going INTO the city (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: daycare, hotel, house)

[chiltedel]

If you live on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, like zeli, cranberry, or out in the country, how often do travel into the city? We visited and stayed in Cranberry and tried to get into the city we got lost and confused. It made us wonder if we lived there, would we go into the city, or would it be too stressful. Maybe it was just because we didn't know the area yet. Is it hard to drive into the city to go to events or just shop for a day? We tried to find the overlook and tried to use our GPS. I think we went around in circles more than once. Then we wondered how the heck to get down there into the point by the water. Couldn't figure that out either. Thanks!

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by chiltedel

If you live on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, like zeli, cranberry, or out in the country, how often do travel into the city?

Almost every weekend.

Also, we average 2 - 3 hotel nights a month in town, rather than go back and forth.
For example, in September, we had a weekend that was:
Pirate game Friday
Pitt-Notre Dame football Saturday afternoon
Pittsburgh Symphony Saturday night
Pirate game Sunday
Made more sense to stay than commute!

[greg42]

A lot of people from Cranberry go into the city every weekday for work.

Getting down to the city I gather wasn't the issue, as that is all major highways, well marked. But I can see that once you're down there it's confusing. There might be a river in the way, and there are only so many bridges. Some roads aren't straight due to hills and cliffs, etc.

I'm really the wrong person to suggest it's not that hard, though, because I've always had a fairly easy time with navigation, maps, etc.

[pgoodcake]

Hi chiltedel - I travel from Mars (Adams Twp) to downtown every day in a.m and p.m. rush hour for work.

I work 7:30 -4:00 most of the time, but there are days when I work 8:30-5:00. If I leave my house at 6:15, going 79S and 279S (parkway north), I can get to work by 7:30. This includes time spent going to my parking lot then walking 3 blocks to my building. Working later is a real pain! Traffic can be congested from the 79-279 split all the way into the city. ,esp if there is a sporting event that day.

If there is an accident, you can spend up to 2 hours in rush hour traffic. It has happened to me many times over the years.

Also, this is NOT a great commute in the winter, esp if PennDot runs out of salt and decides not to clean the roads
. It has taken me 2 hours to get home in the winter several times.

Construction is a huge headache too. 79 near Warrendale is only 2 lanes right now, but you can exit at Wexford. When the construction was between Wexford and Warrendale, it was a nightmare!!!!

279 should be three lanes all the way from 79 into the city. It just can't handle the traffic volume we have in 2011. Maybe it wasn't so bad back in the 80s....

You can also take Rt 19 into the city, but you have to deal with tons of red lights. Also, it has been under construction and the traffic is horrible at rush hour . Not sure when the construction ends on 19.

Bus service to this area is limited, and I doubt we will ever see a light rail system from the north like the T in the south hills.

I hope you don't have to commute daily from Cranberry/Mars/Zelie into the city!

[heartchya]

I live in Economy--which is a little bit closer than Cranberry. I travel downtown and to the South Hills ( Dormont) about 3 times a week. My daughter goes to daycare in West View so I go all the way to that exit every day. I use 79/279. If I get out of my house by 7:15 it is usually ok. If I wait til 7:30 there is usually a lot more congestion. I don't know what it is like in the winter though and I am starting to get nervous about it. May switch my daughters daycare closer to home since I work in Wexford.

[youngabe]

I used to live near Apollo, which is an eastern suburb way way out, about 30 miles from Downtown. It was basically hell. The Parkway East in the morning can back up starting at Penn Hills--which is exactly 7.2 miles of congestion between Penn Hills and the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. Not 20 mph congestion either--0 - 10 mph congestion. AWFUL.

With that being said, even without work, my weekends always landed me in the city. My friends were all scattered about, so I had no choice if I wanted a social life. So yes, I was always in the city. Now, I live not even two miles from Downtown Pittsburgh, so that's been a great, welcomed change.

I have friends spread across the country too. Friends from Toronto hate driving here and chronically get lost even with a GPS. A close friend from Buffalo, NY can't figure this place out either. Pittsburgh is definitely confusing, hands down, because a lot of the road infrastructure just plain doesn't make any sense to a non-local...and hell, even some locals get lost regularly! Sadly, a common mindset I find in some suburbs is a hate for the city. People complain about driving in and around Pittsburgh and just in general. Oh well, different strokes for different folks. I'm sure the suburban, anti-city attitude can be found in just about any major area across the country though.

[Hopes]

I agree with Greg. Getting there isn't hard. It's just a straight shot down the highway. It's fast too. But once you get there, you will probably have a problem if you moved here from a city with a street grid system. Our streets don't run north to south and east to west.

You have to park your car on the side of the street or in a parking garage and walk to the point. There's no road that goes there. The park starts at the Hilton Hotel. Look at the distance between the Hilton and the Point and that's how far you will be walking from the road if you park near the Hilton.

Basically, you just need to drive into downtown and park your car in the first parking garage you see. Downtown is small. You can walk from one side to the other in 15 minutes. Download a street map of the downtown to carry with you when you walk. You can take the subway across the Mon River and then take an incline up the hill to the overlook. At the bottom of the incline is Station Square which has shopping and restaurants.

Not much shopping downtown, except for the Strip District. You'll want to go to Shadyside, Squirrel Hill or Southside if you want to experience city shopping. Have you found the Ross Park Mall in the North Hills yet? That's where most people in the northern suburbs go shopping.

Ignore pgoodcake's post. She's talking about commuting during rush hour, not going in the evenings or weekends when there isn't traffic.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by chiltedel

If you live on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, like zeli, cranberry, or out in the country, how often do travel into the city? We visited and stayed in Cranberry and tried to get into the city we got lost and confused. It made us wonder if we lived there, would we go into the city, or would it be too stressful. Maybe it was just because we didn't know the area yet. Is it hard to drive into the city to go to events or just shop for a day? We tried to find the overlook and tried to use our GPS. I think we went around in circles more than once. Then we wondered how the heck to get down there into the point by the water. Couldn't figure that out either. Thanks!

Here's a wild idea, move to the city, and you won't have to worry about it.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You have to park your car on the side of the street or in a parking garage and walk to the point. There's no road that goes there. The park starts at the Hilton Hotel. Look at the distance between the Hilton and the Point and that's how far you will be walking from the road if you park near the Hilton.

Wyndham! Don't confuse the new folks even more. Wyndham hotel.

[Geeo]

I've heard some GPS horror stories - it doesn't always work in Pittsburgh. Arm yourself with (if anyone remembers these) a PAPER map. It's a device with all the roads printed in color on a big folded piece of paper that you can use to map your route. Once you know the main routes, it will be easier to get to know your path.