Canton Avenue is a Pittsburgh rarity that makes cyclists and drivers cringe. It claims the crown as the Steepest Road in the United States! In fact, it is an active dispute as to whether or not it is the steepest public road on the planet earth. Simply put, this short road is enough to make experienced hikers, bikers, and citizens alike wonder "what on earth were they thinking when they made this road?"
Located in the Beechview neighborhood, Canton Avenue is a hill of absolute terror from the top. The best description of it is "precipitous." Sidewalks would not suffice for ascending the road, so it has stairways instead. The official grade is 37%. San Francisco's worst roads are still only 31.5% or so. Amazingly, and in spite of the "Do Not Enter" signs in both directions, people still try to go up in cars and on bicycles.
The road is "semi-maintained" since the steep angle makes repaving difficult and plowing impossible. In the winter, the road is a death trap and I tip my hat to the folks who live at the base of that hill. In my imagination, I always see cars careening down the hill on ice and snow and flying into those houses, but so far, it doesn't seem to have happened.
According to the Post-Gazette, residents claim to watch fools in cars attempt to climb the hill in the snow as a challenge. Most don't make it to the top, and on a grade that steep, once you start slipping, you aren't going to get anywhere but in trouble.
Just as comical are the cyclists. Hill climbing has always appealed to cyclists with a sense of the "extreme" and this is no different. With challenges of both angle and road material (cobblestone for half the ascent), this is one of the most serious hills in the world for someone with a loose grasp on his or her physical limitations. If you lean too far back on your bike when ascending such a steep hill, it is prone to flipping out from beneath you, so technique is everything. Most cyclists seem to simply stall out. The video of 2007s bike race shows just how tough this can be.
If you want to see an urban planning mistake, or just like to see oddities of landscape and design, Canton Avenue is a can't miss. If you believe yourself tough enough to take it in car or on a bike, good luck, and we'll be laughing at you.
Sources:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Here: in Beechview By Bob Batz Jr.
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