Thursday, April 29, 2010

Sunday: Marathon Detours, Plus a Pens & Pitt Reminder

Three major events are scheduled for Sunday, May 2: the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, a Pittsburgh Penguins playoff game at Mellon Arena and the University of Pittsburgh commencement at the Petersen Events Center.

We encourage all riders to allow for plenty of extra time when traveling Sunday.

Nearly 60 Port Authority bus routes will be detoured with temporary stop changes during the Pittsburgh Marathon, beginning with start of service until the conclusion of the race, which organizers estimate will take place between 1:30-2 p.m.

The University of Pittsburgh commencement and Penguins game also start at 2 p.m.


This means anyone using Port Authority service on Sunday may experience a midday change in schedules, routes and stops. The following information should help guide riders using public transportation on Sunday.


In general, the T and busway routes will offer the most direct transit service into Downtown throughout the day and also offer riders the ability to take advantage of outlying Park and Ride locations -
click here for a map.

T service: The
Red Line and Blue Line-South Hills Village routes offer trips every half hour on Sunday from 5:30 a.m. until nearly 1 a.m. (early Monday morning). During the race, a 'Local Shuttle' will operate between South Hills Junction and Wood Street Station. Please note that the Gateway Station remains closed due to construction. After the race, the shuttle will not operate and T routes will resume normal Sunday schedules.

East Busway: The
EBA runs about every 15-20 minutes on Sunday from about 5:15 a.m. until 12:45 a.m. (early Monday morning).

  • During the race, the EBA will serve Grant Street in both directions (see this brochure for details).
  • After the race, the EBA will resume its Downtown route -- from the busway, buses travel along Liberty, turn onto the Smithfield Street bus lane, turn onto Seventh Ave., turn onto Grant and back to the busway.
West Busway: The G1 and G2 routes each run hourly on Sunday from about 6 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.

  • During the race, the G1 and G2 will run on Grant Street, following the detour detailed in this brochure. Please Note: The G1 detour as printed in the brochure is incorrect. The inbound G1 will not use the West End Bridge to access Downtown, since the bridge is part of the marathon course and will be closed Sunday morning. Instead, the G1 will access Downtown via the Fort Pitt Bridge.
  • After the race, the G1 and G2 will return to serving Smithfield Street in both directions (bus lane carries outbound buses).

The following information provides more specific information about the detours and service levels on Sunday, May 2, especially during the Pittsburgh Marathon. Brochures are available at schedule racks or by using the following links:



North routes: Will terminate on the North Side at Cedar and Suismon near Allegheny General Hospital. A shuttle bus will run between there and Ross Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, every 15 minutes. Transfers are free.

West/South routes
: Will terminate at South Hills Junction along the T, where riders can transfer for free to the Red and Blue lines.

East routes
: Most buses will terminate at the Ross Street stop between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Also, a shuttle will operate between Oakland and Squirrel Hill (see next listing).

Oakland-Squirrel Hill
: Since there will be very limited transit service into Oakland during the race, Port Authority will operate a special shuttle between Oakland and Squirrel Hill for free, allowing connections for 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D and 67A routes, which will detour around the heart of Oakland. The shuttle will operate between Beacon and Murdoch streets in Squirrel Hill and Sennott Street and Oakland Avenue in Oakland. The regular 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D and 67A routes essentially will bypass the Fifth-Forbes corridor in Oakland during the race.

G1, G2 and EBA
: will travel through Downtown using Grant Street in both directions.

Airport Flyer service
: Most Downtown and West Carson Street stops temporarily will be discontinued through the race on the 28X Airport Flyer, which now runs direct between the city and Pittsburgh International Airport.

  • Inbound (to Oakland): Will stop at Grant opposite Oliver, then runs via Sixth Ave., Forbes, Jumonville, Fifth, N. Bellefield, Bayard and Amberson.
  • Outbound (to airport): From Amberson to Morewood, Bayard, Bigelow, Fifth, Grant Street and then to West Busway. Downtown stops outbound are Grant at Strawberry Way and Grant opposite Oliver (Steel Plaza T Station).

If you're riding Sunday and have any questions, the Customer Service phone line will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 412-442-2000, or for TTY 412-231-7007.

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