Automated cameras at three Pittsburgh intersections will now start enforcing tickets
PITTSBURGH —
Pittsburgh has installed automated cameras at three intersections to capture vehicles running red lights and issue tickets to registered owners as part of its Vision Zero initiative to improve road safety.
The cameras have been operational for months at North Dallas Avenue and Penn Avenue in Point Breeze, Saw Mill Run Boulevard and Woodruff Street in Mount Washington, and East General Robinson Street and Anderson Street on the North Side.
Abigail Wasicek, who lives 40 minutes away in Belle Vernon, expressed doubts about the cameras’ ability to enforce safer driving.
“Around here, I mean, you’re kind of used to the city or you’re not, and it’s a lawless land out here. There’s a lot of illegal turns and a lot of illegal driving, and at the end of the day, they can send you the ticket. Are you going to pay it? Probably not,” she said.
Her sister, Mallory Wasicek, shared similar concerns but hoped the cameras might encourage drivers to slow down.
“I feel like Pittsburgh drivers drive crazy and they won’t really care about the lights but I hope it will help people slow down because people drive crazy around here,” she said.
Residents of Point Breeze, where one of the cameras is located, are hopeful the initiative will reduce accidents in the area.
“We’ve been here probably for five years, and I would say we’ve averaged two accidents a year where there’s damage to the gate. So if it’s to keep everybody safer, I guess I’m all for it. But all we want is people to be safe around here,” said Nadir Raja, a Point Breeze resident.
Mayor Corey O’Connor highlighted the importance of the Vision Zero initiative, citing concerning statistics from recent years.
“The City of Pittsburgh is committed to Vision Zero because we want our roads to be safe for everyone, but over a four-year period from 2019 to 2023, we had 759 red-light-running crashes that resulted in seven deaths, and that is far too many,” O’Connor said in August.