Pittsburgh’s Larimer Avenue gets traffic-calming treatment

With 91% of drivers exceeding the speed limit of 25 miles an hour, Larimer Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood was due for a slowdown.

Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure met that challenge Tuesday. Crews installed three speed tables, eliminated unwarranted stop signs and painted street markings to better illustrate crosswalks, show drivers where to stop approaching an intersection and discourage motorists from parking so close to the intersection that it reduces visibility for other drivers and pedestrians.

The primary work area is on Larimer between Winslow and Hooker streets, where three speed tables were installed. Speed tables are longer and flatter than speed humps, designed to reduce traffic moving at slower speeds with less abrupt disruptions than humps can cause.

Additionally, stop signs were removed at Shetland, Orphan and Hooker streets.

DOMI said monitoring of driver speed in the neighborhood showed 91% of the 2,803 people who use Larimer Avenue drive above the speed limit of 25 miles an hour. That includes one driver monitored at more than 80 miles an hour.  

There also have been six reportable crashes in the area in the past five years. The city also noted that pedestrian traffic is high in the area because of visitors to Steel City Squash and the Costa Court basketball complex.

All those factors justify the traffic-calming measures, the city said.

“In a safe, welcoming and thriving Pittsburgh, no one should fear for their life just crossing the street,” Mayor Ed Gainey said in a news release. “Larimer Avenue is home to families, young people and community spaces — and it’s long past time we made it safer.”

The work is part of the city’s Vision Zero effort to eliminate all traffic deaths. The city has a special committee that reviews every crash with a fatality or serious injuries to see what physical changes might be made to eliminate future incidents.