Neighbors raise safety concerns along busy road in South Side Slopes

PITTSBURGH — A street in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes is under the microscope.

The city is hosting a public meeting on Tuesday, June 24th, to hear input from the public about safety improvements to South 18th Street.

Neighbor Thomas Wagner, also with Bike Pittsburgh, says speeding on S 18th Street creates dangerous conditions for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

“We would love people to treat this neighborhood like you live here. We live here, we love the neighborhood, we hope it’ll be a great place to welcome people to and we love traffic to go at a reasonable speed,” said Wagner.

Other neighbors like Mike Lettrich say car break-ins are their biggest concern.

“I think increasing law enforcement. There was a period of time where there were more police officers down here. And they kind of got away from that around COVID, and I think that is the root of a lot of the problems,” said Lettrich.

The City acknowledges that South 18th Street is prone to crashes. According to its website, from 2019-2023, there have been 37 injuries and one fatality.

Other safety improvements neighbors suggest are designated bike lanes, narrow lanes to slow down drivers and designated parking to prevent parking on the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians onto the busy road.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the South Side Market House, hosted by the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. The city will share its vision and ideas for improvements, along with accepting public input.

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