This is a cement bridge off of the city steps, with wooden steps for the use of one or two houses.

The cement walkway is in fine condition, and the wooden steps are serviceable, although showing some deterioration.

Even with these steps these homes are nearly inaccessible.  I would really not want to be someone called to deliver a refrigerator to one of these houses!

I’m not really feeling it about these steps.  As a guy who has climbed a lot of steps, these do not feel like city steps.  They are made out of lower quality wood, are of a different construction, and are steeper than any city steps I have climbed.  I think that these are privately built steps.

On the other hand, the steep strip of land they cross is owned by the city.  I am not sure what to think.

What I can say is that these steps serve perhaps only one, or maybe only two homes.  If you want to do a comprehensive survey of all the steps in Pittsburgh, go have a visit, but the only place these steps take you to is someone’s front porch.

These steps are in good condition, and form a vital link between Josephine Street and Mary Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes.

These steps are part of where 30th Street becomes a paper street.  I am not sure why they are listed in the city database from Josephine Street to Mary Street instead of the other way around.  Most steps are listed from their bottom to their top, unlike these from their top to their bottom.

If you visit these steps please be careful.  Mary Street has little traffic and is safe to walk on.  However, this section of Josephine Street is horrible to walk on.  In most places it only has a sidewalk on one side of the street and there are cars parked on the sidewalk all along this stretch.  The only option is to wait until there are no cars coming and walk around the cars in 40 mile-an-hour traffic.

There is a nice view from these steps.

A nice, well maintained flight of city steps.  Like many others, these steps are a Pittsburgh City Street, in this case, 30th Street.

I like that the residents of the adjacent building have roses planted along the side.

Up from Harcum Way to Mary Street.

These steps are in good condition, and form a vital link between Telescope Street and Stella Street.

There is one small point that should be address in the coming years.  There is a retaining wall from an adjacent property that is leaning dangerously towards the steps.  In time this may take down the railing on that side, and may even damage the steps themselves.  I don’t know what the process is to have this fixed, but the property owner should be contacted.

Common to many older steps in Pittsburgh they have bridges that at one time probably linked these steps to entrances of adjacent residences, now gone.  In this case these bridges have been blocked off with steel pipes welded across them, easy to duck under if you want to.

View from the top.

 

Although these steps are safe to climb, with good stair treads and sturdy railings, of significant note is that the entrance from Josephine Street onto Telescope Street is profoundly dangerous, both on foot and driving.  If you are traveling west on Josephine Street you need to make a left across oncoming traffic coming around a blind curve.  If you are traveling East on Josephine Street you need to make a 175 degree right hand turn directly in front of whoever may be exiting Telescope Street.  I can imagine that large vehicles are not capable of turning tightly enough to enter Telescope Street this way.

If you are exiting Telescope Street going East, you need to make a blind merge with cars traveling too fast up Josephine Street.  And would not even want to consider the extreme risk of attempting to exit from Telescope Street on to Josephine Street going west.  In all, there desperately needs to be warning signs, and probably a convex traffic mirror to improve the safety of the intersection of Telescope and Josephine Streets.  If you visit these steps, I recommend that you do so only from Stella Street.

Among the worst maintained steps in Pittsburgh are those on grade, steps not elevated from the ground.  These steps fall into the category of being the worst in Pittsburgh.  Despite being at sidewalk level, in many cases these steps are impassable.  They are broken, overgrown, and in some places collapsing down the hillside.  Where there are railings they are badly bent, and add little safety to these steps.

Although there are few houses on O’hern street, if repaired these steps could form a useful transportation link connecting Perrysville Avenue to the Propel School at the bottom of the hill.

From Buena Vista Street.

Starting out.

Not far from the bottom.

Badly overgrown.

Falling railing.

Keep climbing.

Near the top.

Down from the top.

 

The description in the city database is little bit confusing.  These steps rise from a location near the middle of Rolla Street to the intersection of Overlook Street and Geranium Streets.

Although not new, these steps are well maintained and in good condition.  They are located next to and across the streets from residences that are clearly well maintained.  It is evident that the landscaping that surrounds these properties has extended to the area surrounding these steps, keeping the steps clear from overgrowth, and in places investing in decorative plantings.

These steps do have one small bit of interest, common to many steps, they have a large landing and make two turns during their assent.  I can guess that this was due to the land easement for the placement of the steps, being placed at the edge of someone’s property, and the need for their exit to happen at the right location.  If the steps had gone straight up this would have resulted in them exiting along the side of someone else’s property.  Moving the top end of the steps over twenty feet allowed them to rise to the intersection of Overlook Street and Geranium Streets.

In all, these are a pleasant set of steps connecting two residential streets.  If you climb the Rolla Street steps from Irwin Avenue, I encourage you to continue upward on these steps.

As of June 2020 these Rolla Street steps from Irwin Ave to Yale Street steps need work.

There is a large tree blocking the lower end of the steps.

There is a street light down, possibly with live wires.

The railings are broken in several places.

And the top section is seriously overgrown with vegetation.

If you are brave enough to risk climbing these steps, they do have a nice view from part way up.

From the top.

When these steps are in good condition they are an important part of Pittsburgh’s transportation infrastructure.  I highly recommend that these steps be serviced as soon as possible.

In the spirit of urban exploration, these Arch Street steps are a little gem.

These steps begin in a location that even locals do not know about, and end in a location that only locals might want to be.

In between these two locations these steps meander through a wooded area of north side slope.  During this route there is a long horizontal stretch, an inexplicable 120 degree corner, and a steady climb to a location behind a guardrail.

Although obscure, I can imagine that getting between these two locations would be difficult any other way.

The condition of the steps of the steps is mostly good, although the handrail is down in a couple of places.

In all, these steps are a pleasant walk through the woods, indeed, the kinds of steps one explores the city of Pittsburgh to find.  I recommend seeking out these steps to other urban trekkers.

The steps from Joncaire Street up to the Frick Art Museum have been recently rebuilt and are in near perfect condition.

These steps are on-grade and as I understand it required extensive engineering and deep footings to build due to the continuing shifting nature of this slope.

These steps feature a bike track that allows cyclists to roll their bicycle as they climb or descend the steps.  These steps are wider than most city steps and railing that will not allow a pedestrian to pass between the bars onto the slope.  I do not know why these railings are painted black, instead of the typical city green color.

In terms of design, they are attractive as city steps go, if a bit dull.  These steps should serve the residents of Oakland well for many years to come.