Trip #730 Queensboro Avenue, Brookline, Pittsburgh, took place on April 16, 2022, and was published on May 20, 2022.
If you’ve spent any time on Instagram, chances are you’ve been served up some videos of surfers riding through gigantic waves. I love watching these clips (which is probably why they keep appearing in my feed), even though keeping my eyes trained on the tiny spec of a human rocketing through a skyscraper-sized wave is a bit panic-inducing. When I walk in the South Hills, the rolling elevation changes in the landscape remind me of the sea and its unceasing, ever-changing waves. Like the ocean surfer, I’m a tiny spec of a human plodding up and over, one after another, feeling a sense of exhilaration and accomplishment with every steep street I conquer. And while it’s true that my travels may not make for a viral video, I never have to worry about drowning.
Field Notes: Another set of sidewalk steps through the rolling hills of Brookline! This flight looks new-ish (meaning it was likely updated after Bob Regan’s explorations and mapping in the late 1990s). While I like railings, considering the size of cars, delivery vehicles, and garbage trucks, it’s probably best to leave them off. Pretty creeping plants are fully appearing now!
Love city steps? Get yourself the latest issue of Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh’s City Steps! Each copy is unique and features 10 randomly selected “trading cards” of Pittsburgh’s 739 public stairways. Visit the Mis.Steps online store to see all issues and place your order.
Want to visit these stairs? You can locate them on the Pittsburgh City Steps Plan website!
Be a good neighbor! Have you visited these stairs and found them in poor condition or that illegal dumping (large items like tires, old furniture, and construction debris) and trash were abundant in the area? There are two things you can do to take action and make our city steps cleaner and safer for everyone! First, grab a photo if you can, and submit a report to Pittsburgh 311. All problems, both broken stairs and railings, and trash and dumping, should be reported to the city. You can easily do this online or by calling.
