The side streets in the South Side are in pretty decent shape at this point, at least the wider streets on the river side of Carson. You could cut across there to the Birmingham Bridge, then take Forbes.
I've been doing that to get home from work, but at rush hour, traffic on Forbes approaching Oakland is slowed to nearly a stop, so it's pretty manageable.
Another, slightly out of the way option, would be taking the Birmingham Bridge to Kirkpatrick, and riding up and over the Hill to Centre Avenue. Traffic would certainly be lighter.