In too many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, especially ones that have been historically marginalized through underinvestment, broken and missing sidewalks and curb ramps make it challenging for people to get around safely.
by BikePGH Staff Contributor, Seth Bush
Almost all of us walk at least a little bit every day. Whether it’s part of our commute, for exercise, or with a furry friend, walking should be safe, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone. Yet across Pittsburgh and nationwide, deteriorating, blocked, and missing sidewalks force walkers onto the road with people driving, which is dangerous for everyone. Unsurprisingly, the situation is worse in neighborhoods that have been left behind by chronic disinvestment and a legacy of racist policies, but bad sidewalks seem to exist all over.
The City of Pittsburgh has nearly 1,000 miles of streets, and ensuring we have quality sidewalks everywhere they are needed is a tall order. But it’s totally doable with the right strategy and the resources to make it happen. For that, we need good information about the quality of our sidewalks. Read on to learn what’s being done to get that information, why we need it, and how you can help.
Sidewalk safety is an equity issue
While pedestrian traffic fatalities have been declining nationally over the past two years according to data collected by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA), they remain nearly 20% above 2016 levels with a 40-year high in 2022.
The national statistics paint a sobering picture: pedestrian deaths rose a staggering 80% between 2009 and 2023, while all other traffic fatalities increased just 13%.
Thanks to recent investments in road safety and commitments to Vision Zero, our local statistics for the City of Pittsburgh show more positive improvements for traffic crashes generally. There was a 41% drop in life altering traffic crashes that resulted in injury in 2024 when compared to 2015. However, vulnerable road users continue to be disproportionately impacted. Of the 18 non-interstate fatal crashes in Pittsburgh in 2024, 7 involved pedestrians and 2 involved bicyclists.Perhaps most telling is this statistic from the national GHSA report: “Nearly two-thirds (65%) of pedestrian deaths occurred in locations without a sidewalk in 2023. Sidewalks can help protect people walking by providing a physical separation between them and motor vehicle traffic, but they are missing or in poor condition in many parts of the country.”
Now consider that, according to Smart Growth America’s 2024 Dangerous By Design Report, “people of color…are more likely to die while walking than people from any other race or ethnic group”, and that many cities like Pittsburgh continue to be racially segregated with a history of neighborhoods where mostly white people live receiving more infrastructure investment than neighborhoods with a high percentage of Black and Brown residents. That includes many types of infrastructure such as schools, rec centers, grocery stores, business districts, and namely sidewalks, bike lanes, and other road safety improvements (see our analysis of bike lane disparities). Pittsburgh is making notable progress on healing these disparities, but there is a long way to go (read about Penn Circle as an example here). Thus, we can start to see how high rates of severe pedestrian crashes in communities of color relate to a higher concentration of missing and poor quality sidewalks in those communities.
You can see and feel it for yourself by walking around the Giant Eagle on Murray Ave in Squirrel Hill (5% Black population) and walking to the Giant Eagle on Frankstown Rd from East Hills (80% Black population). Murray Ave and the surrounding streets feature wide, clear sidewalks that are quite pleasant to walk along. The walk along Frankstown Rd, however, features long stretches of sidewalk that are broken, uneven, or too narrow for a wheelchair alongside a road known for high traffic speeds.
When sidewalks exist but don’t work
This leads us to the reality that, just because a sidewalk exists doesn’t mean it’s usable by everyone. The previous statistic about 65% pedestrian deaths occurring where sidewalks don’t exist would likely be even higher if it accounted for streets where sidewalks exist but aren’t truly accessible due to:
- Gaps, bumps, and damage that make passage impossible for wheelchair users, people with limited mobility, or those pushing strollers
- Missing concrete panels left behind by unfinished utility work or construction
- Inadequate curb ramps that are missing, poorly constructed, or poorly maintained
- Obstructions like sidewalk parking, overgrowth, and debris
These obstacles force both able-bodied and disabled pedestrians into the street, putting everyone at risk.
For more insights into problematic obstacles and the characteristics of good sidewalk infrastructure, please refer to our previous blog post on the topic here.
Real Stories from Our Community
The impact of poor sidewalk conditions goes beyond statistics – it affects real people in our neighborhoods every day.
“As a wheelchair user, poorly maintained sidewalks are as useless as having no sidewalk at all,” explains Alisa Grishman, Director of Access Mob Pittsburgh. “When conditions are bad enough, I either risk damaging my wheels or, in some cases, I can’t get past at all. I currently have a wheel that’s been in dire need of replacement for over two months because insurance takes forever to process replacements, and I am having to go in the street more and more to avoid bad sidewalks so I don’t risk splitting my wheel the whole way through.”
Jeff Mulkern, a resident of Squirrel Hill who is blind shared, “I have no vision and my preferred means of travel is on city sidewalks using a white cane. Deteriorated sections of sidewalk snag my cane and make walking tedious. For me, being able to walk along a smooth unobstructed sidewalk is liberating.”
And Jess Thompson, a mom in South Side described, “As a parent who uses a stroller to get around with my young child, I know firsthand how poorly maintained sidewalks aren’t just an inconvenience, they’re a health hazard. Since babies, especially newborns, don’t have good head control it could be really dangerous to push them in a stroller over uneven and broken sidewalks where a wheel could get struck or cause lurching. The alternative is to buy an expensive stroller that can handle rough terrain, which a lot of people can’t afford, or go into the street where there’s a higher chance of getting hit by a car.”
Similar challenges face older Pittsburghers with limited mobility, delivery workers with carts, and anyone with mobility devices including people with temporary injuries. When sidewalks fail, everyone suffers.
Data-driven solutions
Thanks to mapping work by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), we know where sidewalks exist and where gaps remain. The City uses this information alongside data about street proximity to important destinations, crash history, 311 calls, and socioeconomic factors to prioritize new sidewalk construction through their Critical Sidewalk Gaps program. You can review the City’s Sidewalk Prioritization Map to see how they choose which gaps to focus on.
While filling these gaps is crucial, maintaining existing infrastructure is equally important. As described by our neighbors above, a broken or inaccessible sidewalk is, for many users, functionally equivalent to no sidewalk at all, and can sometimes be even more dangerous.
Beyond anecdotal evidence from 311 submissions and community group discussions, we lack a comprehensive understanding of sidewalk quality across the entire city. Unlike the detailed mapping of missing sidewalks, there currently isn’t a city-wide assessment of the condition of existing ones.
As the saying goes, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” – but neighborhoods with resources to voice their concerns may receive disproportionate attention, rather than areas with the greatest genuine need. Sometimes neighborhoods with a high number of infrastructure issues don’t have easy access to “the right people” to “squeak” to, sometimes they don’t know where to begin, and sometimes they’re skeptical that speaking up will do anything because they’ve tried and nobody has responded.
If the City possessed comprehensive data on sidewalk quality – both good and bad – across every neighborhood, it could strategically allocate resources to areas most in need. Furthermore, robust data enables more efficient work by allowing for the simultaneous addressing of multiple nearby problems and the identification of patterns that can lead to innovative solutions.
One such innovative approach already in place is the City’s program that assists residents with sidewalk repairs, recently highlighted by Pittsburgh Union Progress. This program tackles the primary obstacle to sidewalk improvement: the fact that repairs are typically the property owner’s responsibility. While the City is legally and financially unable to make repairs without owner consent and buy-in, this program streamlines the administrative process, secures lower construction costs, and helps property owners arrange financing, significantly reducing their time and financial burden. However, for this program to be truly effective, the City needs to know where to concentrate its efforts, and more comprehensive data can provide that crucial insight.
Join the Safe Sidewalks Crew
That’s where YOU come in! Pittsburgh Walks, one of the advocacy groups supported by BikePGH, is actively seeking volunteers to join the Safe Sidewalks Crew. This volunteer initiative will use a mobile app developed with DOMI and the Department of Innovation & Performance to assess sidewalk conditions throughout neighborhoods across the city.
The collected data will help the City:
- Identify which sidewalks and accessible ramps need construction or improvement
- Prioritize future sidewalk repair and critical sidewalk gap projects
- Build a more compelling case for necessary funding
Unlike issues reported to 311, this data collection project will not put issues in a queue for the City to review and address, so it will be important for people to continue using 311 to get attention on urgent safety issues. What’s especially valuable about the data collected by Safe Sidewalks Crew volunteers is that they will give the City a much more comprehensive understanding of sidewalk quality than 311 can provide.
Our ambitious goal: collect data about every block of sidewalk in Pittsburgh over the next 1-2 years. That’s a lot of walking, but the app makes it easy to contribute while going about your daily routine – walking to destinations, exercising, walking the dog, or exploring your community.
A simple walk can help contribute useful information that will directly improve sidewalks in your community! It’s also an excellent opportunity to volunteer with your community group, church, coworkers, or other organizations.
Get Involved
Ready to make a difference? Here’s how you can join the Safe Sidewalks Crew:
Attend a Training Session – Sign up for information about upcoming training sessions at www.pittsburghwalks.org/take-action, where you’ll receive app access and learn how to use it effectively.
Our next one is on Tuesday, September 9th, 6pm at OPDC in Oakland: Learn more and register here.
Organize a Group Training – Email advocacy@bikepgh.org to request training for your neighborhood, community group, church, workplace, or organization. It’s a great way to volunteer together while making a tangible impact.
Report Issues Immediately – Don’t wait for organized data collection, report sidewalk and street safety issues through 311 anytime. Check out BikePGH’s reporting guide at bikepgh.org/311guide
This is your chance to get in your daily steps or explore your neighborhood while helping make concrete change by contributing to a comprehensive database that will help make Pittsburgh’s streets safer and more accessible for everyone.
Improving sidewalk safety is a community-wide effort, and everyone can pitch in to build a more walkable, equitable city.
NEWSLETTER