data; bike pittsburgh
Garfield is an island in more than one way. As people navigate the city, the steep hill in the middle of Garfield forces people to circumvent the neighborhood completely. And so too, bicycles. Bike Pittsburgh’s suggested on street bike routes are a busy network surrounding and avoiding Garfield. Not one route passes through it.
We’ve talked to lots of people who don’t even know that Garfield exists. They have traveled Penn Avenue, but never thought to explore to the north of it. There is no reason to go there. Do neighborhoods with through routes fair better? Are people who are familiar with a place because they travel through it more likely to embrace it?