Pedestrian, traffic safety improvements planned on Strip District's Liberty Avenue

A portion of Liberty Avenue running through Pittsburgh’s Strip District will see major pedestrian and traffic safety improvements, according to city officials.

Councilwoman Deb Gross said the city will partner with PennDOT on the nearly $1 million project. The city will be providing just $4,500 of that cost, with the rest of the funding coming from the federal Community Development Block Grant Program.

The stretch of Liberty Avenue was “one of our highest corridors of safety concern in the city,” said Kim Lucas, director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.

“There are quite a few pedestrian safety concerns along that corridor,” Gross added.

There were 93 reported crashes in that stretch of Liberty from 2017-2019, according to information posted on the city’s EngagePGH site. The intersection of Liberty Avenue and 16th Street was the most frequent crash site, with 26 wrecks reported.

Planned safety updates include traffic signal replacements at the intersections of Liberty Avenue and 16th, 21st, 25th, 26th, 28th and 31st streets, as well as a new signal at the intersection of 27th Street. Timing updates are slated for traffic signals at several intersections.

The project also calls for widened sidewalks at bus stops, additional bus shelters and improved lane widths.

Officials did not offer a timetable for when the work might be completed. The project is now in the design phase, they said.