This Week’s Top Agenda Items
- Council seeks State assistance in eliminating the City’s litter and illegal dumpsites.
- Mayor's Vision Zero Plan appears on track, still awaiting traffic fatality data.
- City receives State funds for new lighting along Penn Ave.in East Liberty
Council Seeks State Assistance in Eliminating the City’s Litter and Illegal Dumpsites
- Councilperson Charland raised the Issue, stating, “Being as filthy as we are is a choice, and we need to stop making that choice.”
- While supportive, Councilpersons Gross, Mosley, and Council President Lavelle expressed concern that classifying the initial request could detract from addressing larger issues, such as the transit funding crisis.
- Requested resources could include borrowing equipment, contracts, and funding.
- Council members acknowledged that Public Works is doing its best but is stretched thin.
- Local cleanups often occur through various neighborhood and community organizations.
- A new City program, in partnership with the Center for Employment Opportunities, will hire people leaving incarceration to pick up trash; it begins this weekend in Homewood.
Mayor's Vision Zero Plan Appears on Track, Still Awaiting Traffic Fatality Data
- In Pittsburgh, an average of 20 people die in traffic crashes each year.
- Block-by-block data reveals that 83% of serious injury crashes and 76% of fatal crashes occur on just 10% of the City’s roadways.
- Pittsburgh joined Vision Zero—a worldwide movement to end all traffic fatalities and serious injuries—in March 2024.
- During the initiative's first year, areas with traffic calming measures saw average vehicle speeds decrease by 7 mph and a 55% drop in speeding instances. Areas with replaced traffic signals experienced 33% fewer crashes.
- 2024 crash data (fatal, serious injury, pedestrian, and bicycle) will not be available until this summer.
- Of the 57 tasks stated in the report, 30 are marked as completed or completed and ongoing.
- These tasks range from passing Automated Red Light Enforcement legislation and securing large project funding to relocating or adding individual street signs.
- An additional 18 tasks are on track to be completed in 2025.
City Receives State Funds for New Lighting Along Penn Ave in East Liberty
- The City has been awarded funds from the State to install 96 new LED lights along Penn Avenue, from the Target at Spirit St. to Negley Ave.
- This lighting upgrade will complement the LED Streetlight Modernization Project, which aims to replace high-pressure sodium fixtures across the City with LED fixtures.
- LED lights use less electricity and produce less light pollution than high-pressure sodium lights.
