Envision Downtown seeks to increase safety for all traveling Downtown

By Melissa Daniels | Pittsburgh Tribune Review
The path to safer streets in Pittsburgh begins Downtown.This neighborhood of 120,000 daily commuters and at least 7,000 residents is one of the first focal points for Mayor Bill Peduto’s “complete streets” initiative announced in April. Decades ago, these streets were widened to accommodate the rush of automobile traffic, but the trends of the 21st century have altered the way Pittsburghers move through them — or would like to.

About 54 percent of Downtown commuters use public transit, 6 percent walk or bike, and 40 percent drive cars.

“You can’t expect it to be safe to bike or walk, or efficient to drive a car or a bus, when you design it for one way and all of the sudden there’s five different ways,” Peduto said.

The conversation to improve street safety amplified after the deaths of three people in Oakland last month, including a woman on a bike and a married couple who were crossing the street after stepping off a bus. In the weeks ahead, city officials will meet with the National Coalition of Complete Streets to discuss safety plans citywide.