BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Morewood ave request to fix potholes

1/13/10

Sent using ? by Alankhg

311 complaint ID:

City response:

Follow up:

Sent using web-form; got the auto-responder so far.

here's my thank you I sent today:

A bit belated, but I am writing to thank DPW and others for their efforts in maintaining the Eliza Furance Trail, South Side Trail, Smithfield Street Bridge and the Hot Metal Bridge during the recent 10 or so days of snowfall - I cant speak for the Panther Hollow Trail, because I didn't ride on it. It is quite a noticeable improvement from years past, as the snow would consolidate, refreeze and leave the paths covered in ice and completely impassable. I'm not sure what feedback, if any, has been received, but from my point of view as long as brushing or plowing removes bicycle wheel ruts from the snow and a dusting or thin coating of snow remains, then deicing salts may not be entirely necessary.

Thanks, again!

Sent Using 311 Webform

Date: 1/16/2010

311 Complaint ID: 744

City Response:

Follow Up:

Got a confirmation today that the Fifth Ave sidewalk has been plowed.

Thanks DPW, er, I mean, thanks inordinately warm weather.

The kid who drives the plow vehicle on the junction hollow trail does more sleeping than plowing. Wasted tax dollars aside, it's pretty funny

@spakbros reminds me of the advertising van dude I've seen twice now sleeping underneath the 10th st bridge as the vehicle ran and the advertisements rotated.

It's what I would do if I could. (sans running engine of course)

bump!

Topic of Concern:

Bike/Pedestrian Trails

Message:

A few of us have taken the liberty of clearing the north and south approach ramps to the Hot Metal Pedestrian Bridges which span Second Avenue and the Monongahela River. In addition, another person has taken the liberty of cutting and clearing the fallen trees from the Eliza Furnace Trail right-of-way. Many of us are aware of the City's attempts to clear the trails, as there are signs of plowing during the onset of the Snowstorm, and are very appreciative of those attempts. I hope that from our initiative the City could take advantage of the above freezing temperatures and plow the Trails before freezing temperatures reduce the compacted snow to thick, dense ice. Thank you.

Incident Address:

Hot Metal Bridge and Eliza Furnace Trail

Date: 2/22/10

311 complaint ID: 3890

City response:

Follow up: N/A

@sloaps.

The shoveling party was a nice bonding experience and all, but we didn't get that much done: still a rough ride to get accross.

Perhaps the best thing would be to get Bike-Pgh, and the Bike-ped coordinator, etc behind the idea that the city needs to have some set of trails that it is a priority to keep open and clean.

I'm guessing that the areas requested would have to be modest to even have chance of being a priority.

The fact that we went out and manually shoveled part of the HMB would put it on the list.

If there were one other equally small, well-defined trail segment that bikers could agree on, that would about max out the plausibility of this idea - for now.

I think the city does have a set of trails that it considers a priority; that would be the Ft Duquesne path and the segment of the Point into town, as those seem to be cleared well in advance of any other trails.

Considering the degree of usage of the Ft Duquesne path, that's not an unreasonable place to _start_. I'd kinda like to see more, though...

The Eliza Furnace Trail seems to get its share of attention, probably because one end terminates at a Public Works garage. It's easy for them to jump on the trail and make a run to the Second Avenue lot. And usually, they are pretty good about it. I'll email a complaint in the morning and by the aftrnoon they've made a run.

Except that this time they dropped the ball. Sure, there were trees down, and that would take a different crew to go out and do something about it and it wouldn't be as simple as making a single pass in a truck. But I took those trees out a week ago and numerous people have let them know the way is clear over the past week and nothing has been done.

One truck. One pass. Done.

I've logged multiple complaints in the past about the intersection of Penn, Butler & 34th. It looks like the traffic lights are being replaced! Thank-you pending.

The Birmingham Bridge bike lane has a lot of debris, including broken glass. The weather is very nice now and more cyclists will begin to use this lane. The broken glass is a hazard, causing cyclists to veer into the road to avoid the debris. Please clear the bike lanes. Thank you.

Sent just now.

There are trees down just before the eastern terminus of the South Side Trail. My friend has sent a couple of iBurgh requests but nothing's come of it so far.

kudos to the Alcosan guys who cut back the trees that were blocking the section of the SS trail in Baldwin this afternoon. You can now get all the way to the Glenwood bridge without crawling over/under the logs.

RE: Birmingham bike lanes

Joe, I walked across the bridge this morning (I know, no bike today, sigh) and saw that the city has street cleaned the lanes! I meant to send a 311 on that but never got around to it. Now I'm going to actually 311 a thank you.

EDIT: my thank you message...

Topic of Concern: Thanks for cleaning Birmingham Bridge!

Message: A quick thank you for cleaning the Birmingham Bridge Bike lanes! I was so nervous riding my bike over the debris and glass yesterday I was going to 311 this, but someone beat me to it! Thanks for being so responsive. Keep up the great work folks. ~Tricia

The street cleaners have been out a lot recently but they almost seem to just be pushing the debris around.

The work on the Birmingham Bridge made a HUGE difference. The bike lanes were basically gravel and dirt, and this morning, they were completely clear. Here's hoping they do the northbound side before I ride home.

Found this on Facebook from a friend:

Also, thanks for cleaning the crap off of the bike lanes on Birmingham Bridge!

Guys, would it make sense to 311 particularly bad potholes yet? This soon after winter? Cause there are three really scary ones on a bridge I ride every day.

My initial thought is that it would be like telling someone busy cleaning a huge field full of trash that "Hey, there's some over here! Can you come get this trash? Hey!" But I thought I'd ask, cause maybe it is indeed worth it.

I would say yes. But then, I would like to 311 about half of the city

They encourage reporting pot holes.

K, you got me.

I understand the DPW is working hard to repair winter damage to all of our roads, and I would like to thank them very much for that. I'd also like to report that there are particularly deep, dangerous potholes at the expansion joints of the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge (Blvd of Allies, between S Oakland and Schenley public pool), in the rightmost outbound lane. They are very deep and wide, and particularly dangerous for the cyclists that frequent the bridge.

What Ryan said--report them. It's likely that the crews are sent to fix specific stretches, and if the DPW doesn't know what's broken, they can't fix it.

Big link on the front page for city of pgh's website.. report a pothole.

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/

Uh oh. Response to the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge. What?

This roadway is maintained by PennDOT, not the City of Pittsburgh. To report potholes for repair, and/or to file a claim for reimbursement of costs from damages from the pothole, you can contact PennDOT at (412) 429-5000.

Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center.

PennDOT does maintain some bridges/roads. County does too. Caall 1-800-Fix-Roads for PennDOT.

I 311'd a request for a street sweeper on a few roads around the East End, and they replied that street sweeper season wouldn't start until April 1. So I was surprised when I saw a sweeper going down Ellsworth Avenue a few days ago. Even so, it didn't do that great of a job--or maybe I didn't have that good of a view for "before and after"--leaving a good amount of debris behind.

I rode up to the observatory yesterday but unfortunately coming down the hill is a lot less fun due to all the potholes... is it worth 311'ing? I guess it can't hurt.

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and

closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number is: 167665

Summary of action taken:

Per Rich Cervi 3-22-10 There is another sheet on this job. Job

Completed

Summary of Service-Request:

there is still a very large tree blocking the section of the trail that

connects Saline Street by the ball field and Big Jim's to the Boundary

Street trailhead in Four Mile Run.

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please

refer to your Service Request Identification-Number.

Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

We appreciate your help!

I think I submitted this request on 3/16. So it took 'em 10 days. But at least they did it! I haven't been out to check on their work, but when I submitted other requests on S Braddock in Regent Square, Beechwood near 5th Ave in the past month, they patched them within a week or two. A smoother surface would have been nice, but what they did was a definite improvement.

----

their email 3/17

Your submission has been assigned a Ticket ID number: 5203.

Neighborhood Squirrel Hill South

Topic of Concern Pothole

Message On the stretch of Saline St between Beechwood Blvd and behind the Sav Mor Beer & Pop Warehouse, parallel to Browns Hill Rd. This is an important road for bicyclists who don't want to die on busy Browns Hill Rd. But this pothole minefield is horrible!

Incident Address On Saline St a short distance down the hill from Beechwood Blvd.

----

their email 3/26

Summary of action taken:

Per DPW 3rd Div:

COMPLETED 3/25/10

Summary of Service-Request:

03.18.10: This stretch of road is a land mine.

I recently did a 311 "thank you" for starting the street sweeping operation a little early this year, and I just now submitted a request hoping that someone will do something about the weird wavy/warped pavement at Forbes Avenue and Craig Street.

I didn't submit a request, but I just noticed they repainted the bike lanes on Greenfield Rd, in the park.

Sent to 311 on 4/1/10

"To whom it may concern:

I live on the corner of Parkview Avenue and the Boulevard of the Allies in South Oakland. That intersection is very dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. There are no posted crosswalks, but each day I see numerous people cross the Boulevard regardless. Fairly often too I hear the squeal of tires of motorists "peeling out" to either cross/turn onto the Boulevard, or turn left onto the section of Parkview south of the Boulevard. This latter left turn actually has no turn lane and I've even seen backups start to reach down the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge.

The Boulevard of the Allies in South Oakland is also unsafe for cycling because the lanes are fairly narrow and the two lanes of traffic move pretty fast, often even above the 35mph posted speed limit. The slope of the Boulevard on either side of Bates Street also compounds this issue. Using the sidewalks usually isn't a much better option as they're pretty beat up in spots and are occasionally blocked by parked cars.

My concern though is the safety of crossing the Boulevard at Parkview Avenue, where the natural bend around the Anderson Bridge makes for a rather blind curve for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. Crossing at the traffic light intersection of Dawson one block down isn't much safer as the light cycle is short and there tends to be fairly aggressive motorists there trying to "beat" the light, often apathetic of peds and bikes trying to cross as well. I wish to request some sort of speed control system at or near Parkview, especially from the Anderson Bridge Approach. Whether this would be a crosswalk, caution signs/flashing lights, or a full traffic light at Parkview all sound like an improvement over the bare unsafe intersection we have now. A pile of broken glass in the roadway as I write this serves as testament to the unsafe nature of this intersection, as does the frequent sound of squealing tires.

Please let me know if there is anything in the works to improve safety at this intersection or any of the other intersections along the Boulevard of the Allies in Oakland. I greatly appreciate your time."

I know it's ambiguous, but I feel like at least it's best if the city knows that the concern is in the public mind, right?

Impala, there was a study done a couple of years ago by Rothschild Doyno Archidtects for OPDC on making the Blvd from Craft to Parkview a pedestrian and bike friendly street. I would call Wanda Wilson with OPDC and ask her what the plans are for that plan. We were a part of it, but not sure what the time horizon on implementation is.

At any intersection without a painted crosswalk, there is still an unmarked crosswalk in which motorists are still required to yield to pedestrians.

I wonder how long it would take to fully fund the city's pensions if you deployed two police officers, one standing at the corner and one with a video camera, at that corner at rush hour.

I struck out with my 311 complaint.

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number is: 169609

Summary of action taken:

Per DPW 1st Div:

If we would widen these areas we could have problems with Quads and motorcycles. 4-1-10.

Summary of Service-Request:

4-1-10: Caller states that these areas CAN be widened. It is simply a gate that is not all the way opened. Please open them all th way.

3-29-10: DPW had sent this back to us, stating that we needed better lcoation of which gates are the problems. Complainant sent us back the following info:

1. At Preble and North Ave

2. Near N Franklin and Oxline

3. Near Branchpoint St

4. Near Doer St.

Per complainant:

"On the north shore river trail, between the casino and where the trail ends at the prison, many of the gates that are there to prevent motor vehicles from getting on the trail wind up blocking the trail to such a point to make it unsafe and inconvenient for cyclists. A couple of these gates block the trail to the point that you would be able to get a bike with a child trailer or even a wide stroller through the available gap. I would like to see the available gap at these gates widened to at least four feet so i can allow safer use of the trail."

Looks like they arent going to widen the gate passes.. Well I guess I can always do the american thing and sue the city if I impale myself on one.

Nice April Fools joke, DPW.

I responded with, I have never seen a quad near on or beside the northshore trail, and if mortorcycle wanted to get through, that they could proably walk it through, not to mention half the gates are open, its just the ones that are locked closed have bypasses that are too narrow.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it is impossible to build a gate that obstructs motorcyclists yet allows bicyclists through without any danger of injury. They're almost exactly the same profile.

I mean, I'd be a lousy engineer if I couldn't imagine ways of doing this but all are disproportionate response to the threat motorcyclists pose to trails. Weight differences meaning you can't shoulder a motorcycle, a sensitive inductive loop sensor buried beneath the gate opening, etc.

Got a response form the mayors office.. a good one too.

Regarding quads and motorcycles, DPW referred to them because they are

permitted to ride on the trails, to my knowledge. However, I have

re-submitted the complaint, with the additional information you provided

me with today, and have asked for them to either open all of the gates

wide enough, or provide a more indepth explanation as to why this would

be a problem or danger.

Thank you for your patience in this matter!

I log a lot of street sweeping requests, mostly for East End streets, though perhaps that will change with the arrival in earnest of street sweeping season. I used the 311 website to log gravel etc. on the 31st Street bridge, and got a response that PennDOT is in charge of that, and 311 gave me a PennDOT number to call--412-429-5000. I left a message with someone at PennDOT, who called me back and said they would send a crew out. Interestingly, both agencies (311 and PennDOT) claimed the other was in charge of the sidewalk. Obviously, they can't both be right.

In other non-city thank-yous, I stopped in the manager's office at the Shadyside Giant Eagle Market District and thanked them for the five bike racks (which are much-used, I would say) they have there.

311 Web Form

Name: Nick Grego

Date: 4/8/10

Topic of Concern: Bates Street

Message:

I have several requests regarding Bates Street, most of which I hope can be implemented in the near future.

One: The intersection with The Blvd. of the Allies is unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. It is a major intersection for not only motorists but Oakland residents who want to access the Eliza Furnace Trail and the Hot Metal Pedestrian Bridge.

Two: The condition of the sidewalk. As the road is often choked with automobile traffic, cyclists like myself will almost always opt for taking the sidewalk, especially going uphill. My request is make sure the sidewalk is in good condition and is a fairly even surface. It is already fairly wide, but it becomes much tighter at the bend about halfway down with the guardrail and around the pub building towards the bottom. I would love to see the sidewalk widened in areas like these, especially at the curve/guardrail area where there appear to be room to extend it towards the road. In keeping it a fairly even surface I would also like to see ADA-style curb cuts at the residential parking areas along this stretch and at the Parkway East off-ramp that intersects with this sidewalk on the west side of Bates.

Three: Better crosswalk markings and warnings at the Parkway off/on-ramp areas. I would also make the same request for better crosswalk markings and warnings at the on-street section of Bates located where there is a large set of steps that climbs the hill to Frazier and Romeo Streets.

Four: Finally, I would also like to request a better and more visible entrance to the Eliza Furnace Trail located where Hodge St. meets Bates. I would love to see this short stretch under the parkway paved (it is currently earthen), possibly covered to prevent runoff from the bridge above from dripping, and have some lighting installed. I would also like to see better signage for peds and cyclists announcing this entrance, and possibly cautionary signage for motorists about the increased ped and bike traffic in the area. This would apply to both right at the entrance, but also hopefully at the top of Bates at the Boulevard.

One final note: There is still a good amount of debris along this sidewalk from most likely plants/leaves.

I think these improvements would do a lot to improving the Bates corridor for pedestrians and cyclists at the very least.

"311 Web Form

Name: Nick Grego

Date: 4/10/10

Topic of Concern: Sidewalks

Message:

The sidewalk along the south side of Fifth Avenue from the Birmingham Bridge to Craft Ave in Oakland is a major bike route between Oakland and the South Side. However, there is a business that frequently parks cars blocking the sidewalk, forcing bikes and pedestrians to move into the bus-only lane there. Also, the sidewalk along Fifth between the on-ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies to about Craft is in fairly poor condition. There are several broken pieces of concrete along this stretch. Also there is a deep hole in the side walk about 1 to 2 feet deep and about 2 feet wide along this sidewalk in the area between Robinson Street and Craft Ave. My request is to enforce the business there from blocking the sidewalk, have this sidewalk repaired, and the hole filled in.

Also, I wanted to follow up and earlier request about Bates Street. I wanted to make sure to request that curb-cuts be installed at all appropriate (curbed) areas along the Bates Street Sidewalk to allow for one continuous smooth path. Also, the sidewalk around the bend in the road halfway up with the guardrail widened, or the railing moved closer to the roadway as there appears to be adequate space to do so."

LOL, I guess I cannot stress enough that I feel that the Bates corridor should be better, and can easily be that way too. Better connections to the Birmingham Bridge, a great biking bridge is a no-brainer. I guess I should have specified improving the whole ramp and sidewalk from there along Forbes, but I doubt anything can be done about that, it's just plain dangerous.

Posting a 311 request to improve access to the Eliza Furnace trail entrance at the corner of Hodge and Bates Streets, this was the response I just received:

"There is no official access to the Eliza Furnace Trail from Bates Street."

So, that said, is there anything that can be done to make it "official"? I wanted to know if Bates Street improvements were on the bike and ped "master plan" for the city.

By the way is there any way to see that, or is it more or less a loose amalgam of improvements/corridors/etc.?

Posting a 311 request to improve access to the Eliza Furnace trail entrance at the corner of Hodge and Bates Streets, this was the response I just received:

"There is no official access to the Eliza Furnace Trail from Bates Street."

So, that said, is there anything that can be done to make it "official"?

Maybe someone could post a sign saying "Eliza Furnace Trail Access" to make it official.

Oh wait.

@ieverhart: Yeah, my sentiments exactly >

I think that area could use a reasonable amount of improvement. Nothing extreme, I just know that people (myself included) use the way pictured as the primary route between Oakland and the South Side. And that goes for both bikes and pedestrians. Thus my logic for wanting to see improved infrastructure in that and the Bates street area in general.

Topic

Police running red lights

Concern

Hi, I noticed a police officer stopping momentarily at a red light on Beacon and Wightman, then turning on his lights (no siren) and running the light, then turning his lights off about 50 meters after the intersection. I was on my bike at the time and passed through the intersection in the perpendicular direction from the officer, where the light was green. Luckily I passed through just after he ran the light, or else he might have hit me. This is the third time in the past month in Squirrel Hill I've seen a police officer turn their lights on just to run a red light and then immediately turn their lights off, and I was wondering if this practice is being encouraged by those higher up in the police department? Will this practice be continuing?

Address of Concern

Beacon Street and Wightman Street

Reply Thread

311 reply: 04/14/2010 @ 11:38 am

You may file a complaint against uniformed City workers with the Office of Municipal Investigations. They can be reached directly at (412) 255-2804.

Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center.

No love this time...and only three blocks from home.

Your submission has been assigned a Ticket ID number: 6213.

Topic of Concern

Unsafe Passing by Police Officer

Message

I was biking up 18th Street Extension/Monastery Ave and making a right up Monastery Ave towards St. Paul's when at approximately 5:15 pm Officer 4143 operating vehicle 3325 passed me while also turning right onto Monastery Ave. I yelled for him to stop. He complied and request that we stop and talk at the intersection of Monastery and St. Paul Street. We did. I told him that he made an unsafe pass. I told him that when passing a slower moving vehicle is is on him to pass with care. He asked if I signaled. I asked if he is allowed to unsafely pass another moving vehicle at an intersection causing an oncoming vehicle to stop. He asked for my ID, and I complied. I asked to set my bike onto the sidewalk by the monastery, he said okay. At this time, I am on the sidewalk, he and his vehicle are in the street. I told him that I would expect such unsafe driving from the average person, but not a city officer. I repeated that when passing a slower moving vehicle that it is his responsibility to pass safely and that you cant pass through an intersection. He said he was on a 911 call. I asked why no lights: If no lights and/or no sirens, then no excuse to unsafely operate a motor vehicle and risk injuring a bicyclist. He said that lights and sirens are his discretion. I know they are, but not using them doesn't excuse unsafe driving. He asked if I wanted to be cited for disorderly conduct for yelling. I asked why should I be cited if he's the one in the middle of the street not backing down and admitting he was wrong for passing me the way he did. He returned my ID. I asked for his badge number and he complied. He left.

I'm glad that Officer 4143 stopped, and now that I'm calm, I apologize for yelling. I put up with all kinds of unsafe motor vehicle operators during my commutes, but I'll be damned if I will accept a city officer act with the same disregard. If it happens again, then I will speak up again. I have been hit by cars before. I have come away from accidents with some nasty injuries while the opposing vehicle leaves without a scratch or a dent. I'm sure your motorcycle officers know how bad it feels - from even low speed collisions. That perspective of pain and consequence needs shared and understood by all officers. In summary, all I ask is for officers to set the tone for conduct on the streets. If they choose to unsafely operate motor vehicles, then why should they expect motoring civilians to comply? And all this at the detriment of a growing population of bicyclists in Pittsburgh. Thank you.

Incident Address

Intersection of Monastery and Monastery?

While! Sloapes glad you're ok. Some 'officers' sense of entitlement is amazing sometimes & I hope this gets followed up on. I also know it's hard to stand up to authority, and even harder to know when to stand-down - sounds like you managed just fine!

If he was on a 911 call why was he able to stop and chat?

The trouble people (in uniform or not) go to just to avoid saying "You're right, I'm wrong, I'm sorry."

The office of municipal investigations received a copy of my complaint and followed up with me today. Mr./Officer Roy Dean? was looking into my complaint to determine if any action on their part is necessary to recommend disciplinary actions against the officer - suspension, termination, etc.

I told him that the only issue here is the driving itself and not the "discussion" which occurred afterward. I was yelling and screaming at the officer pretty good, and he and his partner were absolutely professional in how they maintained their composer. Mr. Dean said that based on my statements there is no need for his office to get involved, but will forward all this information to the officer's commander at Zone 3. From there the commander will handle it.

I believe he was careless, and not malicious so the outcome seems reasonable to me.

It seems that the officers reaction is the same as pretty much most motorists reactions when they get called out for doing something they know is wrong. They get defensive, belligerent, and start pointing out everything you were doing wrong to distract you from what they were doing wrong.

Also, as a cyclist, you can always use the, I believe that removing my hand from my handlebars to signal would have cause me to be unstable and unsafe.

What would have happened had you been going straight? would you have just t-boned his cruiser?

Netviln: yep. The other day I told some jagbag that passed me a foot away on Penn that what he did was dangerous. His response: "YOU'RE DANGEROUS! GET OFF THE ROAD. GET AHEAD OF ME AND I'LL SHOW YOU DANGEROUS."

311 Praise: We play polo in Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville during the week as there is a lit court until 9pm in the winter, 10pm in the summer. One of the players called 311 to ask that the burnt out bulbs be replaced and that the tree trimmed around the lights so the court can be that much better and free from shadows. Less than a week and the bulbs are new, with the tree reportedly on the schedule for a haircut. Let's hope, the lights are a huge improvement already but the tree growth in front of the one bank is pretty thick. If it actually gets trimmed, and hopefully not all hacked to death, it will be awesome all around.

I just 311'd the burgeoning pothole on Alder Street near the intersection with Highland Avenue. Every time I turn right there, I feel like I have to swerve to avoid hitting it.

311'ed the tree down in Schenley blocking the trail.

I just updated my online submission on the bags of trash on the South Side trail, between 10th and 20th Streets. Anyone else see those?

I 311'd the grit on the sidewalk near the high-point along Panther Hollow Rd. opposite the Schenley Oval.

Also 311'd the messy uneven north part of the intersection of Bates and Blvd. of the Allies.

Any other grit, street clearing, or major potholes/seams that should be 311'd?

I rode over a pretty rough series of potholes tonight on Braddock Ave, between Forbes and Hutchinson (turned right off of Forbes onto Braddock). Should have jumped off my bike to iBurgh it-- it was right in cycling path. Meanwhile, what is a safe way to ride between this area of Regent Square and Highland Park at night? I took East End Ave. to Penn to Penn Circle to Highland. I would have taken Thomas, but wasn't feeling Hamilton by myself. Typically I never ride on the sidewalks, but made an exception on my way back tonight as I was by myself and the road was just so dark, folks were driving like maniacs and no one was out walking. I did jump off to walk my bike across the intersections, but ideally I'd like to find a safer roadway. I guess Forbes to Shady and on would be a better bet?

bump to 311 today

Topic of Concern: Joncaire street sidwalk

Message: The sidewalk on Joncaire street is by default shared by bicycles and pedestrians, since the Belgian Block of Joncaire street itself can be hazardous. There is a utility cable of some kind that has been lying on the groud near a utility pole at the driveway to the Mervis Hall (Katz School) Loading Dock for close to two weeks. Sometimes it is coiled but often it is lying across the sidwalk. Also the Queen Anne's lace is growing more and more into the sidewalk about half way down the hill (near the fire hydrant) and desperately needs to be trimmed. Not sure if this is Pitt's responsibility or the cities--it is a city of Pittsburgh street and Sidewalk. Could the appropriate utility company be notified to remove their downed cable and could the verge along the sidewalk be mowed/trimmed?

@jeff:

I see Joncaire and Bates Streets as increasingly important bike routes that will need to be improved in the near future. I actually talked briefly about the paving of Joncaire with Scott and we kinda floated the idea around instead of paving the entire street, as it likely hasn't as a means of traffic calming, to pave the sides (about 3 feet wide) for bike traffic.

@Saltm Meanwhile, what is a safe way to ride between this area of Regent Square and Highland Park at night?

About a block south of Penn, go left on Tuscarora. Stay on Tuscarora, past the "Private Road" signs. L on Richland. At the end of Richland - there is a 40 yard trail to Ben Hur which links with Reynolds.

I'd check out that connecting trail in the daytime, first. I feel safer at night on that path than I do on most streets, though, and the private road folks never seem to mind me riding by. I'd guess they'd like you more than me.

About a mile on Reynolds (curve right at Gettysburg) -> R on Beechwood -> L on Fifth (I often take the far sidewalk, rather than fight traffic) -> R on Denniston (to calm residential streets)-> L on Kentucky,

Then right on Shady, Highland or Negley, whichever you feel most comfortable on.

I don't know how to get past East Liberty without going through EL.

Call me a sicko, but when I ride up Joncaire, I ride on the cobbles, and I like it. I don't begrudge anyone riding up the sidewalk but I don't think I'd want to see the street paved.

If I'm on my mountain bike I ride up and down on the cobbles. Otherwise its the sidewalk, and the sidewalks there do suck, especially the downhill one. I don't mind most cobbles, but those ones are very washboard-like.

I would like to see the sidewalk on Jonclair made an official shared-use path. I don't want the street repaved becasue there already too many people blasting through there as a short cut.

come on - the crosscheck can take it... murray hill too! although i don't like to ride down cobbles - i accidentally rode down some really steep cobblestone street by the old BP office and it scared me straight.

The crosscheck can. My fenders and panniers can't. I neglected to put tape on the rack where the panniers sit and the burgh-vibrations nearly wore a hole through the tubing, after only a couple of months.

@salty I ride up those cobbles too if I'm coming home from a weekend ride. However, that street is narrow, the cars fly up it at rush hour, sometimes there is a long line of cars parked on the downhill side (seems to have something to do with the Army ROTC?) and all in all the sidwalk is a calmer bet between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.

I agree with Mick, what needs to happen is not paving the street but making that sidewalk officially shared, and making it bigger. There is plenty of space to add a couple feet to the sidewalk.

I agree with you Jeff about making one or both of the sidewalks along Joncaire shared sidewalks. However, one has to admit that something similar should be done about the situation of Bates Street between the Boulevard and Second Ave. I frequently ride down Bates there and back up the sidewalk, and I cannot be the only one. It provides a crucial link between Oakland and the Eliza Furnace Trail(to Downtown), not to mention the South Side via the Hot Metal Bridge. I've made a few 311 requests now regarding improvements to Bates.

Follow up on my post about the Joncaire sidewalk. I got a response about two weeks after I logged this, and a few days later the overgrowth on the Joncaire sidewalk was completely removed. I meant to post this earlier this week but didn't get to it.

The cable is still lying on the sidewalk, and now you can see all the crushed glass up near the top, but it's still an improvement.

Aww, hell, I'll just reiterate what I said earlier:

Both the Bates and Joncaire Street sidewalks should see improvement if they are to be demarcated as "shared sidewalks". Joncaire's sidewalk is ALMOST as cruddy as the brick cobbles and Bates has gaps and those two non ADA-compliant curbs.