If it seems like traffic is heavier than normal on Pittsburgh’s parkways, PennDOT says that is indeed the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There’s no question that traffic volumes are up, but it’s not a sudden population boom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Traffic volumes always do seem to pick up in the September-October timeframe, due to a lot of different factors,” said Stephanie Zolnak, PennDOT District 11 traffic engineer.<\/p>\n
With schools back in session and vacation time over, Zolnak says despite businesses bringing people back to offices full-time, we still aren’t quite back to pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
What we are seeing is a shift in when people are working, and traffic on the Parkways is not all the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the Parkway North, the peak hour is happening a bit earlier than other corridors, around the 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. hours.<\/p>\n
For the commute home in the evening, the peak hours are in the 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the Parkway East, the morning peak hour tends to happen a little later than on the Parkway North.<\/p>\n
“It’s at 8 to 9 a.m., so that that time frame is really starting to spread out into your later morning,” Zolnak said.<\/p>\n
The Parkway East’s afternoon peak hour is around 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with anecdotal observations putting the same timeframe on the Parkway West.<\/p>\n
When it comes to sharing the asphalt on the Parkway East, Zolnak said it is currently running at capacity.<\/p>\n
“As we narrow lanes, as we restrict shoulders, it really does start to influence the time that it takes you to drive into the city into the east,” Zolnak said.<\/p>\n
Zolnak said the Parkway North isn’t much better.<\/p>\n
“At the Parkway North, it always has tended to be at capacity, which is why the HOV lanes are so important,” Zolnak said.<\/p>\n
With highways at capacity, Zolnak said the electronic message boards that help warn drivers of problems ahead are key, because people get information in real time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Zolnak said that the wider Commercial Street Bridge has helped when there is a breakdown or crash, the Squirrel Hill Tunnels still cause slowing down, which leads to backups.<\/p>\n
PennDOT wasn’t able to provide specific data about the Parkway West, but Zolnak said that with highways at capacity, even 100 additional drivers can have a significant impact on slowing traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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