driving on instict (Pittsburgh, Washington, Indiana: hotel, neighborhoods, subdivisions)

[Hopes]

You'll learn your side of town, morefromcali.

It's when you venture into the North Hills that you'll find yourself feeling a little out of place since you'll be living in the South Hills. The South Hills is very congested with narrow roads. The North HIll is all spread out. Most of the main highways go from downtown outward----like a spider's web. You'll quickly learn the connecting roads from one main road to another when going side to side. Don't be afraid to just wing it. Turn down different roads and see where they take you. You'll discover really fast ways to get almost anywhere doing that.

I guess I should also tell you about the belts. You'll see signs all over the place that say "yellow belt" "green belt" "red belt" and "blue belt." The belts are a mix of roads that create circles around the city----like a dart board going outward with wider circles farther out (red belt) and smaller circles closer towards the city. These belts help you get side to side. And they are a godsend if you're lost because if you find a belt you can eventually find something you recognize if you go in the right direction.

Don't be afraid to stop for directions. Ask as soon as you feel the need. Traffic moves rather well here so you could get very far out of your way within 15 minutes. Just stop and ask anyone. They'll tell you how to get where you're going. Pittsburghers are friendly like that.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Tom6623

Don't worry, morefromcali. Much as people like to complain, Pittsburgh driving isn't any worse than any other city.

I'm just complaining about the lack of road signs!

I think it's easier to drive here than other places I've lived.

Pittsburghers take turns in traffic.

We have very polite drivers here in Pittsburgh.

[Drover]

No joke: I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 months before I figured out which direction my front door faced.

"Pittsburgh: the only city where you can take 4 consecutive right turns and be on a street you've never heard of." When I drove around town, I never said to myself, "OK, I know to turn left when I hit X Street." I probably didn't even know the names of half the streets I regularly drove on. I just recognized the routes mostly by landmark.

Nothing beats trial and error when it comes to figuring out how to get around in that town. That, of course, really only works for the parts of the city you spend most of your time in... maybe that's why people don't spend much time in sections of the city they don't live in...

Originally Posted by Tom6623

Don't worry, morefromcali. Much as people like to complain, Pittsburgh driving isn't any worse than any other city.

Well actually it is, at least until you familiarize yourself with the area. There is virtually no intuitive sense of direction, no logical layout or pattern, highways wind all over the place... it's very easy to get turned around. I promise you that driving in Chicago, a city of 3 million with a perfect grid system, is MUCH easier than driving in Pittsburgh. If you give me a street address in Chicago, as long as I know what block number that street is (and I already know most of them) I can drive straight to that address without looking at a map and without getting lost, even if I've never been to that part of town in my life. And actually, a perfect stranger can figure out the grid system in a couple days, and as long as he has block coordinates (4500 south, 3800 west) even a stranger with any amount of brains can figure it out. I would imagine the same goes for most other cities laid out on flat terrain with few geographical barriers. Best I know, you can't really do that in Pittsburgh.

[guylocke]

"Pittsburgh: the only city where you can take 4 consecutive right turns and be on a street you've never heard of

That's because our streets are laid out in the shape of a triangle and not a square. lol.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by boylocke

That's because our streets are laid out in the shape of a triangle and not a square. lol.

My dad always said they were laid out on old cowpaths! Denver, too, is on a grid and it is much easier to get around. Even the burbs here follow the same numbering system as the city, so you can usually find your way. There are some exceptions, of course. I was a visiting nurse in both cities before the days of GPS systems and Pittsburgh is more difficult and depends more on familiarity.

[guylocke]

My dad always said they were laid out on old cowpaths!

My god, that can't be better! lol

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by Drover

No joke: I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 months before I figured out which direction my front door faced.

I have people tell me all the time about a light being out on southwest side of the building.... and I tell them they have to landmark it -- give me a unit number. I've never figured out the whole north south east west thing -- and my hubby constantly threatens to put "R" and "L" on my shoes...

But I never have a problem getting where I need to go...

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Drover

No joke: I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 months before I figured out which direction my front door faced.

The sunrise and sunset provide clues.

Originally Posted by Drover

There is virtually no intuitive sense of direction, no logical layout or pattern, highways wind all over the place... it's very easy to get turned around.

I have an excellent sense of direction. Somehow I just always know which direction is the right way to go. Even though the roads aren't straight, you can get a sense of which general direction you're heading if you stay on them for a period of time. I know when I'm heading away from the city or towards it. I know when I'm heading west, north, etc. If I've been heading one direction and I realize that I've been going that way a little too long, I'll hang a right or left to compensate. And I'll continue making turns until I'm heading towards the township I'm hoping to find. It works too. I get where I'm going, and I get there rather quickly too.

Granted, you need to have a general idea of where townships lay in Allegheny County. It would be useless to know north, south, east and west if you don't know the township you're heading to is northeast of where you just left. I highly recommend studying a map of allegheny county that shows all the township locations. That alone is a great place to start in becoming familiar with Pittsburgh. It also helps greatly to learn all the main highways and significant roads in the area. That way when you come across one, you know exactly where you are.

No matter where I'm at, I'm never really lost. I always know how to get home. I remember being on a road outside of Sarasota, Florida, where there were miles and miles of cattle farms. Who would have imagined that? My son was worried that we were lost. Yes, I might not have known exactly where the house we were staying in Florida was located, but I knew how to get back to Pittsburgh if it came to that.

I might not know exactly where I'm at, but I know where home is located no matter where I'm at in the world.

My son has grown up to my favorite saying: "We're not lost. We're just temporarily displaced."

[morefromcali]

Thanks everyone The streets in many areas of Los Angeles are laid out in grids (very easy to master except for the exceptions), but some are not (like the area I live in now). I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to Pittsburgh -- and it's wonderful to know that people will help while we are learning. Thank you Hopes for the information on the belts. We saw the signs when we were there, but didn't know what they meant. I guess we'll be by the yellow belt (the 19, Washington?). I really like that circle system. Sounds like a nice safety net! And yes, we are trying to study up on where the various townships are so that if we suddenly find ourself in -- say Peters township -- we'll know if we are at least going in the right direction LOL. Really good advice, thanks

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by morefromcali

Thank you Hopes for the information on the belts. We saw the signs when we were there, but didn't know what they meant. I guess we'll be by the yellow belt (the 19, Washington?). I really like that circle system. Sounds like a nice safety net!

Here are some sites that explain the belt system in Pittsburgh to varying degrees:

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~jlin/signs/usa/Pennsylvania/Belt_System/ (broken link)

http://www.answers.com/topic/pittsburgh-allegheny-county-belt-system (broken link)

http://www.gribblenation.com/swparoads/beltends/

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/trans...g_around_3.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsbu...ty_Belt_System

http://www.pahighways.com/other/pghbeltsystem.html (broken link)