Image courtesy of Ray Gerard

After a driver struck a child, Greenfielders call for action on Greenfield Ave

Blog written by Guest Contributor Junction Coalition

More than 60 parents, children, and family dogs came out on August 25 to stand along Greenfield Avenue with handmade signs that encouraged motorists to drive safely. Greenfield resident and mother of three Anna Dekleva organized the demonstration, Slow Down Greenfield, in the wake of an Aug. 16 collision on the dangerous street that injured a 12-year-old.

While taking action to increase driver awareness, Ms. Dekleva and her neighbors emphasized that Greenfield Avenue desperately needs infrastructure changes to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrian — especially the many students who walk to local schools. “A speed limit sign doesn’t prevent a vehicle from traveling too fast, but infrastructure changes can,” noted Catherine Adams, who serves as co-chair of the Greenfield Community Association’s (GCA’s) Planning, Transportation, and Development Committee.

The GCA and Greenfield School PTO co-sponsored a petition, Keep Kids Safe with Traffic Calming on Greenfield Ave!, which had been circulating weeks before the boy was hit near an intersection named in the petition. More than 560 people have signed.

The petition asks Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) to restore the school safety zone around Greenfield School and Yeshiva School (formerly St. Rosalia’s) and add traffic-calming and pedestrian safety features to well-known danger zones along Greenfield Avenue. Ms. Dekleva said she wanted Mayor Gainey to understand that “action is needed now or more residents will be maimed or die from a problem the city can address today.”

Greenfielders have lobbied city government for better traffic safety in the neighborhood over decades, but their pleas have been ignored. Since DOMI’s 2017 inception, residents have repeatedly asked when DOMI will meet with them to collaborate on traffic safety measures and when those measures would be implemented. DOMI’s responses have ranged from non-committal to non-existent.

A DOMI project manager told attendees at a 2022 public meeting about the planned replacement of the Swinburne Bridge that Greenfield Avenue will remain as-is until after construction on the bridge is completed in 2026 or later. DOMI’s inaction prolongs conditions that put residents of all ages at risk: Wrecks are commonplace. On Aug. 30, five days after the rally, an eastbound driver on Greenfield Avenue swerved and hit a legally parked truck in the 800 block, then flipped over.

Read the full story at the Junction Coalition Website and stay tuned for future Slow Down Greenfield announcements.