I 311'd this the other day but I guess they took it the wrong way!
2011-11-19 02:02:11
7
Stop signs at Negley and Bryant.
So I was gonna tell people traveling through highland park to take notice and beware of motorists not noticing the new 4-way stop at this intersection. The stop signs were on poles at the intersection, but the stop signs on negley were hidden behind huge trees that were about 5 feet in front of them. They were poorly placed, and even the "stop ahead" sign going outbound was about 5 feet in front of one of those trees, and also obscured by another tree. Very difficult to see.
The stop signs were up for a week and now they are gone. I thought that perhaps the trees would be cut down, but the stop signs just disappeared instead. I wonder if someone messed up, or perhaps they got stolen? I am sure it was not a cheap thing to do, especially if they were removed by the city also.
I was thinking about how the "ends" part of the "bike lane ends" sign needs to come down on liberty outbound between the 40th st bridge and the Bloomfield bridge, especially now that the bike lane continues the entire way with only a dotted line where motorists are supposed to cut over to get to the Bloomfield bridge (if I remember correctly). I was thinking about how the money would have been better spent on that or a sign saying "yield to bikes" or "cross at dotted line only" or the unlikely "get the hell out of the bike lane. Don't you know what one is?"
But seriously, anyone know what is up with those stop signs I mentioned?
2011-11-19 01:02:41
ugh. my guess: they got complaints so they put up the signs. then they got complaints again by someone who is more important so they took them down.
as far as Liberty, there is supposed to be a new suite of signs going in with that project. the whole project is still about 80% done and i have no clue when it will be complete. there is a good chance that the intersection with the bridge on liberty (Outbound) will have green bike lanes. we shall see.
2011-11-19 14:26:42
From Dowd's office:
Over the years, Councilman Dowd has heard many requests to make the intersection of N. Negley Avenue and Bryant Street a 4-way stop in order to improve safety for pedestrians and drivers. Due to the recent increase in traffic to Bryant Street because of the growth in the business district, Councilman Dowd doubled his efforts and we were happy to see the placement of signs earlier this week.
However, as several people on this listserve pointed out, because the signs were new and hard to spot due to trees, many drivers did not see them and did not make the stop, creating an even less safe situation. Although there is an additional sign in each direction indicating that drivers are approaching a stop sign, this did not seem to be enough, particularly in the southbound lane. Many residents contacted our office to let us know of this problem and we contacted the Zone 5 Police Commander to see if he could station an officer there at high traffic times. We have since learned from the Commander that many Highland Park residents made similar requests of the police.
Earlier today, we received a call from the Commander informing us that a Department of Public Works supervisor had visited the site to assess the situation in the southbound lane. This individual determined that there was no more visible location for the stop sign, unless they cut down a tree. Because the police do not have sufficient manpower to station someone at the intersection until a solution can be found, the Commander requested that the stop sign be removed temporarily. We have since learned that the northbound stop sign has also been removed.
Councilman Dowd remains committed to finding a way to improve safety at this intersection and will take up the issue again next week. In the meantime, please be aware that the intersection of N. Negley and Bryant is once again a 2-way stop.
Emily Keebler · Office of Patrick Dowd · Pittsburgh City Council District 7
2011-11-19 14:52:38
Btw erok I forgot to respond to your chat the other day but this reminds me - definitely no bike symbols on Beechwood. Although I'd rather the repaint the lines on the faded parts than put arrows on the new parts.
2011-11-19 15:10:38
@erok so excited about green bike lanes! I travel through that intersection daily, and honestly, it seems to have gotten harder to do so on bicycle since the bike lanes went in. But, at least, I think I understand the possible reasoning behind the light pattern change.
2011-11-19 15:46:50
2011-11-19 17:50:48