Crews begin work in Pittsburgh’s Chartiers neighborhood to calm traffic

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The City of Pittsburgh is beginning work in the Chartiers neighborhood to calm traffic.

The plan involves multiple measures spanning multiple streets.

The work to slow drivers down is already beginning on Chartiers Avenue. There are now speed tables on parts of the road, which were installed this week.

Crews are expected to come in next week to Chartiers Avenue and put up roadway markings on the speed tables and signage.

Jim Cermak is keeping the shirt-pressing alive at Quality Dry Cleaners nearby.

“I’m the second owner. I bought it off the original owner,” he said.

He’s owned the 64-year-old shop since 1997. Cermak’s seen a lot, and some of it is “pressing” him.

“[I’ve seen] people running through red lights, speeding, blowing horns,” he said.

And if you think his gripes are just limited to the street out his window, you’d be wrong.

“It makes me mad when people drive through my driveway,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to get hit.”

These concerns on Chartiers Avenue are prompting the City of Pittsburgh to do some traffic calming. A study found 89% of drivers on Chartiers go over the 25-mile-an-hour speed limit.

“If you stand here for five minutes, you’ll see that,” Cermak said.

The City says Main Street will have some painted bump-outs as well as what it calls a pedestrian refuge on Suter Street while it adds to the one on Middletown Road.

“I think it’s a positive thing,” neighbor Krystal Pate said. “There are a lot of children and residents in the area, so it’s best that people slow down.”

It’s all expected to improve pedestrian safety, which is important with a school nearby.

Cermak hopes it brings more to the area surrounding the business he’s owned for nearly 30 years.

“We own good thoroughfare from Kennedy down to Pittsburgh in the morning and the evenings,” Cermak said. “There’s plenty of room for growth here.”