This site was developed to promote the construction of the Rock Alley bicycle and pedestrian path connector between Lawn Street and the Eliza Furnace trail in the Oakcliffe neighborhood of South Oakland.

As an Oakcliffe resident, and an avid walker, hiker, and bicyclist, I have a detailed understanding of both the streets and the unpaved slopes of South Oakland. I have personally walked and photographed each of the paths shown on this web site, and in the pages that follow, I give a detailed description of each potential route.

 

Bike Routes

This section of the site surveys several of the existing and proposed bike and walking paths that are suitable for bicyclists and pedestrians.

 

Panther Hollow Trail

Click HERE to see images from this proposed path.

There is currently only one passably good route from North Oakland to the Eliza Furnace Trail, which takes cyclists along the Panther Hollow Trail. Although reasonable accessible, this route is still a challenging ride.

 

Lawn Street Connector

Click HERE to see images from this proposed path.

For many people in South Oakland, fighting their way east along Forbes Avenue to reach Bouquet Street and finally making their way down to the Panther Hollow Trail can be as much as two miles out of their way. A more direct route to the Eliza Furnace Trail is along the Boulevard of the Allies, through a small residential neighborhood, and onto Lawn Street. Although the best option, this route is still challenging for cyclists.

 

Brady Street

Click HERE to see images from this proposed path.

Another option available to bicyclists and pedestrians attempting to reach the bike path from South Oakland is to take Forbes Avenue west to Brady Street, which connects to the Eliza Furnace Trail.

 

Duquesne University Walkway

Click HERE to see images from this proposed path.

Travling west, the next opportunity for a pedestrian or cyclist to cross Route 376 is the Duquesne Pedestrian Bridge. To reach this bridge travelers need to go past the checkpoint to enter the Duquesne campus, step up two stairs to reach the steel deck of the crosswalk, and then walk down 28 open grate steel stairs to reach ground at the level of Route 376.

 

Craft Avenue Slope

Click HERE to see images from this proposed path.

This section provides a survey of the specific problems of creating a bike path connector along the west end of South Oakland down to the Eliza Furnace Trail.