BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

oh sad. that stretch of butler always gives me the willies

everything about this detour makes me sad. butler will be intense and i guess i wont be riding down to oakmont as easily as before. i liked riding down there even though the shoulder is nonexistent.

Ouch... I don't know how they'll fit 4 lanes anyways with all those cars parked on the sides of the road and on the sidewalks.

There's always Baker St if you don't mind short, steep, pointless climbs. But who doesn't?!

The ride along the RR tracks down below is perfectly doable, maybe not on those superskinny tires but with 28's or better it's fine.

Drop down around the 62nd bridge -- but DON'T turn here



(even tho it's a cool space) -- go on down, and right, and through the junkyard, and upriver. Come out at the lock and dam and Highland Park.

On the whole, though, Butler Street is a LOT faster.

Yeah, I can't believe that road will handle four lanes. I know it's wide, but is it that wide?

I suspect that my typical route of coming down the backside of Baker from my house to get the 62nd Street Bridge isn't going to be very practical either--I can't imagine getting across four lanes of traffic to make that left.

but, isn't butler still going to be gridlocked anyway, now with four lanes?

Off peak, twilight and weekends the traffic is pretty sparse - never any problems outbound or inbound at those times.

I fear the intersection of Butler and Baker at the zoo entrance on the weekends. It is positively INSANE on the weekends as it is (traffic is routinely backed up ACROSS the HP Bridge).

*Shudder*

Narrow lanes, heavy traffic, pretty good visibility. Take the lane, people will go around you IF they're even moving. (They might get bent out of shape, and that's why we need some law enforcement and culture change. Drag a few dozen people into court for road raging, and we'll see some change.)

Has anyone found riding out 62nd St and back HP to be a problem? Is Butler so narrow now that it's just not worth it getting to 62nd St Bridge from East End even though the detour runs the other way?

I rode out via Butler and the 62nd Street Bridge on Sunday. Traffic was not a problem. I suggest hitting Butler via the zoo side of Baker, rather than Zoo Hill--if you get the green at Baker/Butler, you can put a fair amount of distance between yourself and any potential traffic. I looked over my shoulder as I approached the other end of Baker Street, and there wasn't a car in sight behind me.

So, on the weekend, not so bad.

I assume coming back via the HP Bridge isn't much different than before.

I've had no problems with the 62nd street bridge, even coming into the city at rush hour in the evenings. This has been much less of an issue than I expected.

I should start taking pictures of a telephone pole that is particularly close to the road on Butler. Every day I've looked a bit more wood is missing from the street side. I wonder if PennDOT will reimburse drivers for all the broken mirrors?

That pole is a lesson so the drivers can learn where the boundaries of their vehicles are.

So when riding north, coming home 62nd st bridge

isnt terrible. There is a cop at the 4 way down

below where people are being detoured.

Yesterday I thought that it might actually be

safer coming in straight 8 from saxonburg and just

getting on the bridge like that. I go left toward

larryville, or I would roll through sharpsburg to

the HP bridge.

Butler inbound between hp and 62nd is awful and narrow

Thanks for the update. I can hit Baker to Butler outbound and then maybe try to get in the left lane on the HP Bridge inbound and go up WA Blvd. Glad it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Now I just need to figure out what to do about McKees Rocks bridge being closed. I hate 51.

Yesterday I thought that it might actually be

safer coming in straight 8 from saxonburg and just

getting on the bridge like that.

This is an interesting idea. It would certainly make dealing with the 62nd Bridge a bit easier--I hate being dumped in the middle of two lanes coming up from Sharpsburg.

I've taken the direct route to and from Route 8 on the 62nd St Bridge. Not a lot of fun, but probably not any better or worse than going down into Etna.

Update. Finally rode out this way today. Butler St was not nearly as bad as I imagined -- I came through Morningside and picked it up @ zoo parking. It was tight, but drivers were actually pretty cool and gave me space.

Ride back over HP bridge was okay, too. Not a big fan of the 45 mph car sandwich before the left exit, but I sucked it up.

Going through Main St/Etna I noticed that people (and by people I mean large container trucks) have figured out that you can bypass the 2 bridge detour. I wonder why they just didn't route the whole damn thing through Etna? It makes sense. That ride down Main St is usually a fairly easy spin, but it was def hectic today.

Sarah -- Where are your trying to use the McKees Rocks Bridge to get to? It is still open northbound, you know.

Northbound... hmm, which way is that? On a map it looks like it runs E-W but I was born with no sense of direction so I could be wrong. I am trying to go from 51 to CA Ave. Thanks!

Sarah, that way is still open. It's California to 51 that involves a wee bit of a detour.

Confirming Reddan's comments. You can get from McKees Rocks to Route 65/California Avenue via the McKees Rocks Bridge. You can not get TO McKees Rocks FROM Route 65/California Avenue at this time.

I would not recommend the McKees Rocks Bridge until the construction is over. I now have first hand experience with this: avoid.

Even the sidewalk? I drove across it today, and sarah_q, you're right about the driving lane. But the sidewalk was deserted. This is the sidewalk that was busted up for a decade plus, now fixed.

I think you have to exit at Helen Street and get back on, but otherwise it looks complete.

Let's take the McKees Rocks Bridge discussion to a new thread.

Seriously how long is the 28 detour going to be gumming up Butler St????