Greenfield – Run All The Streets

October 2021 Reclaiming Missed Streets

Here are three runs from the end of October, 2021; Squirrel Hill, Westwood and another Windgap adventure.

On a rainy Friday afternoon in October, I set out for Westwood again. My goal was several small streets I had earlier missed; Kearns Place, a section of Oakbrook Circle at the end of Kearns (before it dissolves into a path down to Greentree Road); Sky Way, appropriately named; and the ends of Valora and Winona.

Roughly speaking, this section of Westwood sits on the top of a large hill bounded by Greentree Road on the East and South and Noblestown Road on the North and West. On the highest streets such as Warriors Road, you can see downtown buildings peeking out through the trees. Kearns crosses Warriors and starts a long plunge down toward the West End. Right before it is blocked off, a little section of Oakbrook Circle juts off to the right. It is completely disconnected from the rest of Oakbrook Circle across the street and higher on the hill.

Streets tightly packed with houses were interspersed with long wet alleys. Fall colors along Coverdale were especially bright on that rainy, gray day.

The houses were generally large here with sizable yards. Some were decorated for Halloween, but I didn’t see any “natural” haunted houses, like I’ve seen on other parts of Pittsburgh.

And that was it, three hilly miles and several street-ends done.

RATS #00469 – Squirrel Hill and Greenfield

RATS #00469 was a six mile run around Squirrel Hill and Greenfield to catch such major thoroughfares as Hempstead Street, Webb Street and Traynor Way. I’m not sure what possessed me to start from the track at Schenley Park at 8 AM on Saturday, but I think that’s where the City of Bridges group run was starting and I started with them.

Nonetheless, shortly after we crossed the Greenfield Bridge, I veered off to the right, down Greenfield Avenue and up Kaercher. Finally I took the right on Yoder and started the steep descent, with views of Oakland before me. Webb Street looks more like a broad driveway and ends above Yoder at a gated backyard.

Returning to Yoder as it crashes down the hill, I took the Alvin Street Steps to the top of Alvin Street. Alvin Street has a 16%-25% grade with sidewalk steps and also ends at Greenfield Avenue.

My next stop was Traynor Way, so I returned up Greenfield Avenue in search of this elusive prey. Actually, it wasn’t so elusive, just camouflaging itself as a driveway. Eschewing camouflage altogether, a flock of colorful flamingos quietly graced the hillside.

Now for Hempstead, a quarter mile of old-style apartment buildings in the heart of Squirrel Hill. Such large scale, older apartment complexes are common in Squirrel Hill.

From there, I just worked my way back to Schenley Park, happy that the heights of Greenfield were behind me.

RATS Run #00470 was another visit to Windgap. I wanted to verify a few things. Does Summerdale go further than I thought? Is Acasto Way really on the wrong place on the map? How about Youghegheny Street and that area under the bridge?

I parked on Summerdale, above Chartiers Playground; finished up Celina Place and made my way to the Windgap Bridge; under it actually. It was a bright Sunday afternoon and no one was out.

Going under the Windgap Bridge brought me to a small industrial park. Large warehouses stationed themselves at the ends of wide roads, meant for 18-wheelers. On the way out I noticed steel I-beams lazily placed along the road; perhaps in lieu of railings.

Coming out from the industrial park, I made a right on Youghigheny Street to it’s mulched end. It goes behind long backyards and ends near the railroad tracks. Now I went down Windgap Avenue and took the right on Summerdale. City Strides claims Summerdale pokes past Mayfair, but that’s not the case. Even back ten years, Google Streetview shows nothing but woods at the end of Summerdale.

Now I sailed down Chartiers in search of the real Acasto. There it was, with a bright blue street sign, to boot! Alas, the Open Streets Map on which Strava and CityStrides are based have it in the wrong place, about fifty yards from its actual location. From there, I took a stab at Alora Way but didn’t feel comfortable towards the end. Perhaps I have another trip to Windgap in store!

Short August Runs

Here are a few short runs from August.

RATS #00438 – California-Kirkbride and Marshall-Shadeland

Here’s a little Sunday funday runday. Fivish miles in California-Kirkbride and Marshall-Shadeland. With the bulk of the streets done, it was more about going down back alleys than an expansive opening of an area. Accordingly, while starting in Allegheny West, I made my way up California Avenue. Flowers at the corner of Marshall Avenue and California Avenue were as bright as the day.

Moving up Superior Street, I took a side trip on Seiffert Way to Thelma Way. On Google Maps, it looks like Thelma Way goes through. It doesn’t. Rather it ends in a tangle of weeds and branches. Seiffert Way and Ludene Way were as advertised; short, dead-end alleys. I wonder how many times I’ve used ‘dead-end’ in this blog. At least a thousand. Next stop was Bland Street. How Bland was it?

Pushing forward through the myopic, dystopic fog, I came to a ballfield and Unit 56, waiting for orders. Unit 56 looks a little forlorn. Has the Mothership abandoned it? Did no one pick it for the team? How long has it been sitting there, with weeds growing into its brain?

It was all downhill from here, though I had an AMAZING time!

This run was even shorter than the last. I just wanted to complete a couple of streets in Duck Hollow. Rather late one Tuesday evening I made my way there via a bike trail below Summerset. Trails go off the main one into old slag heaps, although this one was apparently closed.

Duck Hollow has four streets and maybe twenty houses. It is at the confluence of Nine-Mile Run and the Monongahela River. After some research I found a nice Pitt News article about it. Surprisingly enough, I sometimes run with Mike Portogallo whom they interviewed. Small world.

I do have some news! McFarren Street has been rerouted over a new bridge. Perhaps now Duck Hollow residents can get deliveries to their door. My pictures of the Hollow, itself, came out rather fuzzy between my running and the dusky light.

I went in on the new bridge and came out on the old, open grate bridge. The railroad trestle is striking in the twilight.

Finally, I came out onto the parking lot above the Mon. Sure enough, folks of all shapes and sizes were hanging out, enjoying the evening. I enjoyed the view of the river and the Homestead High Level Bridge.

Another short, evening run; this time in Brookline. July Way, Harex Way and Tariff Way were my goals. July and Harex I got, but Tariff Way continues to frustrate me.

There’s a street sign on Sussex Avenue at it’s intersection with Tariff. I dutifully did that little driveway section which, incidentally, doesn’t even show up on CityStrides or Google Maps. Meanwhile the other section of Tariff Way, off of Thistle Street, goes about twenty yards before arriving at a broad expanse of lawn. I suppose I need to go across the lawn and have a beer at the neighbors for CityStrides to recognize it. Argh!

At any rate, it was a decent little run on a hot summer’s evening. I even got to do the Stebbins Steps, again.

This is a Greenfield Re-Run. I was retracing a route which CityStrides hadn’t picked up. While that was initially a bit annoying, it turned out to be a good run with some amazing views. I love this one from the corner of Lydia and Bigelow.

From there I wrapped around a couple of alleys, some which dropped me into backyards, some of which allowed me passage. The grapevine arbor was pretty cool.

Eventually I found my way to Tasso Street, which has two distinct sections joined by the Noah Street steps and the Bud Hammer baseball field. The home team must have won, as heavenly beams of light shone down on the field.

And that was all, 4ish miles on a hot August evening. My watch recorded over 600 feet of elevation in this run. Not sure I believe that.

So, there are a few more runs in August I haven’t recorded here. I’ll get to those in the next blog. Thanks for reading along.

Starting March Like a Lamb, Three Shorties

With February gladly behind me, I started into March with several short runs. The weather had moderated and I was just getting out.

RATS #00373 Overbrook

https://www.strava.com/activities/4880520786 — RATS #00373

The main point of this run was the triangle of streets between Jacob Street, Groveland Street and Aaron Avenue. It was already dusk by the time I parked at Brookline Memorial Park, donned my safety vest, powered up my flashlight and took off. I shot down Brookline Boulevard to Jacob Street. Cars all have to make a left, but pedestrian runners like me have the option to make a right onto steps descend steps. At the bottom, there is a walkway to a South Busway Station, but tonight I went straight through the soggy area, lifting up on steps rising on the far side, emerging onto another section of Jacob’s Street. I apologize for the photo quality, but it does illustrate my mobile night vision, or lack thereof.

There are just a few streets down here, all going up to Aaron Avenue. The houses mostly sit on decent sized lots and over the years, residents have really made them their own.

My ambition was to finish off Aaron, crossing Glenbury, then do more alleys in the far neighborhood. However, my back twinged at the end of Aaron, and I just limped back to my car.

RATS #00374 Shadyside

https://www.strava.com/activities/4886437737 — RATS #00374 – Shadyside

Cutting the previous night’s run was probably a good idea, but I was still taking it easy, so I did another easy run, in Shadyside. Shadyside is full of cul-de-sacs and this run was mainly about touching on several of them off of Ellsworth Avenue.

I did come across a spectacular mansion of modern style along an alley. One side purports to be a driveway, but it is actually a through street. This was a pleasant, short and flat run.

RATS #00375 Greenfield

https://www.strava.com/activities/4896854497 — RATS #00375 in Greenfield

This was a cool run, again in the evening. I started along Greenfield Avenue and powered up Winterburn Avenue. Sun Way lived up to its name, with a grand vista of downtown bathing in pumpkin light, as river mists started rising.

Sun Way Looking Downtown from Greenfield

Besides the incredible hills, Greenfield has incredible views. The Cathedral of Learning prominently punches to the sky. It was no surprise that I came across steps; these continuing Noah Avenue, from Tasso Street to Tasso Street (yes, the upper and lower sections have the same name).

Cathedral of Learning Sticking into the Sky

On Lower Tasso, I had great views of the South Side lights and downtown framed by the last sunlight. That was about it. This run, while only 3.73 miles had a healthy 581 foot elevation gain, over 150 feet per mile.