Pittsburgh's slowing traffic on two Hill District streets

Because drivers haven’t done it on their own, Pittsburgh is taking steps this week to slow traffic on two Hill District streets.

On Bryn Mawr Road in the Upper Hill, crews began installing three speed humps and one speed table Wednesday between Milwaukee and Iowa streets. A speed table is longer and flatter than a speed hump, which is a sharp raised area of a road designed to reduce speed quickly.

In addition, crews will upgrade crosswalks and install other safety features at intersections on Bryn Mawr.

The city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure decided to take the steps after a traffic study in October 2022 found 65% of the 1,018 who use it every day exceeded the speed limit of 25 miles an hour. One driver went 63 miles an hour.

Also, the road’s crash history shows that there were six crashes between 2020 and 2024, including one fatality.

On Francis Street in the Middle Hill, crews will be installing three speed humps and high-visibility crosswalks between Wylie and Centre avenues. A September 2022 traffic study found 51% of the average 748 drivers every day exceeded the 25 miles per hour speed limit and one drove 51 miles an hour.

Both projects will require parking restrictions, and flaggers will allow one lane of alternating traffic during the work, which will be done from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and should be finished Thursday. The city will post signs on both streets to warn motorists about the traffic-calming measures.

The city of Pittsburgh will install three speed bumps and high-visibility crosswalks on Francis Street in the Middle Hill District. (Courtesy of the city of Pittsburgh)