PITTSBURGH \u2014 Changes are coming to a notoriously dangerous intersection in Pittsburgh, with the main focus on walkers, instead of cars.<\/p>\n
The project will change the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Dirthridge Street in the heart of Oakland. <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce a semester, you almost get run over,\u201d Pitt student Aarash Zakeri told Channel 11. <\/p>\n
Zakeri knows firsthand how dangerous the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Dithridge Street is in Oakland. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe other day, my friend and I almost got run over by a car. He was about to turn, and there was no car coming down, but he sped through the turn anyway. That definitely would have flattened us,\u201d Zakeri said. <\/p>\n
Over the last five years, Channel 11 has reported on several crashes at the intersection, including one that killed a woman in her 90s as she was crossing the street. <\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the only problem intersection in Oakland. Channel 11 has covered a number of deadly accidents over the years, in which walkers were killed. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would say it\u2019s pretty hectic. Drivers are either hit or miss. Some of them just blow through the reds,\u201d another Pitt student told us. <\/p>\n
After years of crashes, the city is now planning to give the intersection a major upgrade after receiving an $800,000 grant from PennDOT. The funding is coming from fines for red light violations across the state. <\/p>\n
The focus of the project is to make the intersection safer for walkers, including new LED street lighting, pedestrian signals that countdown with tones you can hear, and larger traffic signals that are easier for drivers to see. <\/p>\n
I definitely appreciate that. My roommates and I walk to campus every day. Keeping people safe would definitely be the thing. Like I said, people have the consequences, not the driver,” Zakeri said. <\/p>\n
With this funding, the city says they have plans to make more changes at other dangerous intersections later this year, but at this point, they haven\u2019t told us exactly where those projects will be. <\/p>\n
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