huge drug problem up there. Everyone I know who lives in Cranberry who has the money sends their children to private school.

That's why I said your religion could be a factor----because North Catholic High School is moving it's school from the North Side in the city to up near the Cranberry area. If you have children who are just entering elementary school, the new school might be completed by the time they are entering high school. However, there are other private school options if you live in Cranberry. For instance, Aquanius Academy is in Gibsonia---it's a K-12 Catholic school with a great reputation. And then there is Vincentian Academy (9-12) in the North Hills that is affiliated wtih Duquesne University. Students graduating from Vincentian already have a bachelors degree from Duquesne University upon graduation. There are many other options, but most of the options within reasonable distance to Cranberry are Catholic schools.

Cranberry has just as much wealth as Upper St. Clair, Mt. Lebanon and Peter's Township. The school sytem might be exactly the same as far as drugs are concerned (drugs are EVERYWHERE). It seems that the school districts with the most wealth have the most drugs----because the children have more spending money. That's been my experience at Shadyside Academy when I was growing up. There were more drugs at Shadyside than the public school I attended in an affluent district. The wealthier the children, the greater the problem. Their parents just have the means to make sure they get somewhere in life compared to the improverished children who use drugs. btw, it doesn't matter what activities you get your children involved in because they're all doing drugs everywhere. My son has run into drugs in his honors classes, his athletic activities, and boyscouts. That's right. The good kids are the kids who are doing drugs. The best you can do is just make sure you teach your children well, keep a close eye on them by having them socialize at your home instead of spending too much time at their friend's homes because many parents do not keep an eye on their teens.

I'm sharing all of this because I want you to know that Cranberry isn't any worse than those other areas you're considering. Six years ago, Upper St. Clair (or Mt. Lebanon---I can't remember which) announced a week ahead of time the day they would be searching lockers for drugs. Then they proudly announced that their schools were drug free after the search. Gee, of course they were drug free when they announced the search ahead of time. Drug overdoses don't get publicized in those areas---especially if it's heroine. But it happens there. Goodness, I live in an affluent district in the North Hills and my neighbors across the street had a daughter addicted to heroine. They spent a fortune getting her clean. That's the thing though---people of means have the money to save their children. And school districts with affluent people do a good job of protecting the reputation of the township so property values don't go down. If you want to live in Cranberry, you're not going to be dealing with anything worse than what you'll find in the other townships you're considering.

[cariad]

Up until last Oct. I lived in Scott and commuted to downtown daily in rush hour traffic. There are many many ways to get to downtown from scott,so my route would change according to traffic conditions. My average was 25min. and I lived at the far end of Scott near the st. clair line.
The longest route would be going to bethel and maytide-I wouldn't recommend it at all.

[lyndi327]

Hello - I lived in Scott and worked in the city. I took Banksville Road (Alt. rute 19) into downtown. It intersects with the Parkway West right at the Ft. Pitt Tunnels. Took me approx. 25-30 minutes. My son and daughter-in-law also went to Chartiers Valley High School. My daughter-in-law and her Mother currently teach in the school district. Scott is a great place to live.