That’s the understatement of the year. My Wife is from there, but never drove there. When we go back I usually drive, while she tries to navigate. I’m a GIS person by trade and live in the west where North, South, East and West mean something. Cardinal points don’t mean a thing in Pit.
Direction means almost nothing in Pittsburgh. A lot of the streets curve around so much that they don’t have a ‘northbound lane’ and a ‘southbound lane’ because the direction of the lanes depends on which block you’re on.
Then there are the bridges. There are hundreds of bridges in the city of Pittsburgh, and almost every single one is yellow. It’s fine ifyou know where you’re going already, but the out of towners are fucked, and because of it they jam traffic up for hours.
I figured that out real fast. My Wife, from Pittsburgh can not take NSEW as directions. I’m a bit of the opposite.
Also, the signs are often under the bridges, you don’t see them utill your on the bridge (err… the tops of the bridges, not sure what kind of bridge you call that). Very hard to see, and they often give you VERY little time to change lanes. But since there are so many ways to go, the signs seem to be very close to the exit. If you even catch a glimps of the sign.
I was SOMEWHERE once in Pittsburgh with a bunch of my relatives when it was time to get back home. We all dived into different cars. My Wife got to go with her brother (I think I saw a smirk on her face, she’s excused, it had been a long day). He knows his way around. Native. Probably the best driver there. There was no room for me in that car. I ended up with my wifes sister and BIL and my niece. It was quite comical. When we all got in the car, my niece and I looked at each other in almost horror. See, my SIL is a bad driver, my BIL (the navigator) is very nearly blind, and its night.
I haven’t the first clue where we are, and only know that we need to get somewhere vaguely on the NE of side of ‘town’.
All I get from the front seat is “If I can find the zoo, I’ll know where I am”. Look for signs to the zoo.
I know enough about my Wifes folks home to find it on a map of Pit. So I tried. But no one could tell me where we where other than a general ‘around here somewhere.’ I gave up.
Long night. Though I did get to visit with my niece for quite a bit. She’s a good kid. We where about an hour late.
You mean like on the Fort Pitt where the signs outbound for lanes you should be in are actually up in the I-beams that support the inbound bridge deck which is above you?
You can’t see the sign until you’re right on top of it, and then you’re three inches from your exit and you’ve gotta cross three lanes of traffic, on a bridge, or you’re not going out of town you’re going to West End.
We have lots of terrible drivers in Pittsburgh, due in no small part to the terrible roads we learn to drive on.
I think so. Fort-Pitt sounds familiar. The signs should just say - “That’s the way you where supposed to go, but it’s too late now. Good luck.”
I dunno. I think that most Pittsburgh drivers are pretty good because they have to deal with this.
As a visitor though, and a person that has been driving for over 30 years and have never been in any kind of accident, It’s a mess.
Oh we do OK here in Pittsburgh, for the most part. Other than the tunnel slowdowns and shit.
But you put a Pittsburgher in traffic somewhere else, and you’re just begging for an accident.
We have a large number of left turn lanes that allow about a car and a half to get through, on a good day. This leaves everyone else trying to get through on the green ball and it is clear (signs and everything) that one YIELDS to oncoming traffic.
Of the other two lanes going straight through the intersection, the far left one (next to the left turn lane) generally gets backed up with folks trying to get into the left turn lane. I’ve lived here for 36 years and driven for about 30 of those years, and have yet to see anyone so much as make a teensy peep on their horn under these circumstances.
It’s pathetically self-centered to expect someone to go way out of their way to suit one’s own need to have 5 more seconds taken off of their commute. Not to mention, it’s not the left turner’s faults, it’s the traffic department’s for not paying attention to the traffic flow needs of that particular intersection.
You, (collective you) as the “Hurry up and get through the light two turns up so you don’t hold me up for one solitary second” don’t have any idea where exactly that person is going, for all you know, they are making the next immediate right after the intersection into their home or business.
Unbelievable how impatient and selfish some people are. I mean REALLY! And if they should go up an intersection or two to turn left and that intersection ALSO is clogged? Then do they just keep going, 8, 10…19 blocks out of their way to suit you?
:rolleyes: