I've lived in Pittsburgh for almost two years now. I also generally take solace in having a decent sense of direction. But, for some reason, I just can't get the Pittsburgh street-scape/layout into my head. The past two weekends I've ended up more or less hopelessly lost because my sense of direction was completely backwards (and I made decisions based on it).
Now I'm not saying that the possibility of me being an idiot hasn't crossed my mind (that's usually my first thought actually), but I don't think that's the only factor at play here. In the following lists I will outline what factors make Pittsburgh's roads impossible to conceptually grip.
Hills
1. They force roads to move in dimensions roads are not supposed to go (i.e. almost straight up, curvy)
2. They make it nigh impossible to plan out where you're going by sight alone.
Rivers
1. Force the roads to become goddamn bridges everywhere.
2. Break the city into distinct "districts" or regions
City Design
1. Pittsburgh is one of the least purposefully designed cities in the world
These factors combine to make one perfect storm of pissing me off and leaving me lost in Forest Hills without any bus options. I say we do some mountaintop removal and make a couple land bridges.
So true! From what I understand, lots of cities on the East Coast are "planned" this way, rooted in colonial settlements and routes. It certainly makes Pgh difficult to navigate: three rights just about never make a square around here :/
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