Eliza Furnace Trail Bridge Reopens Today (10/3)

[ditchdigger]

Well, in a nutshell, full-size tractor trailer trucks were too tall to fit under the old B&O railroad bridge (converted to rail-trail in the 90's) over Bates Street. About once a month, a truck would get stuck under the bridge and hold up traffic.

Yeah, I know, and if you ever looked at the underside of the old bridge, it had its share of battle scars. It always seemed to come out the winner in those encounters though.

I mean, one could say that PennDOT could have just demolished the bridge and left cyclists to fend for themselves,

That's what I was getting at, hence the winking smiley. I don't object to spending money on things like bike trails. I do think they're "amenities" though, as opposed to something more akin to "necessities", which is what most road and bridge infrastructure is. I had to comment though, because I did find it a bit of a stretch to say that a higher bridge was needed "for the trucks".

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

I do think they're "amenities" though, as opposed to something more akin to "necessities", which is what most road and bridge infrastructure is.

Just an aside, but urban bike trails often provide great bang for the buck. They are extremely cheap compared to roads or rail, and the commuters and such they take off other infrastructure can help provide congestion relief. You obviously can't rely on them as your only means of local transportation, but they are in fact often great investments in terms of cost-benefit ratios.

[Impala26]

As an addendum to what Brian said, I'm a Pittsburgh bike commuter and the Jail Trail and South Side Trails are my lifelines. Think of them like bike highways: most cyclists do prefer separate facilities, so much of the bike traffic in the Pittsburgh-Oakland-Squirrel Hill/Greenfield corridor gets routed onto them. Yes recreational users utilize the trail, but I see countless cyclists with full packs and panniers--clearly those with destinations in mind.

Short-haul trips on a bike in Pittsburgh are easier and more straightforward than a lot of people realize.