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PGHxplant t1_jef3z8j wrote

What is the north end going to connect to? The Duck Hollow trail ends more than a mile away and really isn't useful for much anyway. Besides that, it would be extremely helpful to have a safe and convenient way from the GAP to Swissvale Station. Biking across the Rankin Bridge and getting to the East Busway is a nightmare.

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Watchyousuffer t1_jef4y48 wrote

I believe swissvale is working on plans to make a trail down to carrie furnace - I think from les getz park? I haven't been following the project closely and could be way off though.

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CalamityCactus t1_jefr2wm wrote

I dream of a trail that connects Duck Hollow, the GAP, and the Hazelwood trail. That would create an awesome linkage especially if Swissvale made it easier to get from Les Getz to the busway. That would help that whole area.

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Cooch98 OP t1_jefntx3 wrote

It is going to connect to a new trail by the riverfront of the Carrie Furnace site. As for where that is going to connect or how far it will go I have no clue.

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dfiler t1_jefyg80 wrote

There is a protected bike lane along carrie furnace blvd that takes you up to the rankin bridge.

There is also public money for designing the link eastward to the Westmorland Heritage Trail.

If the underpass is opened under the railraod, there is a gravel road that connects to Duck hollow and Bradock. Also, opening that underpass leads to a second underpass and a set of steps under the other set of tracks. This leads to an old parking lot for steelworkers. From there you can take amazing singletrack trail all the way back to frick park without ever crossing a road. Or you can go up a steep paved driveway on the border of swissvale and rankin. The very top crosses private land briefly but i'm guessing there's an easement that would allow it to be opened back up.

The gravel road and singletrack is already extremely popular with cyclists. Connecting this to the GAP will open up so many more opportunities for people in the area.

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Cooch98 OP t1_jeg0p8c wrote

I agree that would be awesome if that all connects as I’m getting into biking. But that’s going to be up to the boroughs if they want to connect a bike trail to the GAP. I just work on the bridge so i basically know nothing what’s happening trail connecting wise. But since we’re investing millions into this bridge I’m sure there’s a plan in place for trial connections that I just don’t know about yet.

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PGHxplant t1_jefpd1o wrote

Huh. I'll try hard then to keep the sarcasm in check and recognize this is likely way beyond your influence. But frankly--and especially if funding is still in question--the sponsors' answer to "What does it do and what problems does it solve?" probably needs to be better than "Cross the Mon" followed by a shrug.

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Cooch98 OP t1_jefy2xb wrote

It’s likely that’s being done by the individual boroughs for them to communicate to each one and how they want which trials to connect. I specifically just help with the bridge.

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Cooch98 OP t1_jefzha4 wrote

Also for your funding question. The sponsor is just government money. No company is funding this project. I believe 6 million is coming from federal ARPA grants (American Rescue Plan Act) for Covid relief. Basically grants were applied to for this project in early Covid days and it was awarded due to the needed of safe outdoor distressed economically impacted areas and through a lot of paper work, we got the grant. The consulting parties I talked about are just that, consulting. They voice their opinions and talk about how they want the bridge to look, their designs, and alike and what to be kept and not kept. But ultimately my bosses boss makes the final say on just about everything.

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PGHxplant t1_jego791 wrote

Sorry, based on the downvotes I was clearly misconstrued and it's my own fault. I love this project, I'm proud that my taxes are being spent on it, and I can't wait to use it. It just seems to lack the overall vision compared to the Brilliant Branch Bridge project, whose proponents make a clear case about why it should be reconstructed and what they envision will be improved by doing it.

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