By SHANNON O. WELLS
Improved signage and lighting, modernized signaling, raised crosswalks and designated lanes for bikes and e-scooters are among recommendations from a just-released pedestrian safety and traffic study commissioned by Pitt of the Terrace and De Soto street area of Oakland.
The study was designed to address challenges and “proactively prevent” future accidents and fatalities that have plagued a five-intersection area on Pitt’s upper campus in recent years.
From 2019 to 2023, the area experienced 28 crashes, seven involving pedestrians, two of which resulted in fatalities. Near-miss incidents, which often go unreported, are frequent, the Kimley-Horn Engineering consultants study explained.
Based on heightened concerns regarding the safety and usability of these streets from a history of crashes and pedestrian fatalities along with increasing development activity, the study — developed with input from stakeholders in Pitt departments including planning, capital projects, space management, and parking/transportation — evaluated current safety conditions to propose a range of recommendations to improve the streets’ overall functionality and accessibility.
A Dec. 5 pedestrian accident that left a Pitt employee dead prompted further review of the Terrace Street corridor between Darragh and DeSoto streets by the city of Pittsburgh and the University.
In a statement, Pitt said it "remains committed to ongoing and vital conversations to help make Oakland a safer place for pedestrians, cyclists and commuters, and we are committed to supporting initiatives that promote safety for everyone who uses Terrace Street and the surrounding area.
“We welcomed the city’s onsite review of the DeSoto/Terrace Street corridor to assess improvements of these city-owned roads,” the statement continued, noting the initiation of the corridor safety study that was released in late February.
Some of the study’s focuses and recommendations include the following:
-
Signage and sight distance: Update and install clear, unambiguous signage to guide both pedestrians and drivers. Remove or relocate obstructive signs to enhance overall visibility, particularly at intersections.
-
Lighting: Ensure consistent and adequate illumination, including updating to LED fixtures, across the corridor to increase visibility during nighttime, particularly at crosswalks and key intersections.
-
Signal infrastructure: Modernize traffic signals with features like retroreflective backplates to increase signal visibility, install pedestrian countdown timers and accessible push buttons at all signalized intersections, and ensure they are ADA-compliant.
-
Pedestrian safety enhancements: Implement leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) at intersections to give pedestrians a head start in crossing before vehicles can move. Install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) at unsignalized crosswalks to alert drivers when pedestrians are crossing.
-
Traffic-calming measures: Introduce curb extensions or bump-outs to reduce pedestrian crossing distances and slow down vehicular speeds. Apply pavement markings, such as high-visibility crosswalks and speed reduction indicators, to guide and control traffic movements.
-
Crosswalk enhancements: Implement a raised crosswalk/speed table at the Terrace Street midblock crosswalks to make pedestrians more visible and encourage vehicles to slow down.
-
Multimodal infrastructure: Develop designated travel areas for cyclists and e-scooter users to reduce conflicts with vehicles and pedestrians. Install a bicycle climbing lane on steep sections of the corridor to safely accommodate cyclist movements.
-
Daylighting: Reduce parking near crosswalks and intersections to improve the visibility of pedestrians and ensure that parking restrictions are clearly marked and enforced.
The study identified several issues contributing to pedestrian and vehicular safety concerns, including:
• Confusing signage and limited visibility: Numerous outdated or missing signs obstruct sightlines, causing confusion for both drivers and pedestrians.
• Insufficient lighting: Many streetlights and pedestrian walkway lights are non-functional or insufficient, reducing visibility at night.
• Aging infrastructure: Outdated signal equipment lacks modern features that improve visibility and accessibility like retroreflective backplates and accessible pedestrian push buttons.
• Ongoing construction: Construction activities can create a less predictable and potentially confusing environment for street users.
• Jaywalking: Pedestrians frequently ignore crosswalks, traffic control, and signage for more direct routes.
• User mix: The study area experiences a mix of travel modes, including personal vehicles, commercial freight, pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooters and shuttle buses.
The feasibility of recommendations was assessed based on location, implementation timeline, and potential complexity, with priorities based on actions that can be effectively implemented considering practicality, stakeholder needs and cost efficiency, including:
-
Location: Identifying specific intersections or street segments for targeted improvements.
-
Implementation timeline: Dividing recommendations into short-term (within one year), mid-term (within two-three years), and long-term (beyond three years) time frames to spread out resource allocation.
-
Complexity: Considering the practicality and ease of implementation to ensure recommendations can be executed effectively with available resources and coordination among stakeholders.
A multi-tiered approach to enable allocation of resources and efforts effectively over time would be based on:
-
Short-term improvements: Address immediate safety concerns through small-scale, easily implemented measures such as LPIs, improved signage, and better lighting.
-
Mid-term improvements: Focus on moderate interventions like installing midblock RRFBs, updating signal infrastructure, and adding curb bump-outs.
-
Long-term improvements: Undertake more extensive projects, such as bike lane expansions, structural changes to intersections to address visibility and accessibility, and improvements dependent on completion of other ongoing projects in the study area.
The project team conveyed a group of representatives from Pitt last September to walk the study area and discuss proposed improvements with the goal of observing the existing conditions of the corridor as experienced by pedestrians, drivers, and other users.
The intersections of De Soto Street and O’Hara Street, Terrace Street and Lothrop Street/Sutherland Drive, and the Terrace Street midblock crosswalk were identified as specific locations of concern because of their heavy pedestrian movements and a lack of compliance with traffic control. Several corridor-wide issues, including poor visibility of pedestrians and confusing traffic control were noted as well as a corridor-wide increase in the use of e-scooters and e-bikes, the study said.
In meetings, the project team captured Pitt’s perspective on current operations along the study area corridor, priority areas and potential solutions, including short-term improvements that can be implemented quickly as well as mid- and long-term improvements that can accommodate future development.
Additional conversations were held with the city of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) to align recommendations with city-wide plans, to discuss implementation strategy, and to investigate potential city support for the proposed interventions.
A stakeholder meeting was also held with UPMC, which has a prominent presence on the corridor, whose representatives identified key conflict points, like patient drop-off areas, and outlined steps the organization is taking to improve pedestrian safety around its campus.
The project team ensured that recommendations were developed to limit negative impacts on hospital operations, especially emergency services.
Pitt shuttle operators also weighed in on the study, indicating the Terrace Street/De Soto Street bend and illegal parking impede visibility.
In December, Dwayne Pinkney, Pitt’s executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance, said while the University does not own these roads, it commissioned the now-released independent traffic and safety study of the corridor and that Pitt Police regularly have officers stationed at high-traffic areas, including an increased presence on the DeSoto/Terrace Street corridor.
Neil Cahill, a member of Complete Streets at Pitt and a sophomore urban planning and geographic analysis major, said “the city, the University, UPMC, need to act; need to notice that this is a problem and work to address it.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.