PITTSBURGH — This week Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure started to work to build speed tables, speed humps and a crosswalk on Johnston Avenue and Marion Street in the Glen Hazel neighborhood.
It comes 9 months after 6-year-old Jamel Austin was hit and killed when he was riding his bike in Glen Hazel in July of last year. A driver was reportedly on her cell phone when she didn’t stop at the stop sign.
The 70,000 project includes building 6-speed tables and a raised crosswalk on Johnston Avenue as well as two-speed humps on Mansion Street. There were also permanent signage and pavement markings to let drivers know about the safety measures. The main goal is to get drivers to pay attention and slow down.
Councilwoman Barb Warwick who represents Hazelwood said, “For many years it’s been difficult to get attention on communities that are underserved like Hazelwood and these types of street safety issues have been going on for a very long time.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said, “This is the first project DOMI has put together. We wanted to make sure we sent a message to the Hazelwood community that we care. And this is the way that we demonstrate we care. By coming and doing what we said we was gonna do.”
People who live here say, it’s a relief to see real change happening.
Tevin Washington lives on Johnston Avenue. He said, “I’m actually proud to see us come together. To see the whole community as one come together and fix the problem.”
Right now DOMI is able to do 10-20 projects a year, but it’s looking for ways to increase that capability.
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