BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Any updates on the South Side Trail? Has anyone heard any dates or know when it's reopening on the weekdays (if it hasn't already)?

The trail between the Mon and Carson? I rode it last Saturday from Hot Metal Bridge to the base of Sycamore no problem.

Yeah, it's always open on weekends, but closed on weekdays because of the work PAWC is doing.

They're supposed to be finished sometime this spring (if they're not already; I just haven't had time to waste on my way to work finding out it's still closed.)

The water company is still working on the trail section at Becks Run Road, across from Pages's Dairy. The trail is open on the weekend, or at least it was this past Sunday. Soooo on the weekends you can go from hot metal to the Glenwood bridge(not sandcastle). On weekdays you can only make it to Becks Run.

Yeah, I guess I should have clarified that I'm interested in it being open for the purposes of commuting.

As it stands, I can go across the Glenwood Bridge and through Hazelwood to get to the Eliza Furnace trail and then eventually over to the Strip District. Or across the High Level Bridge and through SqHill/Shadyside/Oakland/Polish Hill.

The latter is a drag first thing in the morning (mostly because of Browns Hill), and the former is only slightly nerve-wracking (mainly on the Glenwood Bridge).

I could just go straight down Carson, but Hazelwood/2nd Ave is a lot less cramped.

I've actually been pleasantly surprised that I can take the right lane pretty much all the way down to the intersection with Greenfield Ave if I want and no one gives me a hard time.

Anyway, it doesn't look like the trail will be open on weekdays until the end of July:

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11068/1130591-53.stm

It is too bad duck hollow is totally useless for commuting. Jumping across the High level bridge and taking some trail down to duck hollow would be great. Pittsburgh needs a bunch of ziplines.

A Duck Hollow connection would kick ass.

Yeah, I used to use hazelwood to irvine to greenfield to 2d ave when I first started commuting in Pgh. The irvine stretch was a dicier than 2d Ave. Sounds like it's better now, maybe I'll give that a shot again...if my schedule frees up the time.

i'm attempting my first bike commute home from work today. does anybody know how accurate that 4:30 reopening time is that the post gazette article mentioned? should i start working on an alternate route?

alan, how is the commute from where you are? looks like i'm in kind of the same area. the thought of taking the high level bridge kind of scares me.

High level bridge has a sidewalk, and the uphill side of browns hill road also has a sidewalk *almost* all the way to the top, now. I think there is a little back road you can take if you turn into the beer distributor parking lot. It is still a big ass hill, easier if you're headed out of town

+1 on hi-level bridge sidwalk, I use it fairly often.

+ another 1 for the hi-level bridge sidewalk. Also, the Glenwood bridge has sidewalks on both sides. I had to change a flat tire on it the other weekend.

Like everyone else has said, going into Homestead is a pretty easy thing to do via the sidewalk on the bridge.

Your best bet is the left-hand side (as you're heading into Homestead), because the sidewalk on the right-hand side of Browns Hill as you approach the bridge is sort of a little gully and crap tends to accumulate in there.

i just take the right lane headed to homestead. it's a pretty simple matter to coast at 30 mph, and the cars didn't seem to mind me when i was doing that.

coming back, you can turn onto saline street even before the beer distributor. i think you can get there now from the street by hokkaido. it's pretty steep, but it avoids brown's hill, which is always a plus.

@HV: Yeah, depending on traffic, I'll ride the bridge surface heading into Homestead.

If you get the light at Imogene or the one before the bridge starts, you can get really far ahead of any car traffic, and like you said, it's pretty easy to go 30 or more.

It's funny to think that the actual speed limit on the bridge is 25mph.

I'd love it if the city would ever do anything to Saline to actually fix it instead of just throwing some asphalt in the biggest holes every now and then, but I'm not holding my breath. Coming down that way in the evenings is always an adventure.