Does anyone know whether many students use bikes at CMU?
Yes, I am on CMU’s campus often and there are many students who ride bikes.
Thanks!
Is Pittsburgh generally a bike friendly area? Or does travel rely more on car/public transportation? Is it easy to get around?
There are numerous bike racks around campus and there are bike lanes on Forbes Ave. going east (away from Pitt and the downtown area). The CMU campus is reasonably flat but you have to take into consideration that Pittsburgh is rather hilly, so bike friendly is a relative term. Public transportation is pretty good. Parking can be difficult to find. If you live a longer distance away from campus, it can be advantageous to sign up for early morning classes so as to get first shot at the available parking.
IIRC, there is a parking garage at CMU which has a bike rack to chain your bike. I went on a sunday during a summer campus tour and it was about half full. I saw plenty of people riding bikes around Pittsburgh.
I think CMU is okay for bikes, but not great. Maybe a 5.5 - 7.5 on a 10 point scale. The problems are roads, weather, and speed of auto traffic leading to and from campus. The main roads around campus which will lead you to your apartment (Forbes and Fifth) are relatively high volume, hilly in spots (particularly Forbes). Note that if you live on campus there’s not a great need for a bike because the campus is pretty compact. Pittsburgh does have a lot of rain and clouds, which would affect the safety of travel obviously. Then around mid - November to mid - March there is the possibility of snow. Traffic on the main roads moves fast. Having said all this, if you like bike travel, it is possible and, in my opinion, continually improving. I myself enjoyed traveling by bike all around Squirrel Hill and beyond, but I didn’t rely on a bike to get around. My first bike was stolen my sophomore year when I left it unlocked near one of the dorms for a couple of hours. Never saw it again. I’m still mad about that!! I really liked that bike!
My daughter is debating bringing a bike or a longboard or both. When we visited in October there were a fair number of bikes zooming about. When I sat and spoke with a couple of students they laughed and said, well that will end the first good snow! She ended up in freshman housing in apartments in Oakland, so I’m thinking the longboard will be too far and too hilly and a bike might be useful. We live in a hilly area, so she is used to that as a biker. She is relatively new to long boarding and sticks to the flatter areas around town.