BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I started up the ramp from the south side yesterday, made it about 5 feet, and turned around to take the road instead. It's a disaster.

What sort of shovel is best suited for snow (ice?) thats on the bridge right now? Is it mushy/fluffy enough for a snow shovel, or does one need something to bust through ice?

I'll bring a square shovel and a pushbroom.

Both snow shovels and ice busters will be warranted.

The last time I checked it out, there was a beaten-down path that was mostly compacted ice, and the rest was more-or-less untouched snow.

BTW, since I forgot to specify, meet up is on the Oakland side.

Sounds like a shovel with a steel-tipped blade will do you well.

Even steel-tipped snow shovels aren't as effective as an icebreaker or spade with a sharp steel blade.

I started up the ramp from the south side yesterday, made it about 5 feet, and turned around to take the road instead. It's a disaster.

Totally made it to the run on the MTB last night, only hit my nuts on the bar once!

Even steel-tipped snow shovels aren't as effective as an icebreaker or spade with a sharp steel blade.

Yep. I'll bring one of each.

please take some photos of this. if they are online somewhere, i can post them to the blog. ill do that from mexico for yinz,in sympahty.

Are you sure, erok? I wouldn't want to cut into your lounging-on-the-beach time...

I just walked from Hot Metal to Birmingham on the Oakland side. With the above freezing temps and direct sunlight, the snow is loose granular. I think a regular snow shovel would do well removing it from the trail and the bridge. Not too many tough icy spots left.

Highs above freezing all weekend should help, too.

Thanks to sloaps, Dave, Mick, and Stu for coming out today...lots of progress made by the time I *cough* left ahead of the rest.

I'm planning on another attack on the bridge tomorrow AM, starting at 9 on the South Side end of things. (Yes, Dave, I'll bring a spare shovel.) While I'm kinda time-limited to the morning, if anyone wanted to come out later in the day as well, I suspect the warming sun will make snow and ice removal very, very easy.

Yinz should come out tomorow, it was, strangely, a lot of fun. Dress in layers, I was sweat drenched in minutes. Tough gloves would help, I ended up with a few blisters.

I hacked away at the ramp from Second Avenue for about three hours, and only made it about halfway up. It's a solid ice pack about 5" thick. Mick was working on the snow from the top of the ramp.

When we left around 2:30, the sun was only starting to touch it. To finish the ramp (and sorry, I can't help tomorrow), you will need a square spade. Nothing plastic. I stopped mainly because my metal shovel handle resembled a pretzel and was no longer functional.

i'll have a flat shovel and a digging bar with a chiseled end - tricounty area are out of scrapers...

Dunno if you can see this, but here are some photos of the ramp project.

Meanwhile, I also posted a couple of tweets:

* On the Second Avenue approach to the Hot Metal Bridge, chopping ice.

* Not quite halfway up the ramp. Making progress at about a foot per minute. All ice. Every square inch has to be hard-chopped.

* Someone thought it'd be easier clearing the unpacked snow by the railing. It isn't. It's just as icy under that, & doesn't clear off as nice

* Done shovelling. Tired. Bent shovel handle from all the chopping.

A few pix

Y'all should call the press and have a ceremony presenting a bill to Ravenstahl for doing the city's work for him.

you guys friggin rule! Thanks!

I would help but I work 90 hours a week

I would help but I work 90 hours a week

That still leaves, uh, (counts on fingers), what, 78 hours free? C'mon...

You guys wouldn't believe how much fun we had at the Hot Metal Bridge Shovelling party ! ! !

er...

uh...

...maybe you would.

wicked sore, but i had a good time. lots of thank yous and talked a passing biker into giving us a hand for about a half hour or so. We'll see what the rain may do for us tomorrow.

I stopped by late last night to see if anyone had added to the work done on the Second Avenue ramp, but apparently nobody has. It did appear to be a lot softer, though. I could kick it apart.

as promised,

http://bike-pgh.org/2010/02/local-cyclists-organize-hot-metal-bridge-snow-clearing-party/

love erok, in mexico

Nice work everyone! I'm trying my hardest to get the city to plow the EFT and Panther Hollow Trail now.

Has the warm spell done anything to clear that top 75 feet of the Second Avenue ramp? Anything I got even halfway cleared off was bare on Sunday evening, but if that top part refreezes (tonight's low = 23), it is gonna be damn miserable.

@ Stu

I meant to get down there this morning on my way to work, but didn't.

I was pretty much aware that when we walked away on Saturday, that the weather would be the only followup to what we had done. That's why I did the 10 minute "clear-off-the-top-layer" on that upper 75 feet.

As a note to future fools who do this sort of thing, becoming familiar with the location of the drains on the ramps, and ensuring that runoff has a clear path to said drains, will help reduce ice buildup in the next freeze.

Just heard back from the City. They're going to try to get EFT done by Thursday morning. Not sure about the Hollow, but will keep on them.

Basically just in time for the next snow storm

Nice follow through, Scott. Shall we continue working on the 1100 ft. deck of the hot metal bridge this weekend? We cleared about 200 ft. of approach on the southside in about 3 hours last weekend.

:]

Ha! Well, I shared the blog post about your efforts with them (and Councilman Kraus). Can you imagine if citizens were out in the cartway shoveling for hours on end? It's without a doubt understandable that it took some time for the City to get to the trails, but 3 weeks is about a week and a half too long.

Next weekend? Why not, I can't think of a better way to spend my 31st birthday

I can't make it to this shovel party either, but if there was a need, I can arraign the loan of some heavy duty trail tools.

We didn't have enough shovels.

We broke a couple of the shovels we had, due to our phenomenal strength and such. It probably wasn't because the shovels were half-broken POS's to start with.

My own shovel handle again resembles its original shape, thanks to a handy tire iron and some elbow grease, but if I ever have to do this again (argh), I'm bringing the square spade, and recommend anyone else do likewise.

Mick, you're right, it wasn't the tools' weaknesses, it was our own strength.

Oh dear god, please let them plow the hollow. Climbing up Swineburne every morning with no space on the shoulder is NOT fun

I can't help with snow shovels, just spades.

Rode around this evening. The hollow is a mess 3-4 inches of heavy, loose granular ice chips. the jail trail between the hollar and hot metal has bare spots. and the hot metal deck is slushy with rubber tire tracks as if either someone with a golf cart took a joy ride, or DPW salted with that tiny contraption reddan or kordite posted a picture of.

I saw that a plow had been on the Eliza Furnace Trail, even to that often neglected shady area between the parkway and the jail. Just in time for the snow we're supposed to get overnight and tomorrow.

Will yinz be shovelling on Saturday? If so, I'll stop by.

I suggest that at some time (10 am?) we evaluate what labor we have and what we think we can accomplish, then focus on that.

Or maybe instead of a shovel party, we should have a "hang-out-get-drunk-and-call-311" party.

I ride through on the commute home this evening. I would think the high winds would blow the new snow off to reveal the thin layer of ice I ran over yesterday.

Studs worked well on it.

I'm not planning on shoveling this weekend. Got way too much quality "lie on the sofa and ignore the kids" time scheduled.

^^^^

Dad of the year.

It's gotten a lot harder to get my "me time", now that they're clever enough to escape from basic traps and bonds.

sunday maybe? Snow machines will be turned off by then and old man winter is turning the thermostat up into the mid thirties...

Dave, I'll let you use the digging bar and buy you a birthday beverage at OTB???

Sunday I think I'll be in Lancaster... plus I have the downside of I'M SICK. ON MY BIRTHDAY WEEKEND. DAMNIT.