Bike Pittsburgh

East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

Hi all,
Recently I had some appointments in the Mt. Lebanon area. I drove, and it sucked. It didn't seem all that bike-friendly from in the car, but I did see one person riding on West Liberty Ave.

Has anyone found a good route to get to Mt. Lebanon, or just the South Hills in general, from the East End (or even Downtown)?

I saw a route on Bikely, but firsthand experience and advice is always better...

RE: East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

There are a few ways to deal with getting here.

South 18th is very direct. However, it's heavily traveled and is also a bus route. I avoid it unless it's a weekend or low traffic period.

Typically I take either Sycamore or Williams (it's now one way, so be careful). Low traffic but hard.

I've heard reports of people taking McArdle up, but I've not done it myself. I did take the sidewalk one time and it was strewn with glass. That said, I routinely see 2-3 people riding up it when I'm bombing down it.

In order from above you take either Bausman or Boggs/Southern down. The latter two run parallel to each other.

All three of those dump into W. Liberty. It's not bad but not great. Just take a full lane and keep your head up. You could take Cape May to Broadway although I've only done that during low traffic hours and don't know how it would be during the day.

Pioneer looks good on a map but isn't. It's very steep at the beginning. Combined with a narrow road with poor visibility and it feels much less safe than W. Lib. In addition, cars are pissed to be stuck behind you since there's virtually no passing the entire way.

I see plenty of people riding up W. Liberty and I've really not had any problems beyond the ordinary.

And of course there is always the T/cycling combo. The T will get you pretty close to just about anywhere you want to go around here.

RE: East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

Oh! I didn't think about the T.

Thanks for the advice!

RE: East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

Oh! I didn't think about the T.

Thanks for the advice!

RE: East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

Just a heads-up.

I took my bike on the T outbound from Station Square to Potomac around 6:45 one evening a few weeks ago. The car was packed by the front entrance, so I got on at the back entrance. At Potomac, they didn't open the back door, so I had to roll the bike through the entire, still very full, car. Trying not to clunk people with either the bike or the laptop I was wearing was mighty difficult.

OTOH, I've had very good luck using buses' bike racks.

RE: East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

The T only opens all its doors at high level stops during peak hours when the attendant booth on the platform is staffed. For low level stops just the small door at the front opens.

The only thing I'd add to mayhew's riding comments would be that I've found McArdles sidewalk to be smoother and cleaner than the uphill side of the road, but there is glass on both sometimes. If you go that route, you can avoid the light crossing in front of the tubes by approaching from the Liberty bridge across the Mon or taking the stairs under the bridge if you are coming up Arlington. Sycamore is the way to go if you have the legs for it and its really not that bad, especially with a triple.

The only issues I've ever had on West Liberty has been with repeatedly passing and getting passed by 44Us, and that has been very rare. The 44U also runs directly from Oakland to Mt Lebanon on weekdays, not sure if it has racks. Most of the 41* busses will run you up W Liberty at least to Dormont.

RE: East end to M. Lebanon/ South Hills?

The T pretty much defines Pittsburgh. The rules arent posted anywhere. The fares are listed by zone, with no definition of zones. You have to know when the doors open and when you pay on the T or at the station. etc etc. Its a locals only type thing.
my last ride I didnt pay getting on..... or getting off. I have no idea how that happened.