what is good and bad about Pittsburgh (Scranton, Robinson Township: live, vs)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by vwscottie

I get tired of "it's so much worse in this city or that city". It could be alot better here.

I agree! That was my father's mantra: who would want to live in (insert name of city or state here)? They have hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blah, blah, blah.

Or the corollary: It might be better in (insert name of city/state) now, but wait and see. It's going to fall apart there in (insert # of years).

There is nothing wrong with trying to make a better life for yourself. Our ancestors all came to this country for that reason.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by guylocke

You are most definitely correct. Pittsburgh is actually a world-leader in some of the most profitable, advanced, and viable future industries. Pittsburgh DOES have poor job growth, let's put that out there. However, the sectors that ARE growing are high- paying and high- profit. That's an important thing to point out. Also don't forget, in the last few decades, Pittsburgh has quite literally transformed itself from a city that was nearly completely dependent on blue-collar jobs (most dirty industry) to a city where blue-collar jobs are a large minority and still declining.
.

That is such a valid point! And one I've been trying to get across to everyone. Yes, the economy is not as rosy as the boom towns, but the jobs that ARE being created are fantastic. They are high paying jobs and the sector is growing. So many of the jobs being created in the boom towns do not pay enough for a person to actually live on! To me, I feel that is a huge difference. I don't think Pittsburh is ever going to be a boom town - who cares, it's fine the way it is. It does need improvement in some areas, and hopefully those will come in time as the job change over continues.

[scrapp]

Originally Posted by guylocke

But for traffic, it's really true. I believe I saw it one the these very forums, but Pittsburgh is almost dead last in traffic problems out of the large US cities.

It depends on how you define "traffic problems" ... for example, a drive from Oakland to Robinson Twp (say IKEA) takes about 20 minutes without traffic. But it can take almost an hour if you leave Oakland at 4:15pm because of the congestion at the Ft Pitt Bridge and going up Greentree Hill.

If you live out in the suburbs and work in Oakland or Downtown during normal business hours its bound to be a painful commute to have to deal with Squirrel Hill Tunnel, Ft. Pitt Bridge/Tunnel, Greentree Hill, etc. all the time.

Add to that highways with ramps that do no meet modern Interstate standards (e.g. Sq Hill exit on Parkway East), the sad state of repair our road infrastructure, and the practice of partially closing down roads for extended periods of time for repair (most recently the Homestead bridge) and you've got all the makings for traffic headaches. Hmm, and I guess we've also got all those landslides out on Route 28 too.

[Seaharbour]

I think in manyways as well here....its better to be stable than to be in a boom phase...booms have a way of fizzling out...like life in general, better to be content with what you got than to always be reaching for prefection, cause it doesn't exist!

[guylocke]

That is such a valid point! And one I've been trying to get across to everyone. Yes, the economy is not as rosy as the boom towns, but the jobs that ARE being created are fantastic. They are high paying jobs and the sector is growing. So many of the jobs being created in the boom towns do not pay enough for a person to actually live on!

That's exactly right. I should get Evergrey to come on here and do his big talk. He's a pro on this stuff but hides on other forums.

Pittsburgh NEEDS job growth. There is no way to sugar coat that fact. We need jobs in ALL sectors to meet the demands of every type of person who wants to come or stay in Pittsburgh.

That being said, I believe our growth in the most high-paying sectors in the country is actually higher than the national average (Evergrey, some help?).

[guylocke]

It depends on how you define "traffic problems" ... for example, a drive from Oakland to Robinson Twp (say IKEA) takes about 20 minutes without traffic. But it can take almost an hour if you leave Oakland at 4:15pm because of the congestion at the Ft Pitt Bridge and going up Greentree Hill.

I believe, from what I've seen, they determine traffic conditions in and out of rush hour by delay. Your example shouldn't surprise anyone. One hour to get from Oakland to Robinson Twp during rush hour? To us, that's a nightmare. But honestly, I've been in Seattle on one of their bridges ALONE and have waited well OVER an hour. That excludes time getting ONTO the bridge and time getting to my final destination. I think that holds true for most major cities. You should see Phoenix. I'd rather be dead. LOL.

In the peak of rush hour, one hour to get from one major industrial suburb, through an entire city, through a tunnel, to another major industrial suburb, is nothing to get upset about.

People from other cities would probably laugh at us.

I'm not saying Pittsburgh has no traffic. I'm not saying it can't be improved in a big way. Someone should find that old thread that lists all the traffic research and stats. Landslides along Rt. 28 should no longer be a problem, btw.

[Seaharbour]

i would be interested in seeing that old thread myself, but i had a difficult time trying to locate it!

[guylocke]

i would be interested in seeing that old thread myself, but i had a difficult time trying to locate it!

I can't find it either. It probably wasn't it's own topic, it is probably lost in the middle of some topic about fast food in Pittsburgh. Note the sarcasm?

[guylocke]

I re-found one of the things. According to Forbes Magazine and the Texas Transportation Institute, we didn't make the top 12 cities, anyway. That's a start!

the cities having the worst traffic problems are:

1. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Calif.

2. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif.

3. Washington, D.C.

4. Atlanta

5. Houston

6. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Tex.

7. Chicago.

8. Detroit

9. Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif.

9. Orlando, Fla.

11. San Jose, Calif.

12. San Diego

[Katarina Witt]

It's always good to inject a little humor into these threads! Thanks, guylocke for your previous post.