At its southern terminus, Beechwood Boulevard looks like any other street in the City of Pittsburgh. Behind me to the left if the Greenfield Bridge which spans I-376 connecting the Greenfield neighborhood to Schenley Park.
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| Loooking east on Beechwood Blvd. from it's southern terminus at Ronald St. in Greenfield. |
Originally, Beechwood Boulevard and Washington Boulevard were intended as a scenic route between Schenley Park, Frick Park, and Highland Park. Washington Boulevard ended up becoming one of Pittsburgh's worst roads for cyclists and pedestrians, while most of Beechwood Boulevard remains quite attractive for people walking and riding bikes.
The section of Beechwood Boulevard between Ronald Street and and Monitor St.* became a disaster when the Parkway was build in the 1950s. A very confusing set of highway ramps and lane changes make this section pretty much off-limits to cyclists. I walked my bike on the sidewalk through this section.
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| Squirrel Hill-Homestead interchange between I-376 and Beechwood Blvd. |
Just past this death-trap, Beechwood Boulevard goes under the Murray Avenue Bridge, which is seen it the above photograph, prior to turning to the south. After the turn, Beechwood Boulevard intersects Monitor Street for the first time.
Continuing south, Beechwood Boulevard intersects Welfer St. and becomes asymmetrical with two traffic lanes southbound and one lane northbound. At Lilac Street, we encounter our first traffic light.
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| Looking south on Beechwood Blvd. from Lilac St. |
After continuing south for another three blocks, we encounter the five-way intersection of Beechwood Boulevard, Hazelwood Avenue, and Brown's Hill Road.
At this Intersection, Beechwood Boulevard makes a 45 degree turn to the left with Brown's Hill Road straight ahead and Hazelwood Avenue crossing at a 90 degree angle. The turn is prohibited between 6AM and 9AM as well as between 3PM and 6PM. After getting past this intersection, we start to see some sharrows painted in the travel lanes. there are also wide shoulders available when there are no cars parked in them.
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| Sharrows and shoulders on Beechwood Boulevard. |
After about 3/5 of a mile, We start to see bike lanes.
These bike lanes will be with us for the rest of the trip, so I get on my bike. After many twists and turns, Beechwood Boulevard intersects Monitor Street once again.
and again!
At the third intersection with Monitor Street, Beechwood Boulevard turns to the left prior to encountering the third traffic light at Forward Avenue. After passing the Blue Slide Playground in Frick Park, Beechwood Boulevard crosses Philips Ave. at the fourth traffic light. Beechwood Boulevard once again goes through several twists and turns as it passes the Frick Park Environmental Center. and winds down the hill toward Dallas Ave. Make sure to stop at the stop sign because traffic coming the other way doesn't stop and quite a lot of traffic turns left here. After another climb, we reach Forbes Ave. After getting through the traffic light at Forbes Ave, there is one last small climb before the final descent to Fifth Ave.
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| The final descent |
After two more traffic lights, we are hitting the home stretch before arriving at Fifth Avenue.
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| Northern terminus of Beechwood Blvd. at Fifth Ave. |
After the five mile journey, It's time to call it a day.
