Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-08-2013, 11:02 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,529 posts, read 17,492,411 times
Reputation: 10634

Advertisements

Depends on where you live in Ross. I lived off Thompson Run Rd and it was a very quick commute for my wife to AGH. Worked for the county part time this Summer and one guy lived in Ross, parked on the Northside and took the T for free. He loved it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-08-2013, 12:37 PM
 
531 posts, read 500,186 times
Reputation: 488
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
If it was purely driving, Ross wins
I agree. I travel the Ross-to-town commute once a week at least. The two times I had to drive to Mt. Lebanon from downtown during rush hour made me want to stab myself in the face. I wouldn't wish that daily drive on my worst enemy. If I were considering Mt. Lebanon, it would have to be the T or no dice.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 02:02 PM
 
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
2,773 posts, read 3,844,810 times
Reputation: 2067
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Dark View Post
I agree. I travel the Ross-to-town commute once a week at least. The two times I had to drive to Mt. Lebanon from downtown during rush hour made me want to stab myself in the face. I wouldn't wish that daily drive on my worst enemy. If I were considering Mt. Lebanon, it would have to be the T or no dice.
Center of Mt. Lebanon to Pittsburgh = 7.3 miles via Washington Rd./West Liberty
Center of Mt. Lebanon to Pittsburgh = 8.2 miles via Banksville Rd.
Center of Ross Twp. to Pittsburgh = 7.7 miles via McKnight Rd. and 279
Center of Ross Twp. to Pittsburgh = 9.0 miles via Babcock Blvd.

Traffic can be bad for both routes, but overall Lebo is slightly closer by distance and if you live closer to the Dormont border the commute can be shorter.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,595,378 times
Reputation: 5162
It ain't the distance, it's the time.

Anymore though, it's also the hassle. This to me is where Lebo has the edge. If you're working downtown and thus can get in from home without driving (or just driving a short distance to park by the T) then that wins in my mind, even if it takes a little more time.

I still think that from many points in Ross it would take less time driving than driving from Lebo, but it is true that this is highly variable depending upon where in each place.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 02:38 PM
 
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
2,773 posts, read 3,844,810 times
Reputation: 2067
Greg

I agree the time is more important than the distance, but Ross also has fewer routes. If McKnight, 279 or Babcock are slowed down what next? I have lived in Lebo and commuted downtown. I also dated someone in Ross and sometimes commuted from Ross to downtown. I was continually frustrated with the lack of routes from Ross. Of course she also lived all the way at the border of Ross and McCandless and I lived near the border of Dormont in Mt. Lebo. I was literally able to walk to the T or commute about 5 miles on West Liberty to get downtown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,595,378 times
Reputation: 5162
Quote:
Originally Posted by track2514 View Post
Greg

I agree the time is more important than the distance, but Ross also has fewer routes. If McKnight, 279 or Babcock are slowed down what next? I have lived in Lebo and commuted downtown. I also dated someone in Ross and sometimes commuted from Ross to downtown. I was continually frustrated with the lack of routes from Ross. Of course she also lived all the way at the border of Ross and McCandless and I lived near the border of Dormont in Mt. Lebo. I was literally able to walk to the T or commute about 5 miles on West Liberty to get downtown.
Personally I think number of routes is a weird measure. What is important is how long it takes by the ideal route on average each day, at the time you need to drive it. From various parts of Ross you have a commute that has few or no traffic lights and traffic that generally moves. You do always need 279, but you don't necessarily need McKnight or Babcock. At the border of McCandless I sure wouldn't take McKnight most times. It helps if you are west/south of McKnight of course rather than east/north of it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 03:23 PM
 
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
2,773 posts, read 3,844,810 times
Reputation: 2067
Greg

In the Burgh number of routes is not a weird measure by any means. The construction on the tunnels, bridges, highways, traffic, and accidents can severely impact travel times. You can take Babcock and avoid 279, but you can't avoid Babcock, 279, and McKnight if you want to get to the city in a reasonable amount of time from Ross. If there is one accident on Perry Highway it is over and McKnight is useless for commuting, non-stop redlights and traffic. Personally, I feel the travel times in a car from Ross and Lebo to the Burgh are about the same. As I mentioned above and previously, I am bothered by the lack of routes from Ross to the city and the distance is a little further than Lebo. Where I feel Ross wins out is that there is no tunnel to contend with, but you still have to contend with various bridges.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 05:08 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,595,378 times
Reputation: 5162
I say the number of routes is a "weird measure" because only a small minority will actually change their route with any frequency. If you go changing your route only once you're out on the road, or even based on a traffic report, in most cases all you're doing is making it take longer. Short of a fatal accident which closes down the road, you're generally better off sticking with it. (In fact I did this this morning, going out to 79 knowing of the accident near Wexford. The delay time was not longer than the amount of time I would have spent taking a route to avoid it.) Most of the time you drive the same route, and most of the time it has a predictable traffic flow. And I would venture that this is more flowing from Ross.

And there are significant portions of Ross that don't require Babcock or McKnight at all. From the Perrysville area, for example, you would likely never commute on McKnight or Babcock. Most of your surface street commuting would be sideways (not on the major artery like Perry Highway) and then you just have 279.

As I said it varies a lot depending upon where in each of those places. I can pick out the most ideal spots to drive from in Ross and you can pick out the least ideal. And vice-versa for Mt Lebo. The key difference is that Lebo gives you the better option to make the commute completely car-free. There are some places you could do that in Ross, too, but they are fewer and it would be on a bus which is (mostly) subject to the same traffic issues as driving. Most (all?) of the T from Lebo would not be subject to traffic issues.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 06:03 PM
 
5,047 posts, read 5,778,062 times
Reputation: 3120
I live in Bridgeville and my commute by driving downtown is 45 mins door to door in teh morning and 30mins in the evening.

One of these days I will brave the elements and take the bus.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2013, 08:15 PM
 
8 posts, read 12,122 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks for all the replies, lots to think about. I know my husband would much rather get stuff done on the commute... sitting in traffic or standing on a bus is definitely not ideal.

We like that you can get more house for your buck in Ross, but I like the architecture in Mt. Lebo. It's a tough decision.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top