BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

The busways are still in use by emergency vehicles on weekends.

I really wish they would have thought about the bus ways some more when building them to include two lanes for bikes.

Emergency vehicles are on regular roads too.Does that mean cyclists shouldn't be on the roads.The busways are wide enough to accomodate part of a lane,especially if it's not in use on weekends.What a waste of a resource if it's not even being used a couple days a week.Why not let cyclists use it?? Where does the busway start and end??Does it go out of the city or even Allegheny county??

I think that is a pretty poor argument.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be on the with emergency vehicles flying around.

I've been told that the original plan for the East Busway included bikeways but that they were dropped. I suspect this was a cynical ploy for public support, but that's me.

My only point about the emergency vehicles is that the busways wouldn't be completely clear of motor vehicle traffic and so even if they were open to bicycles on the weekends, they should not be treated as parks and playgrounds, but as low-traffic roads.

The busways go out of the city but not out of Allegheny county.

It's not like it's the parkway of emergency vehicles and is clogged with a constant flow of police cars and ambulances.

emergency vehicles have, like, sirens and shit to let you know they are coming

"sirens & shit" ... thanks for that !!

emergency vehicles have, like, sirens and shit to let you know they are coming

Is THAT what those are for?

shit=lights

I can't hear them over my ipod.

The South Busway is entirely unfriendly to bicycles.

The East Busway has a bike path from Rankin to the Edgewood Boro line, and again from the Edgewood Boro line to Hay Street in Wilkinsburg. Thanks a friggin' lot, Edgewood, who wouldn't have anything to do with the busway extension.

The West Busway was supposed to have a bike path but it got lost in the politics.

PAT is extremely protective of its property. I don't see them going for it.

FWIW, though, Sunday May 22 1983 was the last day that no bus was scheduled on the East Busway (still brand new then), and PAT hosted a bicycle charity event on it.

StuInMcCandless, is that what the sidewalk could be considered that runs parallel to it? I ride (from Edgewood) to the Hamnet Station and use that to get up to the station. That's a shame.

So if PAT wants money from the State, then they should sell the busways. Instead of the State just giving them money all the time, make them sell the busways and then the State could allow bikes on them.

City/Port Authority are supposed to be doing a cost/feasibility study of adding a bike lane/path etc to the East Busway. We need this study to happen because it looks like there is federal money to implement this type of facility.

Start by bashing some heads in Edgewood.

Back in 1981 when the EB was in initial planning, and again in 1997 when the extension was being laid out, Edgewood put up a huge stink about the busway. It is because of this argument that the original busway ended at Wbg, and because of the later argument that Edgewood has no busway station. The Hamnett Station exists because it was the closest property that Port Authority could obtain to provide anyone in Edgewood with any busway service.

Zero cooperation also meant no trail or sidewalk, as is the case for the rest of the 2004 extension from Wbg to Swissvale.

The whole busway could already have been built to Pitcairn or McKeesport, had Edgewood not put up such concerted resistance. Expect more of the same any time the topic arises again.

!!! East Busway? why not the West Busway? There are already numerous reasonable ways to get from town to the East End. To the west = 0.

@StuinMcCandless,

I'm moving to Edgewood next month. As a resident, who would I be talking to to try and help change things?

myddrin, when it comes up and is an issue you can find all that information here, http://www.edgewood.pgh.pa.us/edgewood-govtadmin.htm