2018 Magellan

Pittsburgh Green Initiatives 

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP) has been working closely with the biking community and bike Pittsburgh to improve the quality of cycling downtown. They have installed the “Three Rivers bike racks” which are visible throughout the city, and have recently implemented downtowns first bike lane that can be found on Penn Avenue. Along with improving the infrastructure of the community in this way, Bike PGH! has an event called “OpenStreets” three times during the summer, where certain streets and bridges in the city are shut down and blocked off so no cars can be driven on them. UPMC Health sponsors these events, and their goal is to “get people outside and active while helping to connect families with new neighborhoods through physical activity.” It is growing as one of Pittsburgh’s most popular free events with tens of thousands of people participating every summer. This summer in particular they are expanding into new neighborhoods and extending existing routes. They have kids activities, fitness workshops, shopping and brunch along the routes, and there are interactive event stages as well. I will be attending one, if not more of these events this summer, and hope to see how it has positively impacted the downtown community, and what their goals for the future are. Health is very important to me and Pittsburgh is my home, so seeing more people get active and involved is a perfect study for me to do along with my internship this summer.

Open Streets - June 24th, 2018

Maybe its because Pittsburgh drivers are scary & intimidating, or maybe it's because the streets in downtown Pittsburgh cross and turn in every possible direction, but I always assumed that riding your bike through the city would be a close to impossible feat. Turns out I could not have been more wrong, with the help of this event. My family from Cincinnati, my parents, and I attached our bikes to the racks on our cars, and we were on our way to the event by 8am. Each Open Streets event runs from 9am-1pm in the area designated for that day, so getting to the city before the event starts, or making sure that you are down there by 9:30 at the latest, ensures you make the most out of your day. On this particular day, the route started in Lawrenceville, went through the Strip District, and came to an end in Market Square. However, given it was a Sunday in Pittsburgh during baseball season, that meant the Roberto Clemente Bridge and connecting road was also closed, extending the bike route across the river! The sheer amount of people who showed up for this event was incredible. Most people park at one end of the route or the other, but there were so many participants, that people were forced to park anywhere they could find a spot, meaning there were bikers, rollerbladers, skateboarders and runners joining into the route at nearly every block. Without knowing anybody but my immediate family that was with me, the sense of community I still felt with every other person, is in my opinion, a rare thing to experience. 

We rode our bikes all the way down the route and back, making multiple stops along the way for food, vendors, and events that were set up every few blocks. In Market Square they had a yoga class which about 200 or more people participated in, vendors with sample healthy foods, and all of the restaurants opened early to accommodate the large crowds. Without a doubt, I have never seen so many people in downtown at 9am. We left market square and rode across the Clemente bridge, which was really cool because it was almost completely empty, and when else would you be able to stop in the middle of the road to take pictures on a bridge? After that we did a loop around Heinz Field and PNC Parks, then made our way down to ride on the river front path, eventually crossing back over the river to ride back on the original route. We stopped at a lot of shops in the Strip District for food and art, and my little cousin was also able to participate in a booth from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, which had a "dry-land" snowboard path for little kids. 

Overall, this isn't just an event for people who love biking. So many people there were just taking the opportunity to walk in the middle of the road, or walk their dogs, or run, without having to worry about cars or stoplights. I think everyone should try this at least once, because it allowed me to really experience Pittsburgh in a way that not many people are able to do too often. This also gives bikers the chance to ride their bikes in a place that is not in the forest, or on a trail. 

Golden Triangle Bike Rental - July 14th & August 5th, 2018

            I was originally planning on participating in the next Open Streets event at the end of July, but decided instead try something different. Rather than bring my own bike, and have half of the city streets shut down for the sole use of allowing bikers and pedestrians to utilize them, I wanted to see what a normal day in the city would be like if I tried to get around on a bike. So, I did some research on different bike rental companies in Pittsburgh, and based on parking and proximity to paths that bikers can use, I chose "Golden Triangle Bike Rentals" which is located under the Smithfield St bridge on First Ave in downtown. There is a parking garage right next to their shop, and you have many options with where you want to ride from there. They made the whole process very easy. You can call ahead to reserve your bike the day before, or show up and hope they have a bike you can use (which they usually do). In July I called on the 13th and reserved a bike for the day of the 14th, and when I got there all I needed to do was leave my drivers license or a credit card with them, and sign a release of liability waiver. They give you the option of taking a helmet and a bike lock, and all of the bikes come with a water bottle holder attached to the frame of the bike as well as a small bag attached to the handlebars for your belongings. 

             In July, I biked the "Jail Trail", named for its close proximity to the Allegheny County Jail. This trail starts near the bike shop, goes down to the Hot Metal Bridge, crosses over the river into the South Side works, continues into Station square, then crosses back over the river to Point Park, and eventually ends up back at the bike shop. The first 3/4 of this ride were really enjoyable, because the trail isn't really used unless you are running or biking, so there wasn't too much pedestrian traffic to dodge. Once again, we made stops in the South Side and station square to visit various shops and restaurants. Then came the hard part. When we were ready to finish our day, we had to cross the Fort Pitt Bridge to get back to our starting point. Yes, that the one. The one that connects to the Fort Pitt Tunnels, which has cars coming from both directions driving around 70mph on their way in and out of the city. We weren't on the road with these cars, luckily, as there is a walking path on the outside of the bride, that was unsurprisingly barely used. Let me tell you, this "foot-path" is basically wide enough for two people to walk shoulder-to-shoulder, so trying to navigate a moving bike, and making sure I didn't hit the railing or another person was absolutely terrifying. Not to mention the 70mph cars which were a railing and an arms length away from my body. Somehow, I made it off the bride alive, and we made a loop around the Point Park State Fountain before returning to Golden Triangle Bike Rentals. I would probably never do this trail again, unless I turned around and rode my bike back in the way that I came, effectively doubling the length of the ride. 

               For my last ride, at the beginning of August, once again I used Golden Triangle for my bike, but actually just showed up the day I wanted to ride, and they had more than enough bikes still available to rent. This day we opted (thankfully) to try a different route, and utilize the newer bike lanes found throughout downtown (picture on "Pittsburgh Photos"). We still had to dodge some traffic on this day, but the bike lanes made it much easier. It also happened to be on the weekend of the Three Rivers Regatta, meaning there were a lot of pedestrians downtown, which made drivers more cautious before driving through stoplights and crosswalks. We rode down to Point State Park, crossed the Clemente Bridge, which was closed once again for the Pirates game, continued down the North Shore Riverfront Park, and ended up in Washington's Landing. This is a small island located across near Lawrenceville, and it is home to a neighborhood and the Redfin Marina. We ate lunch here before heading back towards the North Shore, rather than crossing over into Lawrenceville and riding back that way. This was a much more calm day, and it was slightly overcast, which meant we had the trail to ourselves for the most part. I would highly recommend using this trail rather then the Jail Trail. 

                All in all, the Golden Triangle Bike Rentals shop made it really easy to spend a day biking in Pittsburgh, especially if you don't own a bike or equipment, or have any general idea of what you're doing. They lay out all of the different paths you can take through Pittsburgh and even teach you how to shift a bike if you don't know how. I still prefer Open Streets over the tucked away bike paths, just because I really love being in the city, and riding my bike down the roads is a really cool experience. But given that there are only three of those events per summer, and not everyone can get down to Pittsburgh on those days, the alternative options I tried are really great as well, and they are an easy way to spend the day outside, get in some exercise, while also enjoying the beautiful city of Pittsburgh.