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This small street through South Oakland gives you access to the Parkway. This is a big job for one little street, which means that during peak traffic times (especially when all the students are moving), it can get extremely congested. Coming from Schenley Park, you can't make a right turn onto it, so if you plan to live on it, you'll need to learn your preferred alternate routing.

The story goes that this street is responsible for the deterioration of the East Liberty neighborhood, with its confusing, somewhat dangerous traffic patterns. Poor urban planning makes this street and surrounding area an ok place to go to if you have a reason to be there (for example, the Home Depot), but it's not a place to just hang out for fun. I have tried to bike around here, and I was afraid I would get hit by a car.

This shopping street is one that new University of Pittsburgh students frequently venture onto in their early excursions away from the heart of campus. It has a number of eateries and used bookstores on the blocks between Forbes and Fifth. It has a nice atmosphere, but wheelchair access is limited to a number of buildings (especially the upper level stores), and the best stores are not open particularly late.

Wallingford is an ordinary residential street in a decent neighborhood. The funny thing about it is that it's a one-way in two directions. You access it by Devonshire, and can turn right or left from there, but you can't enter it anywhere else. A little confusing for the newcomer. I think it was designed that way to reduce traffic back in the days when kids played in the street. Pittsburgh's Chabad House is located on this street.

I have used this winding street to bypass Squirrel Hill when coming back to Point Breeze from the Waterfront. It is a lovely drive past Frick Park, through a pleasant neighborhood. The stretch between Forbes and Fifth through Point Breeze is a little more ordinary, but it's a good route if you want to get to get to the Highland Park bridge from Squirrel Hill or Oakland. Expect some twists and turns, but no congestion.

This is a short, steep, bumpy street that gives you access to lower Schenley Park and the trail through it that feeds into the Eliza Furnace Trail. For that reason, it's a nice little street. However, it is extremely steep and bumpy, so if you ride a bike, you might want to go on the sidewalk. Going back up, you might have to get a good running start or push.

I have tried to walk along this street, and I ended up traipsing through plants to avoid the traffic. There are no sidewalks on this street, and it is dangerous to cross. It's really just an artery, even though it's one of the few ways to access my work :( If you have a car, there is a bike track and back door access to Highland Park. At the very end is a lock and dam on the Allegheny river, which occasionally has some nice raspberry bushes. So, going by car is not a big deal, but if you bike or walk, you're in for a challenge.

This street's star attraction is Construction Junction, a place where you can find used construction materials in a big warehouse. The complex also includes a recycling center and Free Ride, where you can fix up bikes to take them home. Also nearby on Meade is the East End Food Co-op. Overall, the vibe is "green," devoted to recycling and Earth-friendly living.

Penn Ave. is a pretty useful street. It takes you from downtown, through the Strip District, through East Liberty, Point Breeze, and Wilkinsburg. Some of these are not the best neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, but a number of buses run along this street, making it useful for getting places. It gets very congested going through East Liberty, where there tend to be numerous road construction projects going on. Through Point Breeze, it is wide, uncongested, and somewhat difficult to cross due to the number of cars whizzing by.

This was a somewhat sketchy street to live on. My landlord was a creep, and my boyfriend's bike got stolen around back of our apartment. Unfortunately, the Giant Eagle that used to be nearby got shut down, so you now have to go a ways down Centre Ave. to go food shopping. Safety wise, it's more of a mix of students and non-students than you'd find in South Oakland, so you have to be a little more cautious.

I lived on Oakland Ave. for 2 1/2 years as a student, and it is undergrad central. South Oakland has a bad reputation, but I think its bark is worse than its bite. Oakland Ave. is loud and prone to the occasional vandalism type of crime, but I felt safe walking there at most hours of the night (as a female). Apartments range from nice to slumlord, depending on who you rent from. The parking situation is terrible; you may circle around a few times before you find a spot near your apartment. I recommend it for students only, because it's very near the University of Pittsburgh campus and lots of bus lines.