The numbers easily show why crews began a traffic calming project Wednesday on Shady Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill North and Point Breeze neighborhoods.
A study in March 2024 found that 97% of drivers were going faster than the speed limit of 25 miles an hour in that area, according to the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. The median speed was 33 miles an hour, but about 30% of the 8,143 drivers each day exceeded 35 miles an hour.
In addition, from 2018 to 2024, there were 30 reported crashes of mixed severity in that small corridor.
So crews began two days of work Wednesday to install four speed tables in the blocks between Fifth Avenue and Hastings Street. Speed tables are raised flat rectangular areas that go across the width of a road to cause drivers to reduce speed without the jarring action of a speed hump.
In a news release, Mayor Ed Gainey said the measures are part of the city’s Vision Zero program, an effort that began early last year to eliminate traffic deaths. Under the program, a special committee looks at every serious or fatal crash to determine what steps the city can take to improve safety in that area.
It also reviews requests from neighborhood groups and others who complain about speeding or other traffic conditions in their area.
“Too many crashes and close calls have happened on Shady Avenue, and we can’t accept this as normal,” Gainey said. “By implementing these traffic calming measures, we’re protecting our kids, our seniors and every neighbor who travels through the East End. This is how we move toward a Pittsburgh where no one loses their life simply trying to get where they’re going.”
Street signs and pavement marking will be installed to make drivers aware of the speed tables.
Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and flaggers will direct alternating traffic through the area.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.