Westwood – Run All The Streets

CMU, Westwood and Mount Washington

Here are three runs from December 29, 2021. I had taken off work and had the day free to run, so I covered streets in Oakland, Westwood and Mount Washington.

I started on Frew Street in Oakland. I was hoping that the construction on Hamerschlag was open enough for me to slip by. Alas, it wasn’t to be. The area under a giant crane was well-blocked off.

Grudgingly, I moved on to Skibo Street. It is a small street and soon devolved into sidewalks between apartments.

Covering that little bit, I moved onto a rather new “street”, Staley Family Plaza. It was behind Central Catholic High School. Honestly, it shoudn’t have been listed as a street by City Strides since it just a small plaza behind a building on Central’s campus. That campus is really getting squeezed by new CMU construction. I wonder if footballs ever hit the windows of the new Tepper building? Oh look, a balcony! Seems like a kicking target to me.

I finished back at Frew, two streets done.

My second run of the day took me further afield, to Westwood. Prior to doing this project, I wasn’t aware of Westwood. Westwood is tucked against another forgotten Pittsburgh neighborhood, Ridgemont and abuts Crafton Heights and Greentree. It’s a decent little area. There might be a hill or two, but it’s filled with well-kept houses and conveniently close to the Parkway West. AND, I saw Elmo, apparently waiting for the school bus while keeping an eye out for something. Eagles maybe? Giant squirrels? I didn’t ask.

Moving on, I crossed Noblestown Road (carefully, looking in both directions) en route to Milnor Street. Milnor Street is one of those fractured Pittsburgh streets, a section here, a section there. The section I was trying to finish could be an alley, or maybe didn’t exist. I wasn’t sure.

It was an alley, some paved and some just a grassy path. I wonder who mows it? After documenting Milnor Way, I continued down Harris and up Mueller. That little section of Mueller was the steepest section of the run, with grades from 9% to 36%, but generally around 18%. For comparison, the Negley Hill Strava segment averages 15%.

From here, I went up Cumberland Avenue then scooted left on Steuban Street; a border between Pittsburgh and Crafton. The next left took me up Ridenour. Ridenour dead ends for cars but becomes a footpath which connects to steps and pops up on another segment of Ridenour. The wooden steps were passable, but not in great shape.

Finishing up Ridenour, I trekked back to my start. I don’t remember seeing Elmo, so maybe his bus came. Or he was carried away by an eagle.

RATS #00491 in Mount Washington, Beltzhoover and Duquense Heights

From Westwood, I went directly to Mount Washington. I intended to finish up Wyola and then catch a couple of streets at the bottom of Beltzhoover. I parked on Bigham and turned down Piermont. Piermont, like most of Mount Washington, flow up and down the hills like waves. I turned on Wyola and followed it past new townhouses to the encircling Emerald View Park.

I retraced my path back to Bigham, where I made a left and headed to Grandview Avenue. I made my way to Bailey Avenue and thence to Estella. The top of Estella is rather nice, but literally and figuratively heads downhill as it enters Beltzhoover. Beltzhoover is a large area and improves slightly as you get away from East Warrington Avenue and Beltzhoover Avenues. However, it never really blossoms.

The two streets of my desire sat at the bottom of the Beltzhoover, near the T-lines. The first, Buffington Avenue, is a dead-end street at the end of an alley. It was blocked off for cars, but there were no “No Trespassing” signs, so I continued on the grassy street. At the end was a communication tower, bristling with antennas.

Emboldened with my success on Buffington, I went a couple blocks over and went down Schuck Street. It should have been called “Oh Schucks, My Garbage Blew Around and No One has Picked It Up Street”. But that would be silly, that’s way too long for a street sign.

From here, I climbed back to Mount Washington. Over six miles and my third run in a day!

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!

Ridgemont and Westwood

Three of my runs in January completed 99% of the streets in Westwood and Ridgemont. These two western neighborhoods perch atop hillsides on either side of Greentree Road. I’ve run extensively in Westwood, but Ridgemont was a whole new area.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4649360974 — RATS #00358 Westwood

Run #00358 in Westwood was a “just get out there and do it” run. My intention was to complete Rydal Street and a couple of neighboring streets. In the darkness, I missed Sedley Way, but was otherwise successful. Nothing beats snowy steps at night!

https://www.strava.com/activities/4702189987 — RATS #00362 – Ridgemont

Continuing with the evening running, my next run took me behind the Giant Eagle in the former Parkway Center Mall. Merely minutes outside the Fort Pitt Tunnels, Parkway Center Mall is torn down. Shadowy parking lots with feeble fences lead toward the bright Giant Eagle. The ubiquitous asphalt undulates, as if the land itself is trying to throw off the abomination of acres of paving.

I took a quick shaky selfie and headed on down Greentree Road and up Hamburg Street. The blue ice filter captured the temps appropriately. This, I must say, is the first the skull-decorated, smoking-moon outhouse I’ve found. I stayed on the hilltops, where the sun’s light lingered until the dazzling city lights came out.

It was a short, exploratory run in a new neighborhood.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4707540599 — RATS #00363 – Ridgemont and Westwood

RATS #00363, a daytime run, pretty much completed the last two runs. I finished up lower sections of Ridgemont and in the end, even covered Sedley Way in Westwood.

With the knowledge from the previous run, I started right into Ridgemont along Springfield Street. This time, though, I made my way down New York Street to the dead-ends of Junius and Journal Streets. On the map they look like fork tines sticking into the hillside.

In real life, Junius and Journal are narrow streets clinging to the steep hill. A set of derelict steps gave me access to Journal without backtracking too much. On the farther side of Journal, the steps, now truly overgrown, fall off the hill. According to maps, they look like they go down to a railroad track. I’m not sure if they originally went further, for there’s a set of steps off of China Street below which look like they should meet. It’s all a rather moot point, though, because the steps are in bad shape and go nowhere. In the bottom picture, you can barely make out the steps and a few green rail posts still standing.

Just as a footnote, Junius continues on the map to Greentree Road. However, from the Ridgemont side, Junius ends in a veritable graveyard of cars in front of a narrow house. Journal Street, has a renovated house on the end, but also has ruins of houses along its course.

With Junius and Journal out of the way, I went to find the other side of Junius, off of Greentree Road. Junius does go up a bit, but Verna, a smaller road, is just blocked off from the street. While the bareness of winter allowed me to see everything, there’s not much to see. Steps, all twelve of them, took me from Ridgemont to Greentree. This rusty truck is hidden away at the end of an office park.

Now I explored the higher side of Westwood. Like Ridgemont, it has sweeping views. I daresay I can see the smokestacks from the Cheswick Power Plant! That’s about 14 miles away, as the indefatigable crow flies. I’m pretty sure that blue water tower on stilts is in the Upper Hill. That’s closer, only five miles away.

After such heights, I returned to lower Westwood; once again made my way up Milnor steps and finally ran Sedley Way.

Finally making my way back towards my car, I had to wait for a moment to cross Warriors Road. Looking down, I noticed gravestones at my feet. I think they must have originally been in Mt. Pisgah’s graveyard, across the street. Usually roads aren’t built across cemeteries. The picture below is a composite picture of two of the graves I saw.

With these three runs, I’ve covered most of Westwood and Ridgemont. I know there are a couple of alley’s I’ve missed, so one day I’ll be back.

Before Snow After Snow

Snow livens up Pittsburgh in Winter. Without snow, Pittsburgh looks a little dreary and drab. Snow is like a fresh coat of paint. Here are two runs, a week apart in mid-December. They are in similar, rather suburban, parts of Pittsburgh. Before the snow, the streets are drab and faded, while afterwards, every hilly subdivision looks like a ski resort.

RATS #00340 – Brookline

Run in Brookline — RATS #00340 – Brookline

My 340th run for this project was on a chilly Sunday in Brookline. I started at Brookline Memorial Park and headed north to clear up a couple of alleys. Then I scooted across Fitch Way to Edgebrook Avenue on my way to a large block of streets off of Glenbury. In more social times, I’d expect the Boulevard Lounge to be hopping on a Steeler Sunday. As it was, it was empty and quiet. I only caught a block of Edgebrook Avenue, but it included steps. I was very good when I passed Santa Street. No use getting on the naughty list now. Very impressive weather station, I must say. It must have come in handy later in the week when the winter storm rolled in.

RATS #00341 – Westwood

https://www.strava.com/activities/4492917551 — RATS #00341 – Starting in Westwood

Then a week later, I started a run from the Shop ‘N Save in Westwood. During the week, we had had an impressive snowstorm which plopped nine inches of snow throughout the area. The plow teams were efficient and the temps weren’t too cold, so the roads got cleared pretty quickly. The sidewalks, on the other hand, required some dedicated staff.

This section of Westwood has a a mix of suburban style subdivisions sprinkled with older homes. The snow blended everything into a ski-chalet look. Kearns Avenue was a key point to this run. On several maps, it is shown to be closed off for a section. That’s a pity, because it would be an alternate route for Greentree Road as it comes out of the West End. Anyway, I was curious as to just how “closed” it was, so intended to see how far I could go before it got dark.

Well, Kearns has been closed so long that grasping bushes are beginning to take it over. Passing the Jersey barriers, no foot falls crushed the snow before me, no tracks of dogs or strollers, no ski lanes; just deer tracks and rabbit paws. A little rivulet trickled down the hill with me. Tromping for two tenths of a mile, I finally came to the other side. Here, a pair of tire tracks slithered to the last house on the street. I followed the tire tracks, as they descended another two tenths of a mile.

Here, the single houses gave way to industrial buildings. Quality Concrete has a fleet of trucks parked beyond their barbed-wire fence. Kearns ends at McCartney Street. I took the left and ran about a quarter mile towards its dead-end. McCartney sits at the bottom of a ravine. Noblestown Road, aka Route 60, is high above on the right. The hills of Westwood were on the left. I would imagine the area is ripe for flooding. Where’s there’s flooding, there are boats. Where there’s boats, there are stairs. No exception here.

McCartney Street intersects Greentree Road in the West End, formerly known as Temperanceville. Boy, that’s a mouthful. There’s a concrete plant there, a glass studio and a couple of other businesses.

I took Greentree Road back up the hill, running in the street when it was clear and jumping into the slush when it wasn’t. The hill wasn’t a picnic either, rising 445 feet in a mile.

But before too long, I was back in Westwood climbing into my car. Cool run!

No Shortcuts in Westwood

https://www.strava.com/activities/3656397341 — RATS #00258 in Westwood

There it was! My Goal! I could see the Shop ‘N Save through the trees. It was RIGHT there! I checked Google Maps to make sure, for, to paraphrase Dean Karnazes “It doesn’t matter how fast you go if you’re going in the wrong direction.” Yes! Just go on Manley and cross Noblestown Road. My rather jolting evening run would be done!

But no, nada, zip; it was not meant to be. Even if my rule following self could manage to ignore “Road Closed”, “Construction Zone Ahead”, “DANGER, DO NOT ENTER”, “!! DANGER !! NO PEDESTRIANS” and “Street Closed Ahead” signs, the orange mesh construction fence drove the point home. No doubt there were land mines and sinkholes on the other side, too.

So, why the rush? Honestly it wasn’t too urgent, I was just trying to keep my mileage down. The evening’s run through Westwood was very productive, but a bit longer than planned. I have extolled the virtues of Westwood before. It is convenient, the area is well maintained and there’s a variety of houses. Unlike the east side of Noblestown Road, this area isn’t extremely hilly; except for Barr Avenue, and Mueller Avenue, and Brett Avenue, and…

But at least there weren’t many stairs. Just a couple from Clearview Avenue to Crafton Boulevard and that overgrown set of street stairs on Mueller.

Steps from Clearview to Crafton Blvd path

Overall, the neighborhood was fun to run in. Mileage piles up quickly on the gently winding streets. At times, it’s quite the puzzler to figure out if you’re in the Borough of Crafton or the City of Pittsburgh. Sometimes a telltale diagonal line across a street indicates a change of jurisdiction. Otherwise, it is the blue City of Pittsburgh street signs which, once again, show the way. There are some very impressive homes and there are housing projects. The housing project I went through was teeming with children of all ages, from toddlers trying to kick soccer balls half their height to bicycle-riding tween girls zipping between the parked cars. Families were taking neighborhood walks; whole caravans of mothers, fathers, grandmothers, strollers and kids.

I also saw this box of magic, a brightly lettered Little Library.

Eventually, I found my way around the construction detour, finishing with over five miles. It was the longest run in ten days and portends good things for the rest of the summer.