Driving from Route 8 to Penn Avenue (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: safe neighborhoods, live, mall)

[Rkrich86]

I am from a suburb North of Pittsburgh in the North Park/Hampton area. I need to make a trip down to Penn Ave, and it tell me to take route 8. From Route 8 south to 6400 Penn Ave. Are these safe neighborhoods to drive through? I now east of Pittsburgh has a reputation for being bad, but all I have to do is drive through then run and out of a store. Is it safe during the day to drive through route 8 to Penn ave?

Thanks!

[Mugatu]

I'm pretty sure you will survive.

[Geeo]

You'll be fine. Not to worry. I'm in that area day and night.

[steindle]

As a lifelong city resident, I'll try to be civil here ...It's just a tad simplistic to say that the "east of Pittsburgh" has a reputation for being bad. Really? Shadyside? Squirrel Hill? Point Breeze? These are "east of Pittsburgh" neighborhoods that probably have the best/safest reputations in the city.

Coming from the North Hills, I assume that you'll be taking Penn Avenue from essentially Lawrenceville to the Trader Joe's/Staples/etc strip mall in East Liberty. Which means you'll be going through the Garfield/Bloomfield/Friendship border as well as East Liberty, both of which may seem rundown and sketchy to a suburbanite, but believe me: they're safe. I've gone up and down this stretch of Penn Ave on foot, in car, and on a bike at last 500 times over the last four years.

I am honestly curious about this: What do people expect will happen to you in a car, in a bad neighborhood? A carjacking? Vandalism of some sort? I would wager that a daylight carjacking on Penn Avenue is about as likely as being struck by lightning.

[ditchdigger]

Coming from the North Hills, I assume that you'll be taking Penn Avenue from essentially Lawrenceville to the Trader Joe's/Staples/etc strip mall in East Liberty.

Route 8 to Penn Ave. would be Washington Blvd./5th Ave to a right on Penn, at the corner of Mellon Park.

It's just a tad simplistic to say that the "east of Pittsburgh" has a reputation for being bad.

Have you ever seen the maps they give people from the North Hills? All the area east of Washington Blvd/5th Avenue is blank, except for the notation "Here there be dragons."

[PghREA]

You are safe anywhere in Pittsburgh as long as you mind your own business.

The majority of shootings are people shooting people they know for a specific reason.

I'm a North Hills suburbanite (who lived in the city for 9 years) - and I've never had a problem or felt scared.

[scottrpriester]

Now all we need is for Pitt-Transplant to stop by and state how deadly my side of town.

To the original poster, let me know if you need me to cover you when you are on my side of town.

[ditchdigger]

To be fair, if you ask Mapquest how to get from the OP's destination of 6400 Penn Ave, and pick a second destination of say, Frankstown Ave. and Rodi Road, out in Penn Hills, it'll take you right through the heart of Homewood Brushton.

Driving through there might be a little imtimidating for the faint of heart, and breaking down and getting stranded could be downright scary. (Based on nothing of any more substance than neighborhood reputation, mind you. We did a project out that way, commuting back and forth from another site, in Squirell Hill, and a couple of full grown white guys (me not one of them), always opted to take the long way around.)

For somebody unfamiliar with the area, it probably wasn't such a silly question.

On edit: to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be in love with the idea of breaking down at the corner of Homewood and Bennet myself...

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by Rkrich86

I am from a suburb North of Pittsburgh in the North Park/Hampton area. I need to make a trip down to Penn Ave, and it tell me to take route 8. From Route 8 south to 6400 Penn Ave. Are these safe neighborhoods to drive through? I now east of Pittsburgh has a reputation for being bad, but all I have to do is drive through then run and out of a store. Is it safe during the day to drive through route 8 to Penn ave?

Thanks!

6400 Penn should be just above the 62nd Street Bridge but unless you know the way over the hills through Stanton Heights, you can't get there from here.

Alternatively, take Route 8 to 28 North and get off at the Highland Park Bridge. Follow the signs to the Zoo (not Washington Boulevard which would take you too far east), and turn left at the first traffic light. That will wind you up through the Zoo to North Negley Avenue. From there, Penn Avenue will be about a 2 minute drive.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

Have you ever seen the maps they give people from the North Hills? All the area east of Washington Blvd/5th Avenue is blank, except for the notation "Here there be dragons."

Thanks -- I had to clean the coffee off my monitor and keyboard...