Canton Avenue

Canton Avenue is a street in Pittsburgh's Beechview neighborhood which is the steepest officially recorded public street in the United States.[1][2][3]

Looking up Canton Avenue

Canton Avenue is 630 ft (190 m) long (the hill is about 213 feet long) and is claimed to include a 37% grade 21 feet (6.4 m) long.[4][5][6] The Guinness Book of World Records says Baldwin Street, in Dunedin, New Zealand, is the world's steepest street with a gradient of 34.8%.[7] This record is disputed; Pittsburgh news and international media have claimed Canton Avenue is the steepest street in the world.[8][9][10] The United States record is also disputed, as Bradford Street in San Francisco includes a 39% grade nine meters long[11] and Waipio Valley Road has sections as steep as a 45% grade. [12][13][14][15]

The National Map says the steep 213 feet of Canton Avenue averages less than 30%. The map's elevations can be off by a foot or two; probably Pennsylvania's LIDAR surveys done in the last few years can do better. Google Earth says the street averages 29% for 212 feet.

In March 2016 Canton Avenue was the subject of a commercial,[16] featuring freeskier Bene Mayr, snowboarder Heikki Sorsa, downhill mountain biker Aaron Gwin, and racing driver Mattias Ekström for the Audi Quattro A4 automobile.[8][17]

Canton Avenue, seen from the top.

See also

References
  1. "Here: In Beechview". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 30 January 2005.
  2. Kambitsis, Jason (1 December 2010). "The Steepest Road on Earth Takes No Prisoners". Wired.
  3. Russo, Carla Herreria (28 February 2014). "Hit The Brakes! The 10 Steepest Streets in America". HuffPost. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  4. "Steepest Streets in the World". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  5. "Pittsburgh Hills". Western Pennsylvania Wheelmen. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  6. An article in the Pittsburgh Press on 11 January 1987 cites information compiled by the Surveys Division and the Snow and Ice Control Program, Dept of Public Works, that Canton Street has a steepness of 37 percent.
  7. "New Zealand street once again the world's steepest after Guinness World Records reverses decision". 8 April 2020.
  8. Shumway, John (2 March 2016). "World's Steepest Street Featured in New Audi Commercial". Pittsburgh, PA: KDKA-TV. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. Christi (6 March 2016). "The Steepest Street In The World Is In Pennsylvania— It'll Make You Sweat". OnlyInYourState. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  10. "The Steepest Road On Earth Takes No Prisoners". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  11. Chamings, Andrew (29 June 2020). "San Francisco's actual steepest street is not where you think". SFGATE. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  12. Russo, Carla Herreria. "The 10 Steepest Streets In America". HuffPost. BuzzFeed, Inc. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  13. Jennings, Ken. "Is This Hawaiian Street the World's Steepest Road?". Condé Nast Traveler. Condé Nast. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  14. "Waipio Valley Road in HI is the steepest road in the USA". Dangerous Roads. dangerousroads.org. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  15. Baray, Alexa. "4 Steep U.S. Streets That Will Make Your Palms Sweat". Travel Trivia. Inboxlab, Inc. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  16. Bene Mayr, Heikki Sorsa, Aaron Gwin, Mattias Ekström (1 March 2016). Audi quattro challenge - The Steepest Street. Pittsburgh, PA. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  17. Blazina, Ed (3 March 2016). "Audi challenges Beechview's world-class-steep Canton Avenue". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
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40.409°N 80.03°W / 40.409; -80.03


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