In the past couple of days, pedestrians were in the news again. First, on a sad note, an 85 year old Dormont woman was killed while she was trying to cross West Liberty Ave. Of the recent wave of pedestrian deaths in the city, this is the second elderly person. Due to Pittsburgh’s large elderly population, we could take some pointers from the New York State Department of Health’s Safe Route for Seniors program.

On a happier note, the city has installed a new pedestrian traffic light at an intersection on South Braddock Ave in Regent Square where a 26-year-old woman was struck by a car and killed in January 2004. The new light was in part funded by the victim’s parents, who won a settlement against the city for failing to make the intersection safe for all users.

Dormont woman, 85, killed crossing W. Liberty Ave.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

A Dormont woman was killed yesterday when she was struck by a car while trying to cross West Liberty Avenue, police said.

The county medical examiner identified the victim as Celia M. Dobson, 85. She was crossing near West Liberty and Hillsdale avenues at 11:54 a.m. when she was struck, Police Chief Russell McKibben said.

The driver, an 82-year-old woman from Beechview, has not been charged, police said.

Pedestrian traffic light debuts in Regent Square

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

City officials will gather along South Braddock Avenue in Regent Square this afternoon to dedicate a new flashing light over a pedestrian crosswalk where a 26-year-old woman was struck by a car and killed in January 2004.

According to Public Works Director Guy Costa, the overhead light located at Biddle Street is rare in two ways: It will be dark until activated by a pedestrian wishing to cross, and a large part of the cost is being paid by the family of Evelyn Wei, the woman killed, and their attorney, John P. Gismondi.

Ms. Wei’s parents, who sued the city for failing to make the dangerous intersection safer, won a $465,000 settlement in 2006, and decided to donate $20,000 — $10,000 from the family and $10,000 from Mr. Gismondi — toward the cost of the light. The rest of the $75,000 cost is being covered by a state grant, Mr. Costa said.

The decision to keep the light dark until being activated by a pedestrian, he said, is because it is in a residential neighborhood and because drivers seem to become used to lights that flash all the time and don’t pay as much attention to them.