Could THIS be a remedy to the Squirrel Hill Tunnel Backups? (Oliver: 2014, how much)

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by Impala26

After much mental wrangling, I think I have devised the most workable option to ameliorate the regular backups that plague the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. This takes into account that it has been stated countless times that widening the tunnels themselves is off the table. By my calculation, one of the main culprits of the egregious backups, at least going Eastbound in the PM, is the WAY outdated on-ramp at the intersection just before the tunnel.

To those uninitiated, said on-ramp is short and has a STOP sign. To make matters worse, the sight-line at the end of this ramp is fairly poor with typical free-flowing traffic moving at 60mph and up. And finally to top it all off, for a motorist to actually PROCEED Eastbound on the Parkway through the tunnel, they must merge not just once, but TWICE as the far right lane here is an exit-only lane that would spit them back out in Squirrel Hill. Oh, and did I mention that a motorist must achieve this maneuver in roughly 500 feet or 1/10 of a mile?

So, here is my proposal:
https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=...11809,0.017273

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"My proposal for improving the Squirrel Hill Interchange. It involves rerouting the Eastbound on- and off-ramps. On-ramp would begin further west at the newly constructed Beechwood Blvd. Bridge. The current off-ramp would tunnel slightly beginning roughly at this new bridge and emerge at the existing interchange.

By effectively "stacking" the on- and off-ramps in this arragement, this allows Eastbound traffic a significantly longer merge ramp, but more importantly removes the weave merging that occurs in the current alignment that is a major contributor to the daily backups that occur prior to the tunnel."

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Now, I understand that essentially building another tunnel sounds a bit ironic and absurd, but hear me out here. First off, even though this would be a tunnel for the off-ramp, it would neither be long nor very deep within the earth. Secondly, this is just about the only option I can conceive where traffic coming on the highway isn't forced to awkwardly weave merge with traffic coming off the highway because I see no reasonable way of widening the roadway here given the topography.

There possibly would have to be some minor re-aligning of the existing interchange, but I can't forsee that would be anything but MINOR. The major cost of such a new ramp system would be burying the off-ramp, followed by building a support structure and/or terraforming for the new on-ramp.

Thoughts?

PS: I do acknowledge that this would do NOTHING for Westbound traffic on the Parkway, but I think it's been demonstrated that the regular backups tend to be WORSE Eastbound in the PM. Though the former issue seems to clearly prove that drivers do suffer from some form of "tunnel monster" paranoia as has been suggested on this board...

Interesting idea, however I agree that the weave may cause only a small to moderate portion of the backups. I've often thought of the best way to fix the tunnels, and there really isn't a simple answer. I always thought of simply moving the current interchange ramps closer to where the Greenfield Bridge is. Only problem with that is its not going to do much more than your idea proposes, and would most likely be more expensive.

[MountainDewGuy]

I think the problem with that onramp is that it is so close to the tunnel entrance, where people are already slowing down, and others are trying to get off. A better solution might be to move the merge point back further.

Of course, adding a rail line from Downtown through the East End would be best way to alleviate traffic on the parkway east.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by MountainDewGuy

I think the problem with that onramp is that it is so close to the tunnel entrance, where people are already slowing down, and others are trying to get off. A better solution might be to move the merge point back further.

Of course, adding a rail line from Downtown through the East End would be best way to alleviate traffic on the parkway east.

Even better more economical solution: Extend the East Busway from where it stops right now in Rankin/Swissvale through Braddock up the Turtle Creek Valley (with a stop at Turtle Creek) and have it climb the side up to meet with the Monroeville Mall. That's a prime park-and-ride in the making right there.

That would be a case where (at rush hour at least) the bus would actually be FASTER than taking a car!

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by Impala26

Even better more economical solution: Extend the East Busway from where it stops right now in Rankin/Swissvale through Braddock up the Turtle Creek Valley (with a stop at Turtle Creek) and have it climb the side up to meet with the Monroeville Mall. That's a prime park-and-ride in the making right there.

That would be a case where (at rush hour at least) the bus would actually be FASTER than taking a car!

That would make far too much sense... seriously. Also how bad of an idea would it be to extend the west busway into downtown to connect to the east busway. Too much sense to put into action..

[grep]

I feel like the solution to Squirrel Hill backups is not complicated. We need more people to do one (or a couple) of the following:

- instead of commuting to downtown from Murrysville, how about living in Arlington?
- why not ride the bus instead, or drive to a park and ride on the East Busway?
- why not ride a bike?
- why not work from home?

Why try to fix inherently bad patterns of transit rather than try to move people to healthier, cheaper, and less polluting ways of living?

[Pitt Chick]

Well, we contribute plenty to the SHT backup, but your points aren't valid for us and, I would think, not for many others....

Originally Posted by grep

- instead of commuting to downtown from Murrysville, how about living in Arlington?

We commute in to town from central Westmoreland County. Living in Arlington doesn't help when the jobs are in Westmoreland County.

Originally Posted by grep

- why not ride the bus instead, or drive to a park and ride on the East Busway?

Inconvenient hours and routes. Plus the husband cannot stand and wait for buses. He is a candidate for double knee replacement.... standing still is extremely painful!

Originally Posted by grep

- why not ride a bike?

central Westmoreland County + bad knees.

Originally Posted by grep

- why not work from home?

Still have to commute to the city for concerts, sporting events, plays and the like.

[grep]

Thanks for sharing your situation. Giving up car commuting can be hard for many people, and for some it's impractical. I don't expect everyone to do it, but even if a small portion of people decrease their car usage, that will have a huge impact! Here are some other thoughts for people with considerations similar to you:

Originally Posted by Pitt Chick

We commute in to town from central Westmoreland County. Living in Arlington doesn't help when the jobs are in Westmoreland County.

This was just one example-- what I mean is that there are a lot of affordable neighborhoods, many of which are closer to "town"/work than their current residences. The costs of gas, wear & tear on a car, lack of exercise involved in door to door car travel, time spent driving, and pollution created are often not considered when choosing a place to live. If they were honestly appraised, I think our demographic patterns would be different.

Originally Posted by Pitt Chick

Inconvenient hours and routes. Plus the husband cannot stand and wait for buses. He is a candidate for double knee replacement.... standing still is extremely painful!

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's knees! Not being able to stand must be very hard. That being said:

1) most people can stand for long enough to wait for a bus
2) generally, the closer you live to town, the more bus routes there are and the more often they come
3) bus service is a product of demand: if you vote/write your reps for good public transit, as well as simply taking the bus, service will improve

[Craziaskowboi]

The Squirrel Hill/Homestead interchange needs to be blown up and redrawn, but it's only a tertiary factor in the traffic problem at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. The other factors are a) the Parkway East being horrendously over capacity, and b) the lack of shoulders in the tunnels. If the interchange was the primary factor, then there'd be little or no delay heading westbound.

[ryanm3685]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

The Squirrel Hill/Homestead interchange needs to be blown up and redrawn, but it's only a tertiary factor in the traffic problem at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.

It's definitely a safety issue though which definitely needs addressed somehow, now that Pittsburgh is growing. If we were just continuing our downward population trajectory, it might have been justifiable to leave 376 alone, as less and less people would be driving it over time.

The other factors are a) the Parkway East being horrendously over capacity, and b) the lack of shoulders in the tunnels. If the interchange was the primary factor, then there'd be little or no delay heading westbound.

I'll be doing my part...by moving to the 279/79 corridor to take heat off 376! At least that can be expanded without too much trouble. I'm optimistic about 28's short term prospects, although I see some limits to it's growth already...

Other solutions might be:

1. Change PennDOT to KennDOT (Kennywood would slingshot everyone through the tunnel)
2. Set scottpriester at the tunnel entrance to tell people to hurry it up!

[Moby Hick]

Speaking of blowing things up and the Greenfield Bridge, how on earth are they going to blow-up the Greenfield Bridge without blowing up that duplex that's maybe five feet from the bridge?