Oakland’s Terrace Street corridor has recently undergone several safety improvements after multiple pedestrian deaths there in the past two years.
These include:
- A climbing bicycle lane on sloping De Soto Street to narrow the road and keep cyclists safer
- A pedestrian safety island at Chesterfield Road, providing refuge and more visibility for those crossing the street
- Flex posts along the corridor to prevent illegal parking
- Curb extensions to narrow roads and improve pedestrian visibility.
The project stretches from residential streets to a portion of the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, and was carried out by the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure [DOMI] as part of its Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries throughout Pittsburgh.
Since work on the corridor concluded in October, several students and community members told Pittsburgh’s Public Source that they consider the changes a helpful “first step,” but more is needed to ensure vulnerable people feel safe.
“We’re inundated with vehicles,” said Carol Comans, president of the West Oakland Block Club. She believes the constant stream of cars and trucks on the corridor negatively affects the quality of life for long-term residents in the area, many of whom, she said, are older adults or have young children.
Three pedestrian deaths on one Oakland street spurred Pitt and Pittsburgh to improvements — but work is incomplete
DOMI staff said they tapped community insights, among others, for the corridor project. While Comans appreciates the increased engagement with the department and other institutions in the area, she believes neighborhood concerns haven’t been given enough weight.
“The frustrating part for me is getting the traction,” she said. “How many people have to hear it? How many months do we have to keep saying the same thing over?”
Deaths, outcry bring street upgrades
Last year, Public Source reported on action items that DOMI and Pitt resolved to complete following the death of 37-year-old Jessie Maroney, who was fatally struck at the intersection of Terrace and Darragh Streets in December 2024. She was the third person killed along Terrace since 2023.
The action items, which included adjusting traffic signals and adding all-way stop signs, were identified in a document obtained through a records request. Mike Maloch, a city traffic engineer, told a reporter during a corridor walkthrough in August that these were short-term items — separate from the project — that the city’s Fatal Crash Response Team could implement immediately because they require “next to no design and are materials or expertise we have on hand.”
Public Source submitted an updated records request in January, but the city has not yet provided new documents.
Following Maroney’s death, student and community calls for investment in Terrace Street safety measures grew, and the corridor project grew out of that.
Maloch said it typically takes DOMI about a year from idea to implementation to complete a comprehensive project. For Terrace, the team tried to maximize the “very little resources” they were working with in a shorter timeframe, according to Project Manager Paige Anderson.
“We only get a few cracks at a corridor like this every year. We want it to be the biggest return on investment we can,” Maloch said.
Former Mayors Bill Peduto and Ed Gainey advanced pedestrian and traffic safety initiatives like Vision Zero and Complete Streets. Mayor Corey O’Connor assumed office last month and, in a recent interview with City Cast Pittsburgh, commended Gainey for the “smart” advancements.
“I think pedestrian safety, bike safety, driver safety was a great initiative and … we’re building off of that,” he said.
In a comment to Public Source, city Press Secretary Molly Onufer echoed that O’Connor is committed to safety improvements, but did not answer specific questions about the administration’s planned financial investments in traffic and pedestrian safety.
Efforts to complete the corridor project included feedback meetings with staff from UPMC and Pitt, who have buildings in the area, along with students and community groups in West Oakland, to gather feedback.
Pitt spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said that while the university doesn’t own the streets, it commissioned a safety study of the Terrace Street corridor in fall 2024 and shared the findings with the city. He said Pitt supports city-made improvements, including having police officers partner with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority to issue citations to those illegally parked on the campus side of the corridor.
Uptick in neighborhood engagement
West Oakland resident Candice Gormley said the project has not changed how she navigates Terrace Street with her three children, but she’s encouraged that there’s more attention to safety in the area. Her husband often bikes to work and has made use of the new bike lane when cars are not obstructing it.
Stonesifer said parking citations are issued by Pitt Police, in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, to those illegally occupying the space.
While the bike lane has been a welcome improvement for her family, Gormley said the neighborhood has remained focused on securing traffic calming along Robinson Street, which intersects with Terrace. She and other community members said traffic flow and volume haven’t meaningfully changed.
Maloch said in August that the Robinson-Terrace intersection received crossing improvements as part of a Bigelow Boulevard project completed in 2024. Residents on Robinson said they only observed clearer lines being painted there.
They are advocating for a ticket camera and crossing guard to be employed at the intersection. Gormley and Comans said a community member applied for a crossing guard position in the fall, but hasn’t heard back.
There has been some positive movement, however, in the way of increased face time with elected officials and representatives from UPMC, which had not been in contact with members of the West Oakland Block Club when Public Source reported on the corridor last May.
A UPMC spokesperson said the health system collaborated with residents, businesses, the city and Pitt to relocate a shuttle stop and improve signage as part of the corridor project.
“The safety of pedestrians, our staff, visitors and patients is of utmost priority and will remain so,” wrote the spokesperson.
Comans said O’Connor’s team reached out to her about him potentially attending a Feb. 12 block club meeting, where safety concerns and others will be discussed, and she hopes he shows. The recent historic snowstorm made roads tougher than normal to navigate, further highlighting to Comans the neighborhood’s need for traffic enforcement.
“When we were out there shoveling the snow, we had to have someone stand in the street and navigate the traffic so that someone didn’t clip you,” Comans said. “It’s been a challenge.”
Without enforcement, Comans feels safety efforts are “fruitless,” explaining that she often witnesses speeding cars damage property, neighbors’ driveways blocked and pedestrians nearly hit at the residential end of the corridor project.
“We create all of these laws and policies, but if we don’t hold people accountable to them, they’re just words on paper.”
Scooters off sidewalks
One of the groups that called for changes along Terrace is Complete Streets at Pitt, a student infrastructure advocacy organization. These calls led to their inclusion during the feedback stage of the corridor project, when members of CSAP got to speak with DOMI staff about the design plans.
Andrew Nawn, advocacy manager for CSAP, witnessed the project’s installation in stages firsthand due to living next to Terrace Street. He documented the process, cluing in the other members of the group and also BikePGH, a leading pedestrian and cycling-focused nonprofit in the city.
“I’d be like, ‘Guys, bollards are in. Paint’s going down!’” Nawn said. “The whole safe streets community was pretty informed.”
Nawn called the new bike lane “exceptional,” particularly because a section of it is protected by flex posts and doesn’t allow for parking in the lane. He’s observed bikes and scooters using the lane, and said it has made a “huge difference” in getting scooters off the sidewalk.
“They would fly down the sidewalk, going downhill, so now it’s nice. They use the bike lane, which makes sense and they’re not hitting pedestrians,” he said. “It’s lovely.”
The changes have also increased pedestrian visibility on the campus side of the corridor, according to Nawn. Since the fall semester began, he said, he’s only had one near-miss incident with a car while crossing a street, and he chalks that one up to bad driving rather than road design.
Still, he and CSAP President Neil Cahill said there are more safety measures needed in Oakland, pointing to a woman’s hospitalization after getting hit by a city bus on Fifth Avenue last week.
They also support long-term residents in the neighborhood who continue to voice their concerns about the other end of the Terrace corridor. Cahill said he’s seen illegal, obstructive parking on Robinson Street that makes it difficult to use the sidewalks.
“There’s always another street that needs to be made safer,” said Cahill, “but we’re not going to stop until every resident feels safe on their street.”
Maddy Franklin reports on higher ed for Pittsburgh’s Public Source, in partnership with Open Campus, and can be reached at madison@publicsource.org.
This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.
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