We just moved back to Brighton Heights and my wife starts a new job on Steubenville Pike on Tuesday. She's new to riding in Pittsburgh traffic, so we mapped out a draft route and rode together today. Aside from a snag where Aiken Road is closed and a forced detour along Clever -> Silver -> Beaver Grade, it wasn't too bad. Here's the route she'll be taking for now: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1330395
Does anyone who rides in this area have any suggestions? She'll be riding primarily during rush hour.
OT: It's been almost two years since I've ridden in Pittsburgh, and even on a Sunday those roads were fairly heavily traveled. We got buzzed a couple of times, but the vast majority of cars gave four feet or more when passing. Such a nice change from two years ago!
The only adjustment I would suggest is, when you get through the Rocks to Broadway, take Broadway to Pine Hollow to Fairhaven, then resume your route. Chartiers/McKees Rocks road through there is narrow with poor shoulder and sketchy bends. Pine Hollow is nice and wide. Also you can cut through the BP, through the KenMawr plaza to Fairhaven and miss a really crappy intersection in Kennedy.
^ +1
I second edmonds59's suggestion about Pine Hollow. I used much the same route on my commute to FedEx Ground's HQ a couple years ago.
Your map route is a decent Plan B, and almost identical to the one I planned to use when I worked in Hightower office park, just a bit farther up Steubenville Pike.
Maybe use that for the trip home, for a change of pace.
Hey I think I saw your person on Wednesday on the way out in the morning on Silver and again in the afternoon on Clever. Bright pink top? I was not on bike. How did that work out, she going to continue to give it a go?
That was a darn hot day to start that up, woe. If it ever gets to be too much, riding out in the morning when it's cool then bus racking back in the afternoon on the #24 bus as far as the Rocks is a good option. Or vice versa.
