Some Greenfield community members think traffic calming measures create new dangers

PITTSBURGH — For years, community members who live in the Greenfield area have raised concerns about speed and safety along Greenfield Avenue. In 2023, when tragedy struck, their concerns elevated to demands.

“Greenfield families have been asking for traffic calming along the avenue for years,” City Council member Barb Warwick said. “It was really the summer before last when a Greenfield student was hit and nearly killed that the demand really reached a peak.”

Channel 11 News spoke with the child’s mother just days after the accident, and she pleaded for something to be done.

>>> Boy, 12, hit by car while leaving playground in Greenfield

This past August, something was done: the city implemented new traffic calming measures like a raised walkway, a speed bump, and flex poles designed to force drivers to slow down.

Anne Dekleva spearheaded some of the advocacy around the push and says the changes have improved safety.

“This intersection feels a lot more manageable and safer. Pedestrians are not playing a game of chicken with cars anymore, and I personally feel a lot safer,” she said.

But despite the positive feedback, more than 600 people have signed an online petition demanding that the new bollard poles installed at the intersection of Greenfield Avenue and Ronald Street be removed. Some even left comments claiming that while the city was well intended, the safety measures force drivers to swerve into oncoming traffic making the intersection more dangerous.

“I don’t find the bollards to be problematic, but I do think they represent a change, and that change is that people have to slow down,” Dekleva, said.

We asked Warwick if the city had any plans to remove the poles, and she said while they will continue to monitor the area the measures are working.

“No there are no plans to remove them,” Warwick said.

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