Commute from Shaler to Oakland? (Pittsburgh, Ross Township: 2009, houses, transfer)

[Fiddlehead]

Hey all,

I was checking out houses in Shaler over the weekend, and saw some pretty nice ones. I have also looked at Squirrel Hill/Regent Square areas. If I get to P'burgh my job would be at Pitt, so looking for nice, doable commute to campus. Here is what I could gather from previous comments and a search of past threads:

Shaler: Folks say it is a breeze to roll into Oakland from the north. But that leaves the problem of finding parking in a pretty congested area before work! Is that a major problem in Oakland? Is public transit available from Shaler?

I have also heard it is possible to ride a bike over the bridge from near Millvale, but not sure if that would connect easily to Oakland. Is that an option?

Squirrel Hill, Regent Square: I hear you can walk to work at Pitt from Squirrel Hill. Is biking feasible and safe, or is traffic insane?

Also, any other good neighborhoods I have missed? We are family of three, two herding dogs, cat, love hiking and trail running with the dogs, parks, open space, museums, and of course, good schools.

[BrianTH]

Parking is indeed a pain in Oakland--personally I ride the bus when I go to Pitt in part because I don't want to deal with parking and the bus is pretty quick from Regent Square where I live. But I'm not sure if there is a good way to get from Shaler to Pitt with public transit--my guess is you might have to go Downtown and make a transfer. On bike, I'm thinking getting from the river up to Shaler would be the difficult part, but that is pure speculation.

People can and do bike from Squirrel Hill (or Regent Square) to Pitt. In fact the City is getting really into making things better for bikers, and they are currently working on adding a combination of bike lanes and shared lane arrows to Forbes, the major street cutting from Oakland through Squirrel Hill to Regent Square. Here is an article:

The Bike Pittsburgh Blog Archives » New Bike Lanes and Sharrows on Forbes Ave in Squirrel Hill

Finally, there are lots more neighborhoods you could consider, but as I have noted previously I think you are on the right track looking in the East End and north.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by fiddlehead

Commute from Shaler to Oakland?

The commute from Shaler to Oakland is only 10-20 minutes away by car--depending on where the house is located.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

But I'm not sure if there is a good way to get from Shaler to Pitt with public transit--my guess is you might have to go Downtown and make a transfer.

There is an express bus (13U) that goes directly from the North Hills to Oakland. You can catch a bus at McKnight & Seibert or the Ivory Ave ramp (two additional stops are in McCandless). It's a direct bus that doesn't even stop downtown. The ride is approximately 20 minutes. There are many Shaler neighborhoods that are only 5 minutes from the McKnight Road bus stops so choose your house accordingly if you plan to take the bus to Oakland. Some Shaler neighborhoods are convenient for the bus stops located in McCandless too.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

On bike, I'm thinking getting from the river up to Shaler would be the difficult part, but that is pure speculation.

That depends on where the house is located in Shaler. Furthermore, she could drive to Millvale, park her car and ride the bike. Better yet, she could drive her car to Point Breeze via the Highland Park Bridge, park her car in the Mellon Park parking lot, and ride her bike down 5th Avenue.

Originally Posted by fiddlehead

Also, any other good neighborhoods I have missed? We are family of three, two herding dogs, cat, love hiking and trail running with the dogs, parks, open space, museums, and of course, good schools.

Check out Ross and McCandless townships too. Both are neighboring townships of Shaler where you can catch the express bus to Oakland. Ross Township is served by the North Hills School District and McCandless Township is served by North Allegheny School District. Both districts are among the best in the county.

[Fiddlehead]

Thanks Brian and Hopes,

This is great info! Good to hear there are options. I had not considered the drive/bike option. When working on my MA, I did a two-stage commute, with a drive from a neighboring town to about a mile off-campus for easy parking, then whisking into campus on my old war horse Schwinn. A fun way to start and end the day actually, with the benefit that one had a bike to navigate the university area.

I sent off that Pitt application last night,so all I can do now is wait...

[Impala26]

I think the major issues with Oakland is that it's difficult to find parking and tends to get very congested during the rush hours. Parking is definitely a bigger issue in Oakland than even Downtown. Available on-street parking is unlikely and there are only a few parking garages (and I would hold my breath about their parking rates).

As for transit, there's not really many places in the county far from a bus route, at least by car anyway. I know for a fact that Squirrel Hill has many bus routes, most of which are direct routes to Oakland, Homestead, East Liberty, and Wilkinsburg. I do not know however of what bus routes (if any) serve directly between Shaler and Oakland. The 500 bus is a pretty versatile route. You could catch it and park and ride from either the Waterworks Mall (near Aspinwall, also a nice neighborhood, but not much yard space) or from the Pittsburgh Zoo parking lot, both of which I believe would be free to park.

Biking is a mixed beast. I think it would be difficult to bike directly from a suburb because of the distances and terrain (usually) involved. Weather is a factor because you never really know when it's going to rain, and the warm months are scant compared to the cooler/colder months. Many of the major higher-speed roads in the area have sidewalks in very poor condition, or no sidewalks at all. Bridge crossings by bike are also somewhat difficult from the north. The 40th Street Bridge (between Millvale and Lawrenceville) has a dangerous intersection for bikes on the Millvale side because you're competing with highway traffic from Route 28. The 62nd Street Bridge (Sharpsburg to Morningside) is good, but from the north you'd have to contend with either street traffic and a merge or going up about 2 or 3 floors worth of stairs to get to the sidewalks. The Highland Park Bridge (Aspinwall to Highland Park) isn't bad if you take the sidewalk, but the entrances on either side are a bit convoluted because you have to contend with being diverted around full interchanges on either side and likely having to cross traffic.

I am not trying to scare you away from biking. I've been doing a lot more of it myself. From my experience it seems like biking on main city streets is easier than the major suburban roads. You pretty much have to think backwards when planning a bike route, i.e. finding roads with the slowest traffic. You also have to keep in mind whatever hills you may be encountering. I know some people plan routes where they bike the one route that is predominantly downhill, and for the the return trip utilize the Port Authority's light rail, inclines, or buses with specific racks designed to hold up to two bikes. If you're interested in that option, I found a helpful brochure on the Port Authority's site:

http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/Po...esBrochure.pdf

Best of luck with finding a place in Pittsburgh!

[Fiddlehead]

Thanks Impala,

Excellent tips!