My girlfriend and I took a weekend roadtrip and Ikea run to Pittsburgh this weekend. On Satruday, we spend most of the day driving around some of the city’s neighborhoods, wandering up and down the hills south of the Monongahela River, among many other places. We couldn’t help but think “How do they drive around here during the winter, after a snowstorm, without killing themselves?” Snow removal in flat-as-a-pancake Buffalo and somewhat-rolling Cleveland is already a challenge, and driving in freshly fallen snow even more so. How about Pittsburgh? How does the city and surrounding towns deal with snow on streets that seem to climb hills at 30 degree angles? How do drivers deal with it?
I don’t doubt that some folk from the Pittsburg area will come in to this with better long-term data than mine.
I spent a year in a consulting assignment right outside Pittsburgh, from one summer to another, so I did experience one winter there (2005-2006).
The only thing I can say with any assurance is that, during that winter, we had lots of snowfalls, but never got the “bury you up to the top of your hat” kind, so it was never really an issue. Using a little common sense and thinking a little ahead whilst driving sufficed.
My caveat is, of course, that one winter’s experience does not provide a good indicator of the usual conditions. For all I know, Pittsburgh might get horrendous snow most winters. I do know they had pictures of this huge blizzard and ice storm that happened a few years back on the Allegheny Power building’s walls, but again, from what I heard, this was not a typical thing.
YMMV
I don’t know about Pittsburgh specifically, but I’ve lived my whole life in snowy, hilly places - the UP of Michigan (not flat at all, 200+ inches of snow a year) and Colorado (REALLY not flat, and snow enough to make you southerners scared.)
Driving uphill in snow isn’t all that difficult. If you have a backwheel drive vehicle with bad tires, you might have trouble getting up a hill in snow. Front wheel and/or 4 wheel drive vehicles with decent tires will make it up almost any snow-covered road. If the road is plowed and sanded/salted, it’s not an issue for almost any car.
I grew up in WV about 45 min. from Pittsburgh. I drove into Pittsburgh in all kinds of weather, and basically had to deal with the same conditions. Snow back in the 70’s seemed like it was a lot worse than it has been in recent years. Even back then, though, Pittsburgh didn’t get completely dumped on the way Buffalo does.
I lived on a hill that was steep enough that a parked car slid down the hill one winter. The plow trucks would come up our hill after a big snow storm. They would conveniently push all of the snow into our driveway, making a huge pile of snow we had to dig out before we could get our car out. But, the point is, those big steep hills don’t stop the plow trucks.
Another thing is that people in that area just get used to driving in snow. I moved out to Baltimore, and was amazed at how poorly everyone drove in the snow, and how little snow it took to completely shut the city down.
I will tell you from personal experience that you don’t want to be down by Point State Park when a blizzard hits. The one bad thing about Pittsburgh is that if you are downtown, there’s only a couple of decent ways out of the city, and once those get clogged, you’re stuck.
ETA: By the way, I drove a 1978 Olds Delta 88 rear wheel drive back then. It’s not exactly a car known to perform well in the snow. I never once got stuck. Getting up certain steep hills was sometimes a challenge.
Four wheel drive vehicles.
Seriously. People in other areas of the country have them as a status symbol. In Western PA, and WV they are necessities if you must get around in the winter after a snowstorm.
They also have a network of trucks with salt and cinders with chains on the tires, and snow plows. It works to a point, but if you get a 1 to 2 foot snowfall, then the city is mostly screwed for a couple of days.
Just like South Florida is after hurricanes. You trade off wherever you live in the country…
We’ll probably find more opinions of how people deal with this, over in IMHO.
Moved. samclem GQ moderator
I’ve been driving in Pittsburgh for over 10 years and have never owned an SUV. Front wheel drive cars are good. Also, we’re used to it. The roads are generally well taken care of after storms and people drive more slowly and carefully for the most part. The local radio and television stations also do a good job of warning people where worst road conditions are, and that includes the local NPR station and rock and roll stations. You can buy snow tires; I never have, but I’ve been tempted to. There are also almost always alternate routes around the roads which go straight up or down, and those are usually side roads. On the other hand, I have taken approaches into consideration when house-hunting and my fiance and I’ve rejected a couple simply because we haven’t been able to figure out how to get to them in winter, either.
You are correct about the geography, though. Pittsburgh has some of the steepest streets in the country, especially for a city, and most of the other contenders don’t get snow.
Canton Street, Beechview, Pittsburgh - a contender for steepest street in the world.
If you look at Canton Street, you’ll notice that the sidewalk is stepped. Actually there are named streets in Pittsburgh that aren’t driveable and that consist of concrete stairs going up a hillside. They are named because they serve houses, and have to be named for mail delivery and emergency purposes.
I was born and raised here in South Carolina, but my mom’s from Pittsburgh and we have family up there. Sometimes we go see them in the winter. I try to close my eyes, honestly. I didn’t think you were supposed to drive on it if it was white!
We also buy coats up there. No sales tax, and you can’t buy coats that warm here.
Pittsburgh driver here. I drive a 4 WD Jeep Wrangler, and I have no problems. I like to go out and drive around during snowstorms, and often SUVs are all I see (except for the ubiquitous Pinto with 4 bald tires wrecked into the drift).
In my youth, I drove a VW Beetle that did OK, a Toyota Tercel that did OK, and an MG Midget that was fun from June till August, then slid around if it would start at all.
Now that’s funny. If I had that attitude, I wouldn’t be able to leave the house from November to April!
I thought if it was white it was dangerous and not plowed or salted or something and possibly contained a hole that went straight to Shanghai. Mom drove into a white Target parking lot and I was all, “Eeep, what are you doing?!”
Another vote for “we’re used to it.” I do marvel at some of the places people chose to build houses around here, though. We call them mountain goat territory.
There is one hill near me (~10mi north of the city) that has a permanent sign indicating that the road will be closed in the event of snow, drive at your own risk. There are alternate, less hilly ways of getting up to the houses on that hill.