Pittsburgh ranks 11th for cities with low car ownership? (transfer, neighborhood) - Pennsylvania (PA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Craziaskowboi · 02-05-2011, 11:13 PM

I'm gonna buy an 18-wheeler and park on the street. I'll save my parking space(s) with a living room set.

BrianTH · 02-06-2011, 02:30 AM

So I believe that is for the City, not the Metro. That's not really a surprising ranking, considering that the City of Pittsburgh is #7 in terms of people who bike, walk, or take public transit for their commute:

The Bike Pittsburgh Blog Archives » Pittsburgh sees 206 percent rise in bicycle commuting since 2000 – Fourth largest increase in the country

To be fair, this is one area where the City being relatively small in geographic extent likely helps its rankings. Still, there really are a lot of places in the City where people can afford to live within walking distance of work, and PAT also provides decent service for commuters in many part of the City, and, although bike-commuting is behind transit and walking right now, they are rapidly improving the bike infrastucture in the City and the growth in bike commuting is impressive (as documented in the link above). And the City has Zipcar, which provides an alternative to car ownership.

So I don't think this ranking is surprising. And Pittsburgh has lots more potential still--upgrade PAT further, keep up the good work in biking (and maybe make state law more friendly to e-bikes), infill with more residential units in existing employment or transit zones and new mixed-use areas, maybe get Zipcar in more places, and so on, and I think Pittsburgh could move further up this ranking.

MeinGlanzendMotorrad · 02-06-2011, 03:15 AM

On the flip side, I own more cars than there are people in my household.

feanix · 02-06-2011, 03:17 AM

Do they have a bike route from the zoo to Pittsburgh? I don't recall there being one and I always thought if they added one that it could really give Lawrenceville a boost. I think they should add more bike stands throughout the city too to play off of Port Authority's bike racks on some of their buses. Sort of promote each other in that way. I could've seen myself riding to town on PAT with my bike up front, locking it outside my job, and riding during lunch to the Strip, North Shore, and the likes.

Living where I live now it really does make a difference. They embrace bicycling so much that almost every street has a designated bike lane. I think it's harder to do around Pittsburgh because the city's much older, but I think with some creativity they could pull it off. Here it is so common that my husband and I went out tonight for a bike ride (at 7pm) and saw multiple people in the middle of winter riding their bikes around the park. Felt good. Would be nice to see Pittsburgh continue to grow in that way. The bonus to just being attractive is promoting a healthier city and giving the residents more options outside of PAT and a car. An all around win from what I can see.

gg · 02-06-2011, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feanix

Do they have a bike route from the zoo to Pittsburgh? I don't recall there being one and I always thought if they added one that it could really give Lawrenceville a boost. I think they should add more bike stands throughout the city too to play off of Port Authority's bike racks on some of their buses. Sort of promote each other in that way. I could've seen myself riding to town on PAT with my bike up front, locking it outside my job, and riding during lunch to the Strip, North Shore, and the likes.

Living where I live now it really does make a difference. They embrace bicycling so much that almost every street has a designated bike lane. I think it's harder to do around Pittsburgh because the city's much older, but I think with some creativity they could pull it off. Here it is so common that my husband and I went out tonight for a bike ride (at 7pm) and saw multiple people in the middle of winter riding their bikes around the park. Felt good. Would be nice to see Pittsburgh continue to grow in that way. The bonus to just being attractive is promoting a healthier city and giving the residents more options outside of PAT and a car. An all around win from what I can see.

Bicycling in Pittsburgh has gotten much better, but has a very long way to go. If I wanted to ride from the zoo to Pittsburgh, there are a couple of routes, but no trails or bike ways that are complete. Ride down One Wild Place to Butler Street and take that. It is a very wide road most all the way to Lawrenceville. Ride until you get to the Y in the road and take a right, then work your way down to a road that is closest to the river until you can catch that trail that is along the river by the Strip District. The other way would be get yourself to Ellsworth however you can and get to Panther Hollow and take that trail in. Either way, it isn't bad. Someday, you will be able to get on a trail from Sharpsburg to the city, but that isn't complete. I have no idea when it will be finished??? Could be years.

I forgot, Liberty Ave has a bike lane quite a bit of the way, so that is another way of doing it. Personally I believe Butler Street is the safest and fastest. Wish that trail was all the way to Sharpsburg or better yet, Aspinwall. Going across the Highland Park Bridge isn't bad if you can get to the sidewalk. I try and keep that sidewalk clean, but it is a pretty big job even with the backpack blower I use.

Hopes · 02-06-2011, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Going across the Highland Park Bridge isn't bad if you can get to the sidewalk. I try and keep that sidewalk clean, but it is a pretty big job even with the backpack blower I use.

Are you seriously cleaning the sidewalk on the Highland Park bridge? If so, I'm impressed with your community spirit!

gg · 02-06-2011, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopes

Are you seriously cleaning the sidewalk on the Highland Park bridge? If so, I'm impressed with your community spirit!

Thank you, but I use it and it never gets cleaned. I hope this Spring isn't as bad as last Spring, because I don't think it has ever been cleaned since it was built. That bridge is used a lot by walkers, joggers and cyclists because it is between Aspinwall and the zoo.

I confess, when I am cleaning it I feel like telling people the local government has NOTHING to do with this job, but I think many people think I was hired. I just hate them to get credit, because they don't do anything for walkers much at all.

BrianTH · 02-06-2011, 11:36 AM

Bike Pittsburgh provides an interactive map indicating bike routes:

Bike Pittsburgh map

feanix · 02-06-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Bicycling in Pittsburgh has gotten much better, but has a very long way to go. If I wanted to ride from the zoo to Pittsburgh, there are a couple of routes, but no trails or bike ways that are complete. Ride down One Wild Place to Butler Street and take that. It is a very wide road most all the way to Lawrenceville. Ride until you get to the Y in the road and take a right, then work your way down to a road that is closest to the river until you can catch that trail that is along the river by the Strip District. The other way would be get yourself to Ellsworth however you can and get to Panther Hollow and take that trail in. Either way, it isn't bad. Someday, you will be able to get on a trail from Sharpsburg to the city, but that isn't complete. I have no idea when it will be finished??? Could be years.

The problem with that route is I ride a recumbent due to my disability and there is no way I'd ride my recumbent down some of the streets, particularly during rush hour even up to that point. Maybe from the Y on since I can choose between backroads, but then I'm dealing with parked cars and sitting low to the ground riding next to parked cars isn't the safest thing to do.

The problem I've always had is that my bike is too wide for most streets, and drivers aren't the friendliest, especially during rush hour. I ride a 3 wheel recumbent trike so many roads don't even have a shoulder wide enough. Because I am disabled with a large bike I felt limited to parks and bike trails without a designated bike lane in most areas. When you are concerned about your safety (particularly as a handicapped bike rider), well that hinders one's ability to incorporate it into their daily life. My needs are slightly different than your average 2 wheel rider who sits in the line of sight for most drivers.

I was always a big supporter of the bike trails and lanes they are incorporating throughout the city. It would be nice if they came up with something for the Lawrenceville side. Another section I thought that would be nice is Allegheny River Boulevard and to convert the little turnarounds into useable spaces for riders to stop. That would be a really nice ride in my opinion from Verona.

Anyway, I think it's easier to build a city with bike lanes in mind then to try and come in after the fact, but I applaud Pittsburgh for trying.

850_branded · 02-07-2011, 09:14 AM

The ranking doesn't surprise me one single bit. Hell, I knew plenty of people while I was living there who didn't even have a drivers' license (or of those who did, a valid one). But I think that has more to do with the affluent (and pretty darn efficient) transit network than anything else. In that vein, PAT deserves a helluva lot more credit than it gets. Now true, PAT ain't what it was even five years ago to say nothing of the previous twenty, but still...it is one of the nation's largest, which is saying something considering the greater metro area sits just outside the top 20 in the nation, if I remember correctly.