Considering Mt Lebanon and USC area, looking for advice (Hastings: high school, walkable)

[gallacus]

Originally Posted by hornet67

Well, the T is so bloody slow, that a lot of folks hope to find to make the seemingly interminable commute more comfortable. I believe you could traverse the entire length of Manhattan in the time it takes the T to traverse Beechview ( aka a stop every 10 feet!).

I suppose it could be slower during rush hour, but I've taken it many times during off-peak hours and it has been like clockwork. It always takes right around the 22 minutes that is scheduled to get from Mt. Lebanon to Wood Street, which is a distance of about 6 miles. By comparison sake, in New York City it takes 21 minutes to get from Battery Park to 57th Street Station on the R train, which also traverses a distance of about 6 miles. With that said, I'm not sure I see how our system is so inferior, other than size.

[Hopes]

But by the time you drive to the parking lot, park your car and wait for the T, you could be halfway downtown.

[Mtl-Cns]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Then I don't really see the point of living near the T. Guess I'm spoiled living in the North Hills with the fast commute via car.

The point of the T is its frequency. During peak times it runs about every 10 minutes (sometimes quicker), which in case you haven't noticed with all of the cutbacks, many of the bus routes do not. I live about an 8 minute walk from T in Mt. Lebanon (but use the Dormont Junction station as it's closer) and I can tell you that it is extremely convenient. The problems lie with all of the street level Beechview stops. That is where it runs slowly if there are several passengers boarding or alighting. Despite its problems, it is nonetheless cheaper, reliable, and more environmentally friendly than hopping in the car and parking downtown. Also much less stressful. Get a smartphone or a tablet and the time spent on the T will fly. Pay bills, listen to music, Christmas shop, read...

[gallacus]

Originally Posted by Mtl-Cns

The point of the T is its frequency. During peak times it runs about every 10 minutes (sometimes quicker), which in case you haven't noticed with all of the cutbacks, many of the bus routes do not. I live about an 8 minute walk from T in Mt. Lebanon (but use the Dormont Junction station as it's closer) and I can tell you that it is extremely convenient. The problems lie with all of the street level Beechview stops. That is where it runs slowly if there are several passengers boarding or alighting. Despite its problems, it is nonetheless cheaper, reliable, and more environmentally friendly than hopping in the car and parking downtown. Also much less stressful. Get a smartphone or a tablet and the time spent on the T will fly. Pay bills, listen to music, Christmas shop, read...

Yeah, I think it's best if you can walk to the station, which many people in Mt. Lebanon are close enough to do. If you're driving there, it doesn't seem as beneficial, unless you're coming from farther out (like from USC and taking the T from South Hills Village).

As Mtl-Cns said above though, what makes taking the T truly awesome is just relaxing in the comfortable train and letting someone else do the driving. If I could take public transportation everywhere, I'd LOVE to get rid of my car, I can't stand driving places anymore. I'd gladly tack on a few minutes to my commute in order to ride the T.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by Hopes

But by the time you drive to the parking lot, park your car and wait for the T, you could be halfway downtown.

Public transit is almost never faster than driving, that's not really the point of it. The attraction is that you don't have to drive.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Public transit is almost never faster than driving, that's not really the point of it. The attraction is that you don't have to drive.

And it's cheaper than parking downtown or in Oakland.

[captainmidnight]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Public transit is almost never faster than driving, that's not really the point of it. The attraction is that you don't have to drive.

Bingo. Even if your commute takes the same time (or maybe 5-10 minutes longer) via transit as it does by car, it is still a win in my book.

Transit usually gets stuck in the same traffic that cars do (except for dedicated ROW routes like the Busways or the T. Swissvale to Downtown via the East Busway is faster than a car taking a direct route [South Braddock Avenue to I-376]), especially during rush hours) so yes, transit will probably take close to the same amount of time as driving if using similar roads as your auto. (If there is an accident or detour affecting a road your bus travels, it will be delayed just like a car. This is one reason buses are late but it seems like a lot of passengers don't realize this!)

So looking at the advantages of taking T from Mt. Lebanon to Downtown from a pure time perspective is kind of a limited viewpoint. There are other advantages that come into play - save money on car gas and wear and tear (With transit you pay your fare and that is it. With an car, you have gas, wear and tear, and parking), less stress, read a book, sleep, study, etc safely, and better for environment. Sure it might take as long or longer on the T, but there are other reasons to take the T instead.

This is all my perspective. I realize a lot of people like the car and the freedoms and conveniences it brings and that is fine. I use the car mostly on weekends but on my weekday commute, I use transit.

[Curious323]

In terms of evaluating the two, I think it helps to view them something like this: USC is a sprawling township made entirely of housing developments. You definitely can't walk anywhere and while much of it is quite beautiful, dropping your kids off at a friends house could take up to an hour, roundtrip. There's not much of a "town" element to it. While Mt. Lebanon doesn't have as many new homes, one really can walk just about anywhere (some walks are longer than others). About 99% of the streets have sidewalks for this purpose. Also, it has the "town" element that USC is missing, with both Uptown and Beverly Road. It's very often that USC residents go to Mt Lebo restaurants/businesses on the weekends.

[raynist]

Originally Posted by hornet67

Well, the T is so bloody slow, that a lot of folks hope to find to make the seemingly interminable commute more comfortable. I believe you could traverse the entire length of Manhattan in the time it takes the T to traverse Beechview ( aka a stop every 10 feet!).

The Beechview line is terrible.....

My wife takes the red line (?) through overbook, far fewer stops.

[raynist]

Originally Posted by Curious323

In terms of evaluating the two, I think it helps to view them something like this: USC is a sprawling township made entirely of housing developments. You definitely can't walk anywhere and while much of it is quite beautiful, dropping your kids off at a friends house could take up to an hour, roundtrip. There's not much of a "town" element to it. While Mt. Lebanon doesn't have as many new homes, one really can walk just about anywhere (some walks are longer than others). About 99% of the streets have sidewalks for this purpose. Also, it has the "town" element that USC is missing, with both Uptown and Beverly Road. It's very often that USC residents go to Mt Lebo restaurants/businesses on the weekends.

An hour round trip? In USC? It isn't that big. You can drive from one end to the other in less than 10 minutes