The Steepest Public Street

It’s not in San Francisco

I’ve written elsewhere about the excessive use of superlatives (G.O.A.T., etc.) but I feel comfortable with this one — it’s documented.

What and where is the steepest public street in the continental United States? It’s Canton Avenue in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As the sign above declares, “You don’t just stroll through this neighborhood, you have to conquer it.”

Canton Avenue, with its cobblestone and concrete surfaces boasts a 37 percent grade. I don’t know the number of steps on the adjacent sidewalk but I’m certain pedestrians appreciate the handrail. I have not climbed them — and will not — and I haven’t driven on the street — and will not — but while standing at the bottom I witnessed a driver tentatively crawling down at the breakneck speed of perhaps 2 mph, brake lights all aglow.

Imagine trying to navigate this incline in the winter. Or cycling up (there was a time in my younger days when I would have ridden a bike down). To get a real sense of that challenge click here for a one-minute video. Be careful out there.