Help keep the momentum – speak up in the 2026 Capital Budget

It’s not often that you can see a fairly quick and direct result from a government program or initiative, especially when it involves changing the built environment.

However, the latest Pittsburgh crash data from PennDOT (just released) tells a compelling story about how investing in road safety may be paying dividends fairly quickly.

We compiled the last 20 years of crash and injury data, and the results, especially of the last two years, are surprising and inspiring.

Overall crashes, which are usually well over 4,000 per year, were 32% below average in 2024, dropping below 3,000 for the first time.

More impressive is that in 2024, the life altering crashes that resulted in injury, saw a huge 41% drop since 2015. Injuries were stubbornly hovering near 2,000 only a decade ago, and are now down to 1,149.

There are many factors that go into changes in crashes and injuries including new laws, education, and safer equipment. However, we also know that over the past decade, the City has been investing in making our streets safer and more welcoming for residents outside of vehicles.

Additionally, Mayor Gainey has invested historic amounts into traffic calming, lowering the overall kinetic energy and speeds of motor vehicles – a significant factor in the underlying cause of crashes. His Vision Zero commitment to eliminate fatalities has helped focus on how to tackle the problem.

What’s difficult to calculate is the amount of money that such a reduction in crashes actually saves the City. Each crash requires countless hours of city staff and equipment to respond, investigate, transport, and report about. One thousand fewer crashes is one thousand fewer Pittsburghers needing to deal with their insurance company, take time off of work, or in the worst case scenario, deal with a life altering injury or fatality.

If you want to see these trends continue, it’s important to speak up and make sure that more traffic calming, sidewalks, and bike lanes are included in the 2026 Capital Budget, which the Mayor’s office is developing now.

There is one final Capital Budget engagement opportunity this Saturday, May 31 11am-12:30pm during a virtual session online.

If you’re not able to make that session, you can still contribute!

On the City’s Capital Budget Engage Page, you can make your voice heard by taking a survey and leaving your ideas on the interactive map.