Pittsburgh’s Canton Avenue, in the Beechview neighborhood, is widely described as one of America’s steepest streets that ordinary cars can drive. Roadside America lists it as one-way uphill, but the available reports do not establish the current official traffic order. The careful answer to “Why can’t you drive down it?” is that downhill travel has been reported as prohibited—not that a current city rule has been independently confirmed.
Is Canton Avenue one-way uphill?
Roadside America lists Canton Avenue as one-way uphill. A visitor report on that listing says drivers can go up but not down; a later visitor report says vehicles had been blocked from the street. Those observations do not establish whether the current restriction is a one-way order, a closure, or another access control. The listing is not an official municipal traffic order, so drivers should follow posted signs and barriers rather than treating the visitor reports as current legal guidance. Roadside America’s Canton Avenue listing
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How steep is Canton Avenue?
The reported grade depends on the source. National Geographic gives Canton Avenue a maximum grade of 37 percent. Roadside America’s listing says 38 percent, while a visitor contribution on that page reported 37 percent in 2013. These attributed figures should not be collapsed into one supposedly definitive measurement: the cited sources do not provide a single, current official survey that resolves the difference. National Geographic’s account
A 37 percent grade means a rise of 37 feet for every 100 feet of horizontal distance at the measured section; it is not a 37-degree angle. Canton is partially cobblestoned, adding a distinctive surface to the climb. National Geographic reports that a sign at its base calls it “the steepest street in the continental United States” and quotes its challenge: “You have to conquer it.”
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Is it really America’s steepest driveable street?
“Steepest” depends on what is being compared. A claim may refer to a city, the United States, or the continental United States; to the steepest short section or the average grade of a whole street; and to a route open to ordinary passenger cars or a road with very different access conditions. National Geographic notes that Canton’s superlative has challengers and that the outcome changes with where and how the grade is measured. The sources here do not establish a current official national ranking.
| Street or claim | Reported grade or distinction | What the comparison does—and does not—show |
|---|---|---|
| Canton Avenue, Pittsburgh | 37% maximum, according to National Geographic; 38% in Roadside America’s listing | Roadside America characterizes it as the steepest paved U.S. street drivable by regular cars; the differing figures and methods prevent treating that as a settled national measurement. |
| Baxter Street, Los Angeles | 32%, reported by the Los Angeles Times in 2016 | A city-level steep-street comparison, not proof of a national ranking. |
| Eldred Street, Los Angeles | 33%, reported by the Los Angeles Times in 2016 | The Times cited it as steeper than Baxter and Los Angeles’s steepest; that local claim does not settle a U.S. comparison. |
| Elevator Street, Oregon City | Called America’s steepest by an Offbeat Oregon History article | The article says it cannot be driven or walked and is reached by municipal elevator, so it is not a like-for-like contender for a driveable-street title. |
The Los Angeles Times’ 2016 comparison concerns Los Angeles streets, while Offbeat Oregon History’s Elevator Street article describes a street that does not meet the ordinary-car definition. Neither resolves a national contest that uses consistent measurement and access criteria.
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Why is Canton Avenue known to cyclists?
Canton Avenue is associated with Pittsburgh’s Dirty Dozen, a cycling challenge over a series of punishing climbs. A 2016 Bicycling account described the event as 50 miles over 13 climbs and listed Canton at a 37 percent grade. That is historical event context, not confirmation that Canton is on a current route or that the cited grade is a present-day official measurement. Bicycling’s 2016 Dirty Dozen account
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