stuinmcandless can probably help!
2010-06-11 15:12:35
8
Bus/bike commute to Robinson Township
Does anyone know any secret back routes in or around Robinson Town Center?
I commute from the East End to Robinson Township. Getting out there on the bus is actually pretty easy -- hop on an East Busway bus to Penn Station, then take the G2 to IKEA.
Believe it or not, the most difficult part of this commute -- by far! -- is the mile from the IKEA bus stop to my office. There's a free shuttle to take people to their workplaces, but if you happen to miss it, you wind up waiting a long time. My office is on opposite side of the parkway from IKEA, and walking over that interchange just isn't safe.
So -- can I bike from one of the G2 stops and safely pick up the Montour Trail? Or a back road? My destination is Park Lane Drive, off of Summit Park Drive.
Thanks!
2010-06-11 15:00:30
You need to talk to Stu.
2010-06-11 15:13:43
Stu and Edmonds can clearly sort you out...
2010-06-11 15:14:28
You might get a clue or two from this thread.
The G2 is the best way to go; also the 26E, if you're transferring Downtown. Catch both by the Hilton (but watch the wheel-eating drain grate if you're coming off of Liberty!).
The best G2 stop for you is the first one off the Parkway, but Ikea is good too, and the preferred one if you use the 26E. Ikea is the stop to use to go back into town in the afternoon, too.
Montour is a nice trail, but runs perpendicular to your line of travel. Plus there's the climb from it to Summit Park Drive to consider. No point in dropping to the trail just to climb back out of it. You still have about the same mileage on Suburban Sprawl Boulevards of whatever name.
2010-06-11 15:17:08
Thanks, all! I wasn't aware of the previous thread. Helpful stuff.
2010-06-11 16:49:25
If you didn't pick it up from the other thread, most of the big intercity style buses that run on the G2 are not equipped with bike racks, so if you wanted to multi-mode, you would have to bring on a folding bike.
To ride from the Ikea stop to the other side of the parkway, there are no alternatives that don't involve a large downhill and the resulting large climb back up. If you get to that point, I would say just brave the roads and take the bridge over, I've ridden around there and haven't had any incidents. The main time it gets really psycho is weekends, crazy shoppers. Combine driving and shopping and it's kind of like a meth/crack cocktail.
2010-06-11 17:35:36
No, the G2 is almost exclusively 40-footers (as is the 26E), so you have a 3 in 4 chance of getting a rack. The G1 uses a lot of the big 45-foot, no-rack 1900-series buses.
edmonds59, I think Mary is better off duking it out with the Target and Wal-Mart crowd on Summit Park Drive. It's two lanes each way. If I felt particularly gnarly, I'd take the lane the whole way, but I don't want to scare her off.
Mary, dealing with suburbia isn't a whole lot different from dealing with Liberty Ave in the Strip. Be visible, be predictable, and don't let them scare you. It's only one mile.
2010-06-11 18:33:52