Before the Greenfield Bridge closes for replacement this October, four Port Authority bus routes must change. In dialog with riders and the Greenfield Community Association, Port Authority developed and published the detour maps and descriptions shown below:
From Port Authority of Allegheny County: Greenfield Bridge Detour Routings, June 2015: (Read the complete text here.)
Work on the Greenfield Bridge will cause significant detours of four bus routes for about two years, starting on Sept. 6, 2015. The affected buses are (in numeric order):
- 52L HOMEVILLE LIMITED
- 53L HOMESTEAD PARK LIMITED
- 58 GREENFIELD
- 93 LAWRENCEVILLE-OAKLAND-HAZELWOOD
The detours will be implemented as a regular service change and be reflected in the timetables. This will help buses remain on schedule and protect the reliability of the routes for riders.
The bus detours will start September 6th, about six weeks ahead of the bridge closing. This is due to our regular quarterly service change starting on that date. It also allows both operators and riders to become familiar to the new routes and schedules sooner than motorists, which might help this transition.
We will continue to review the routes during the detour period to determine if additional changes should be made. Overall, our strategy for designing the detours included:
- Maintain as much regular routing as possible
- Use the perceived least congested route
- Avoid circuitous, difficult and confusing routings
- Maintain Downtown & Oakland arrival/departure times as much as possible
- Maintain current numbers of trips
- Maintain current service frequency where possible
- Avoid costly redundancies
- Make use of new links to increase ridership
Greenfield Bridge Detour Routings: Maps and Rationale
Click on each map icon to see the large version.
52L HOMEVILLE / 53L HOMESTEAD PARK
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Rational for 52L/53L Changes:
- Inbound – no routing change necessary, though departure times may change slightly due to new Downtown routing
- Downtown routing – change necessary to line up routes with 2nd Avenue for the outbound trip
- Outbound – 2nd Avenue is the best option to avoid most known congestion; Allies-Bates-2nd option is currently extremely congested and expected to be worse during Greenfield Bridge closure; Allies-Parkview-Swinburne-Greenfield option consists of numerous tight turns and clearances
- Outbound stop restrictions goal to expedite trip speed for long distance riders and create no competition for 56, 57 & 58
58 GREENFIELD
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Rational for 58 GREENFIELD Changes:
- Murray Avenue is the best option to avoid most known congestion; nearly all 58 stops remain in service and a Greenfield-Squirrel Hill transit link is established
- Bates-2nd option is currently extremely congested and expected to be worse during Greenfield Bridge closure and would potentially confuse riders as buses would travel Greenfield Avenue multiple times during a single round trip
- Parkview-Swinburne option consists of numerous tight turns and clearances and would potentially confuse riders as buses would travel Greenfield Avenue multiple times during a single round trip.
93 LAWRENCEVILLE-OAKLAND-HAZELWOOD
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Rational for 93 LAWRENCEVILLE-OAKLAND-HAZELWOOD Changes:
- Murray Avenue is the best option to avoid most known congestion and a Hazelwood-Squirrel Hill transit link is established
- Bates-2nd option is currently extremely congested and expected to be worse during Greenfield Bridge closure
- Parkview-Swinburne option consists of numerous tight turns and clearances
- Greenfield Avenue is bypassed by 93 because of the additional time required: this additional time would require a reduction in service frequency which is undesirable and unnecessary because 58 provides a Greenfield Avenue-Oakland link and has light ridership
(photo by Pat Hassett. Text and maps courtesy Port Authority of Allegheny County)