South Side neighbors say drivers are blowing a stop sign in front of a playground
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- South Side community members are upset about drivers blowing through a stop sign.
On Pittsburgh's South Side, KDKA-TV's cameras rolled as driver after driver treated the stop sign at South 22nd Street and Sidney Street as optional.
From the mailman to a fire truck to a Pittsburgh paramedic, there were 33 cars in one hour. Thirty blew through it and three stopped.
Community member and mom Taylor watches it on a loop as her 4-year-old climbs on the playground just steps away.
"I hate to say it: unfortunately I think it's going to have to take a tragedy for someone to pay attention and I don't want that to happen," she said.
Claire Pro, another neighborhood mom, said she won't stop until something changes.
"We have people who are constantly crossing the street to get to this campus," she said. "We have a library, a baseball field, dek hockey."
Ormsby Park is nearly three city blocks full of fun for kids. It's all accessed with the crosswalk in front of the problem stop sign.
"We all know it's a problem," said Pro. "I just don't know if the way our system is -- it just takes so long to get things moving or working."
Pro's pushing for rumble strips, a bigger stop sign or the temporary speed bump.
KDKA-TV took the community's concerns to the city and learned the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, or DOMI, needs more data before taking additional action.
"We don't do things emotionally; we do things based on the data," said Olga George, the press secretary for the mayor's office. "So, if the data gives us and says this is the direction we need to go in and this is how we can best serve the community and best serve the residents there, that's what we want to do."
George confirmed the city knows about the problem and said there are two documented crashes. One resulted in injury, and the other did not.
"What does it take to get bumped up in the list for DOMI considering it is in front of a pool and a playground and a park and a baseball field, and even the library?" asked KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller.
George said it doesn't work like that and added there are many other problem spots.
"Let me tell you, in some neighborhoods, there are some neighborhoods that are actually facing -- I think one neighborhood that we're looking at right now had five crashes with injuries, serious injuries, 19 other situations regarding people blowing through the stop signs," said George.
She says DOMI already added a piano crosswalk and flexible white cones to improve visibility. Yet drivers continue to accelerate instead of hitting the brakes.
"This isn't only affecting you in a physical way, in a scary way. It's driving people out of this neighborhood. Those kinds of things move families out," said Pro.
George suggests residents call 311 to report this every time it happens in order to supply DOMI with more data.
To that, Pro said she fears data collection will mean more close calls and potential injuries.
"It's not about a matter of someone getting hit," said George. "Those near misses also influence the data, but because we don't, we cannot afford to have someone just sitting there 24/7, checking everyone. The residents are there. They're the ones who are seeing this," said George.
