Issue
Traffic calming, crossing guards, signals, and data aimed at ending traffic deaths.
City Council
The intersection of Larimer Avenue and Meadow Street sees heavy traffic. On July 15, council advanced an agreement letting a community group install a street mural there. Such murals are meant to calm traffic, and a 2022 study found intersections with art saw 50% fewer crashes involving pedestrians.
City Council
Fifth Avenue and Dithridge Street in Oakland saw 10 crashes, including one death, from 2020 to 2025. The city's transportation department now wants council to accept an $806,000 state grant to replace the traffic light there. The intersection sits in front of a student-heavy apartment complex, and five transit routes pass through. Council is set to discuss it March 11.
City Council
Carnegie Mellon has offered to cover a $200,000 match the city lacks for a federal street safety grant. That brings the Safe Streets and Roads for All project to $400,000. Still, a council member wondered whether one large contribution from nonprofits that don't pay city taxes would be more efficient. Council voted to keep moving toward accepting the money.
City Council
City police still hand-write traffic tickets, and a police commander said manual entry causes a lot of errors. So the Department of Public Safety has asked council to let it use free ticketing software from state police. He said it would also ease reporting of traffic stop data, which a state law passed last year will require.
City Council
At an April 8 meeting, council members discussed a longstanding crossing guard shortage and its danger to children at busy intersections. Now, a new union contract creates a Neighborhood Crossing Guard position. It lets qualified residents bid on specific local spots, which makes the job more accessible. Council authorized a budget-neutral transfer to match the new union contracts.
City Council
An average of 20 people die in traffic crashes in Pittsburgh each year. In March 2024, the city joined Vision Zero, a worldwide effort to end traffic deaths and serious injuries. A progress report now marks 30 of 57 tasks as completed or completed and ongoing. Still, crash data for 2024 won't be available until this summer.
City Council
Two city intersections will get safety upgrades paid for by state grants. In North Oakland, Centre Avenue and North Dithridge Street will get a traffic light in place of a two-way stop. On the North Shore, East General Robinson and Sandusky streets will get a modernized traffic light. That project also includes a road diet meant to improve pedestrian safety.
City Council
About 1,000 traffic calming requests are waiting, and the city can only complete 10 a year. Now, council is considering spending $130,000 to unlock $1.3 million in federal funds. The grant would pay for three demonstration sites and a design guide for 10 high-need corridors. Projects are prioritized using crash data, nearby schools, and other factors.