Monroeville? (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills, Washington: how much, townhomes, neighborhoods)

[bigben1234]

A few questions:

What do you think about the commute to Downtown, specifically Herrs Island? How much stop and go traffic would I encounter? Anything under 50 mins one way is fine with me, but I don't want to deal with a lot of stop and go areas. What would be the best route? I would be leaving Monroeville at 6:00 AM and leaving Herrs Island at 3:30 PM.

Second, my wife is Asian. She was born in the Philippines and moved to the US after college. She actually looks more Hispanic than Asian (research the History of the Philippines if you are confused). We have a daughter as well. Is there a lot of racial tension in this particular area? How are minorities treated in this area compared to other neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh Area?

Last, any thoughts or opinions good or bad about Monroeville?

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by bigben1234

A few questions:

What do you think about the commute to Downtown, specifically Herrs Island? How much stop and go traffic would I encounter? Anything under 50 mins one way is fine with me, but I don't want to deal with a lot of stop and go areas. What would be the best route? I would be leaving Monroeville at 6:00 AM and leaving Herrs Island at 3:30 PM.

Second, my wife is Asian. She was born in the Philippines and moved to the US after college. She actually looks more Hispanic than Asian (research the History of the Philippines if you are confused). We have a daughter as well. Is there a lot of racial tension in this particular area? How are minorities treated in this area compared to other neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh Area?

Last, any thoughts or opinions good or bad about Monroeville?

Monroeville is pretty diverse so I wouldn't worry about racial tension.

As for your commute, it is really a tough one in that I can't think of the best way to tell you on how to get there.

On the way home you may want to consider taking 28 to Harmarville (15 minutes) and getting on the Turnpike (about 10 miles so roughly 10 min). I know this may sound weird but you won't really encounter much traffic at 3:30 and it basically all highways except for the time it takes to get off 28 and then get on the Turnpike.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by bigben1234

A few questions:

What do you think about the commute to Downtown, specifically Herrs Island? How much stop and go traffic would I encounter? Anything under 50 mins one way is fine with me, but I don't want to deal with a lot of stop and go areas. What would be the best route? I would be leaving Monroeville at 6:00 AM and leaving Herrs Island at 3:30 PM.

Second, my wife is Asian. She was born in the Philippines and moved to the US after college. She actually looks more Hispanic than Asian (research the History of the Philippines if you are confused). We have a daughter as well. Is there a lot of racial tension in this particular area? How are minorities treated in this area compared to other neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh Area?

Last, any thoughts or opinions good or bad about Monroeville?

I've never heard of racial tension towards Filipinas before....I mean, anywhere. An Asian female is probably the least likely to be discriminated against of all minority groups. Filipinas generally speak really good English, which makes it even less likely they'd experience discrimination than a non-English speaking Asian might.

But, regarding Monroeville, it seems there are more Asians living in Monroeville than in Pittsburgh itself.

I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and apparently Monroeville is one of the most racially diverse in the Pittsburgh area, and it's around 6% Asian.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Monroeville is pretty diverse so I wouldn't worry about racial tension.

As for your commute, it is really a tough one in that I can't think of the best way to tell you on how to get there.

On the way home you may want to consider taking 28 to Harmarville (15 minutes) and getting on the Turnpike (about 10 miles so roughly 10 min). I know this may sound weird but you won't really encounter much traffic at 3:30 and it basically all highways except for the time it takes to get off 28 and then get on the Turnpike.

Agree about diversity, but 28 to the Turnpike sounds horrid. At 3:30 couldn't one just take the parkway? The tunnel shouldn't be too severe yet.

[guy2073]

28 to highland park bridge to washington blvd to penn ave to parkway. I would just go 28 to parkway.

Last year i went 28 to turnpike, and i sat at the toll both forever.

[Herodotus]

The parkway is a disaster from about 2:45 on. By 3:30, it will be backed up past Bates St. You won't sit at the toll booth if you get EZ-Pass.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

The parkway is a disaster from about 2:45 on. By 3:30, it will be backed up past Bates St. You won't sit at the toll booth if you get EZ-Pass.

Agreed. Pittsburgh has a VERY long rush hour due to rampant unchecked suburban sprawl. As a delivery driver I won't even consider taking the Parkway East outbound at any point between 3:00 PM and 7:15 PM. Even then I've hit gridlock as early as 2 PM on some days (especially Fridays) and as late as 7:30 PM (especially Thursdays). I wouldn't wish living in Monroeville or Murrysville and commuting into the city on anyone.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Agreed. Pittsburgh has a VERY long rush hour due to rampant unchecked suburban sprawl. I wouldn't wish living in Monroeville or Murrysville and commuting into the city on anyone.

Those communities really weren't designed for commuting into the city. When Monroeville was built up, it was built up more as a suburb for the Turtle Creek and Mon Valleys, which had many large employers with tens of thousands of workers.

My own Monroeville relatives worked at Wabco, example given, and never came to Pittsburgh (except sometimes to visit their Pittsburgh relatives).

[Uptown kid]

Just avoid Cambridge Sq Townhomes. At first it was just wannabee gangsters who grew up in Penn Hills/Pitcairn/Monroeville; however, now the inner city fellas are setting up shop there- and that's no good....

Monroeville is a very nice area.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by guy2073

28 to highland park bridge to washington blvd to penn ave to parkway. I would just go 28 to parkway.

Last year i went 28 to turnpike, and i sat at the toll both forever.

You will sail through the turnpike in Harmarville. Not sure about Monroeville at 4. My wife goes from Monroeville to Harmarville at 5 and has never complained.

I wouldn't go through the city if I didn't have to. I also wouldn't want to make a left from Washington Blvd/5th Ave. (I think it is really 5th at that point) onto Penn Avenue. Since Bakery Square opened they got rid of the protected left. So you would have to make a left onto Thomas Blvd.

Just take 28 to the turnpike. All high way with little traffic.