New traffic pattern in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood after stretch of road deemed unsafe

PITTSBURGH — As of Wednesday, drivers can no longer use a brief stretch of Madeline Street in Carrick after it was deemed unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians. Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) said the road closure is permanent.

The new traffic pattern is located near the intersection of Madeline Street and Becks Run Road. Crews began blocking off the slip lane with ‘Road Closed’ signs Wednesday morning, which will eventually be replaced with permanent barriers.

“Safety is a major concern for the City of Pittsburgh — for the DOMI department — so when we get those complaints and concerns of residents, we did the study and found it is a legitimate concern,” said Olga George, press secretary for Mayor Ed Gainey.

That DOMI traffic study found that 90% of drivers speed up the hill, making it unsafe for people to walk over to the pedestrian island. City officials say that’s not the only hazard.

“There’s a blind spot there that we didn’t realize that drivers were encountering. So you have pedestrians are not safe, motorists are not safe…” George said.

The city provided a map that shows what the intersection will look like when the work is finished with crosswalks that will be added and the 90-degree turn that drivers can make onto Madeline, which city officials said is a much safer alternative but will take some getting used to.

“You know Pittsburghers — we have a habit of having our driving pattern, we stick to the driving pattern…other than what we’re used to, everyone sort of gets upset for a couple of months. So there’s that three-month time frame we’re going to have to let folks get used to what this pattern is going to be,” George said.

You can find out more about the city’s sidewalk projects on its Engage Pittsburgh website.

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