Exploring Safe Local Streets for Riding and Walking - Part VI
Brief Re-cap of Our Journey So Far
In the first five chapters of this series, we have been virtually (and actually, in my case) traveling down a proposed Pittsburgh South Hills pedestrian/bicycle route. The journey has taken us from Bethel Park to Route 51 at the base of the Southern side of Mount Washington. The link below is a map of the entire route.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35143046
Final Obervations and Continuing into Pittsburgh
One of the beautiful things about this proposal is that a lot of it already exists and can be walked or ridden. Only the pedestrian path in Mount Lebanon and the Seldom Seen Greenway require development but they are both accessible, with caution and a recommendation to not travel alone. Development of those two places and of the entire route are tall orders to be sure and worthy projects for consideration going forward. To be upgraded for safety, the existing roadways we discussed would ideally need some improvements such as safer crosswalks, widening in spots, and pedestrian/bicycle lane infrastructure.
Currently, once reaching Route 51, for all but some experienced and fearless riders or walkers, the route is a dead end. There are several options for continuing into "Pittsburgh Proper" but each will require some significant development to bring to fruition. These will be briefly examined in this final (of mine) blog post on this subject. I suppose I am only another guy in his computer room and on the internet. By no means is expert status claimed on such matters. However, I did have a hand in getting the Montour Trail started back in 1989 and do have a few thoughts to share about pursuing and achieving such big goals. It does take a village, as the saying goes. Pittsburgh has proven to be a pretty good village.
Traveling on Route 51
Since all roads from the South Hills lead to Saw Mill Run Boulevard, aka Route 51 (may be referred to herein after as 51, from time to time), we'll have a closer look at "The Mother Road." In its current condition, 51 is most unfriendly to pedestrians and bicyclists. It has heavy traffic, vehicle speeds can be fast, and there is little to no berm in many places. Is it realistic to think this state of affairs can ever be improved?
Back in 2002, a fellow by the name of Ray Reaves and an organization called Penn Future thought so. They published a document called the Citizens Plan. It's premise was, with the money planned for the Mon-Fayette Expressway (which they felt we didn't need) a number of infrastructural improvements could be made to existing roads in the Mon Valley. These alternatives, it was postulated, would provide much more tangible benefits to the severely distressed Rust Belt communities than would a highway. In 2002, these towns were about 15-20 years removed from the demise of the steel industry and were still trying to come back. Penn Future felt their plan would provide more help, more economic recovery options, and a better quality of life.
Since it serves part of the Mon Valley and is a major artery into Pittsburgh, improvements to Route 51 were considered to be important and were discussed in the Citizens Plan. By the way, the PDF Citizens Plan document is available on the Safe Streets South Hills Facebook Page. There were a couple of interesting sketches in the plan of what the makeover might look like. They are intriguing.
If improving 51seems impossible, let's take a closer look:
Leave it to some recovering addicts to show what can be done. There is (was) a Methadone Clinic on Route 51 in the Overbrook area. Because the nearest bus stop was a half to a full mile from the clinic, patients had to find their own path to walk safely along 51. The unofficial methadone trail was born and worn into existence.
Way back in the day, when construction was being done on Route 51, some infrastructure was created for pedestrians who were surely using the road at that time. In fact, if one looks closely now, there are sidewalks and pathways worn into the grass along significant areas of Route 51. In still other places, part of the hillside has crumbled, blocking what once were places along side the road for pedestrian travel. Were there a will to do something for pedestrians and bicyclists, all of these existing features could be connected into a bike-ped network along Saw Mill Run Boulevard.
It is obvious that there is no value placed on pedestrian/bicycle travel on Route 51 today. But there is constant planning (and spending in the billions) for more highways that are not used to any great degree. Since there are people sideways about having to subsidize public transportation, why not modify the focus of agencies, responsible only for highway construction and maintenance, to include transit and bike-ped projects along roads like 51? Can their missions not ever be changed? A few years back, Penndot held some public meetings in Carrick and Brentwood about the future of Route 51. Since that time, I am not sure what was decided or what if anything may be scheduled to occur.
The point of all of this is that the road can be made safer and more accessible for all forms of travel. Engineers and planners have looked into it but such projects seem to be placed on the back burner. The price tag of a 12-mile piece of interstate that we don't really need would go a long way toward getting a project like this one done. We think nothing of spending that kind of money and doing the work to build a road that we'll hardly ever use. However, when it comes to making improvements to roads and places we actually use everyday and have to live our whole lives around, we suddenly become cost conscious. This way of thinking and voting for politicians who promise such boondoggles needs to change.
Making 51 safer would enable bike-ped travel from the Seldom Seen Greenway to the West End Bridge, to Woodruff Street and up the hill to the top of Mount Washington or to the Wabash Tunnel, were it ever to be opened up for bike-ped use (see below). Access to the trails system in Emerald View Park could be made. Heading South on 51, safe passage to Warrington Avenue would enable people to walk or ride up to the top of Mount Washington via either Boggs or Southern Avenues (Southern Avenue has the gentler grade). If Route 51 in the South Hills looked like those sketches in the Citizens Plan, it would have transformative effects on the communities involved with more benefits than a lonely highway out in the countryside could ever hope to achieve.
It seems we are all to blame because we have voted for people who cut ribbons to open up new highways instead of valuing infrastructure repair and community re-development. Maybe that is changing now. If you look at what is going on in the Strip District and ask why could that not happen along 51 as well? The short answer is that it very well could. We need to value such things, build the support, and vote for more forward thinking leaders.
The Wabash Tunnel
Lying a short distance across 51 from where the Seldom Seen Greenway drops us off is the South Portal of the Wabash Tunnel. Although it provides a level pathway from the South Hills into "Pittsburgh Proper," it is currently off limits to pedestrians and bicyclists.
While there has been much discussion about expanding use of the tunnel, there has been little tangible impetus to do anything about it. So it remains forbidden fruit, except for a few daring souls for whom losing a job, paying a big fine, and/or ending up with a criminal record is not a problem.
Perhaps the best strategy here is to do what other area trails have done. That is to build everything else until the demand is knocking on the front door, thereby creating a situation that must be taken seriously. The GAP Trail getting access through Sandcastle is one such example.
In summary, while this little series of posts may not be a definitive plan, it is a starting point and food for thought that hopefully stimulates discussion, recommendations, planning, and getting a project off the ground.
It is huge endeavor but I can tell you from personal experience that back in 1989, the Montour Trail was an abandoned right-of-way with a number of competing interests that did not include a recreational trail as their goal. The GAP Trail was a loose collection of small groups with little trail having been completed and no connection except a common dream. These things can be done but they take planning, work, determination, persistence, "evangelizing", and building support. It might take 30 years but it would be worth it. Ask Edward Smuts or some of the folks involved with the trails in our area today.
Alternatively, we could simply let other people who want to build highways and keep the status quo to ignore us, keep us dependent upon fossil fuels, and continue with a system that forces people to take great risks if not driving a car to get around.
Shall we accept getting run over as collateral damage to keep things the way they are? I don't know about you but I've never been down with that approach. I'm not against automobiles and do not believe they will ever fully go away but co-existence with pedestrians, bicycles, and other modes of travel should be part of a complete transportation system in our area. With that in mind, the 6 Chapters of this blog have been respectfully submitted.
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