Good places in the City to learn to drive? (Pittsburgh: neighborhood, high school)

[shogun221]

My wife just got her learner's permit, so I've been taking her out in my car so she can get some practice on the roads. This has been a challenge since, between traffic, hills and narrow streets, much of Pittsburgh is NOT friendly for beginning drivers.

I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for an area/neighborhood near the east end that would be safe for someone with little experience behind the wheel. The car is a manual transmission, the area would have to be relatively flat too (anyone who's learned MT knows what I'm talking about here

Anyhoo, All ideas are greatly appreciated!

[greg42]

For initial trials of the stick shift, an ideal spot is an empty parking lot, which is pretty difficult. Getting somewhere flat, etc, you could try The Waterfront I suppose, but it might not be ideal a lot of the time because of traffic. But it is really flat, and there's a long-ish road you can use, plus lots of parking lots. In the summer it can be handy that Costco closes at 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays, but for some reason I'm thinking the Costco down there might close off the parking lot at those times, not sure. Early Sunday morning might be a good option down there too; apart from Giant Eagle and Lowe's and I guess Target most of those places wouldn't open until at least 10:00.

You could also use early Sunday morning in the city, probably. Drive down 5th Ave, that's pretty flat and simple, just traffic lights.

[nuwaver88]

Take her to RIDC Park in O'Hara. It is a large business park. I would go after 6pm or so after the office workers have gone home. You can also go on the weekends when they are not working. There is a series of roads that service the office park. They will be wide open after working hours and have a variety of speed limits.

From the East End, go across the Highland Park Bridge to 28 North. The RIDC exit is only one mile or so. That is where my dad taught me to drive in the early 1980s. The streets are all named after the Greek alphabet. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=RIDC+P...src=6&t=h&z=15

[Craziaskowboi]

The eastbound on-ramp at Squirrel Hill. There you can practice your "wide-open throttle," "head on a swivel" and "suicide lane change" drills.

[Hopes]

We always started out in cemetaries. Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville is a good one. It's huge with many roads. Just pretend every intersection is a stop sign.

Once she has a good feel for the car, take her to RIDC like newaver suggested.

When she's ready for some traffic, wake up early on Saturday. The roads are empty, not many cars.

[raubre]

If you're in teh South Hills, I know a lot of people try to learn how to drive in South Park

[Caladium]

Definitely not Canton Avenue in Beechview.

Canton Ave.

I like the cemetery suggestion.

[ML North]

Use the upper Civic Arena lot at night or during a weekend (You'll need to check for events). I lived in this area for a while and saw a lot of people learning to drive in this lot.

[gg]

Originally Posted by nuwaver88

Take her to RIDC Park in O'Hara.

This is my choice. That RIDC Park is a place people go for that. Lots of parking lots, hills and easy roads to navigate. It is about perfect. If they had cones out for parallel parking, it would be a driver's course. I suspect you could put some up yourself. Sunday is a great day to practice there as well.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

The eastbound on-ramp at Squirrel Hill. There you can practice your "wide-open throttle," "head on a swivel" and "suicide lane change" drills.

No joke, my second time behind the wheel my high school driving instructor made me do that. He was a little bit crazy, I think.

School parking lots are always good in the summer, evenings and on weekends.