Mt. Washington to Monroeville Commute (Allentown, Swissvale: fit in, real estate, house)

[Mancolt]

My roommate and I just found a place in Mt. Washington that we both love. Has everything we were looking for and then some. My only concern is the Mt. Washington location. We lived in South Oakland and North Oakland/Shadyside while we were students at Pitt, and have lived in the Southside for the past year. I loved our last 3 locations, but haven't been able to find any places in any of those locations that meet all of the criteria we both were looking for in a place. But we were able to find it in a place on Mt. Washington.

What is the commute like from Mt. Washington to Monroeville? I'm going the opposite way of traffic so I'm hoping that makes a significant difference because I absolutely hate traffic, esp I-376 going in the direction of rush hour traffic!

Does anyone have any recommended routes that would help bypass some of the traffic, from Mt. Washington to Monroeville and then back in the evening? I may only be working in Monroeville for 6 months, or it may be permanent. We'll have the house on Mt. Washington for at least 1 year though.

I'm also a little concerned about being on Mt. Washington and how to fit in my normal weekend night life. But my work commute takes priority over that. I think I'll make due on weekends as long as my work commute isn't horrendous.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[BrianTH]

In my experience there isn't a lot of congestion on I-376/the Squirrel Hill tunnel for reverse commutes. So I would probably just try it the normal way.

[SammyKhalifa]

I do a reverse communte from Mt. Washington as well, only for me it's going up the Parkway North. The big problem spot is waiting in line to get on the Liberty Bridge. You have to get in line with all of the people that are leaving town through the tunnels. On some days it's almost totally clear, but on others it's taken me an hour to get that final mile and a half home.

Also, for some reason I've noticed that traffic seems worse on Thursdays than it is on other days.

[Mancolt]

Thank you both for the quick and helpful responses.

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

I do a reverse communte from Mt. Washington as well, only for me it's going up the Parkway North. The big problem spot is waiting in line to get on the Liberty Bridge. You have to get in line with all of the people that are leaving town through the tunnels. On some days it's almost totally clear, but on others it's taken me an hour to get that final mile and a half home.

Also, for some reason I've noticed that traffic seems worse on Thursdays than it is on other days.

I haven't driven much during rush hour in the past few years, but when I have, I've definitely noticed the line for the Liberty Bridge. Maybe it's just me, but going 1.5mi in 1 hour would drive me absolutely insane! Sitting in traffic is probably my single biggest pet peeve. I don't mind a longer drive as long as I'm moving, but stop and go drives me nuts.

I don't think getting out to Monroeville in the morning will take as long as getting home at night. Or is there still a ton of traffic on the Liberty Bridge in the morning heading to I-376E?

For the trip home, I was thinking about getting off 376 at the Oakland exit in the direction that puts you onto 2nd ave/Hot Metal St Bridge, then taking 2nd Ave down to 10th street. Then I can take the back roads from 10th street to the gas station at the corner of station square and then onto Arlington/E Sycamore.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by Mancolt

Thank you both for the quick and helpful responses.



I haven't driven much during rush hour in the past few years, but when I have, I've definitely noticed the line for the Liberty Bridge. Maybe it's just me, but going 1.5mi in 1 hour would drive me absolutely insane! Sitting in traffic is probably my single biggest pet peeve. I don't mind a longer drive as long as I'm moving, but stop and go drives me nuts.

I don't think getting out to Monroeville in the morning will take as long as getting home at night. Or is there still a ton of traffic on the Liberty Bridge in the morning heading to I-376E?

For the trip home, I was thinking about getting off 376 at the Oakland exit in the direction that puts you onto 2nd ave/Hot Metal St Bridge, then taking 2nd Ave down to 10th street. Then I can take the back roads from 10th street to the gas station at the corner of station square and then onto Arlington/E Sycamore.

An hour is pretty extreme, but it'll happen from time to time. The annoying part is that it takes me barely over 20 minutes to get from all the way up in Cranberry to that point, and then I get there and just sit while people who decide they're too important to wait in line try to cut into traffic. GRRRRRRR. It's one of the major reasons I'm thinking of moving closer to work.

Occasionally to avoid that I'll go over the West End Bridge onto 51, and then up the back side of Mt. Washington instead. There's still traffic, but at least it's exciting new traffic.

I leave for work relatively early (about 7) but at least when I'm leaving it isn't much of a problem. You'll have about a trafficlight wait if you get onto the bride from McArdle. Traffic across the bridge itself is sometimes slow but moving. I normally take Sycamore Street down the hill, but it's about the same that way too.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Mancolt

For the trip home, I was thinking about getting off 376 at the Oakland exit in the direction that puts you onto 2nd ave/Hot Metal St Bridge, then taking 2nd Ave down to 10th street. Then I can take the back roads from 10th street to the gas station at the corner of station square and then onto Arlington/E Sycamore.

Seems like a good idea to me. We've taken 2nd Ave inbound and outbound on occasion, both morning and evening. Outbound in the evening it can back up trying to get over the Hot Metal Bridge, but inbound is usually fine, and the 10th Street Bridge doesn't seem to back up like the Hot Metal Bridge.

[WestLibertyAve]

Originally Posted by Mancolt

I don't think getting out to Monroeville in the morning will take as long as getting home at night. Or is there still a ton of traffic on the Liberty Bridge in the morning heading to I-376E?

For the trip home, I was thinking about getting off 376 at the Oakland exit in the direction that puts you onto 2nd ave/Hot Metal St Bridge, then taking 2nd Ave down to 10th street. Then I can take the back roads from 10th street to the gas station at the corner of station square and then onto Arlington/E Sycamore.

If you don't have a problem taking Sycamore up the hill, you may want to consider taking William Street down in the mornings. It'll pop you out on Arlington not far from the Liberty Bridge. The real traffic backs up on the other end of the tunnels, at worst you'll have to sit through a few light cycles to get on the bridge.

The last time I passed the McCardle Roadway on the Southside it looked like it's going to be a while before it's ready for traffic. That'll cut a few minutes off your trip home. The Boulevard to the Liberty Bridge generally isn't too bad, although it sometimes gets lined up as you go down past the jail...still not a long wait at all and then you can use the right lane on the bridge to bypass the traffic going through the tunnel and make a right up McCardle.

[I_Like_Spam]

If I were making the trip back from Monroeville, I'd probably be looking to go straight through the Fort Pitt and south on 51 to Woodruff.

If its really backed up, take the Glenwood exit and 2nd Avenue to the 10th St. bridge and take Mt. Washington through Brosville and Allentown.

[Hopes]

The commute from Mt. Washington to Monroeville won't be much different from your current commute from Southside to Monroeville.

Mt. Washington is basically right next to Southside, just more elevated.

I'm a bit confused as to how you think the commute will be much different from your current commute.

[Mancolt]

Originally Posted by Hopes

The commute from Mt. Washington to Monroeville won't be much different from your current commute from Southside to Monroeville.

Mt. Washington is basically right next to Southside, just more elevated.

I'm a bit confused as to how you think the commute will be much different from your current commute.

Sorry, I guess I should have clarified. I haven't started at the job in Monroeville yet. That will probably coincide pretty closely with the timeframe that we move into the new place, which is now not as certain. Apparently the owner and the real estate company were both showing the house, but the owner didn't inform the real estate company that he was also showing it. So when we toured it with the real estate company, they gave us the impression that if we moved quickly, it'd most likely be ours. But apparently the owner already had some interest, so hopefully I'll find out tomorrow whether we are first in line or not. In the meantime, my roommate and I are still looking at places in Mt. Washington, Southside, Shadyside, and would consider any place that's a little further east than Shadyside, but still not too far from the downtown/southside area (I guess that'd be Edgewood/Swissvale area).

We currently live on 26th St in Southside, so if I had to go to Monroeville now, I'd hop across Hot Metal Bridge and then onto 376 East. The part of the commute that I thought would be the biggest issues from Mt. Washington are the first few miles getting onto 376 East in the morning, and the last few miles getting back to Mt. Washington in the evening.

Thanks for all the responses everyone.