Target 11 Investigation: Traffic circle confusion

PITTSBURGH — They are supposed to make neighborhoods safer, but tonight some residents are raising new questions and concerns about some of those traffic circles popping up all over the city of Pittsburgh.

Target 11 first told you about serious concerns raised by city fire and EMS Unions, who said their larger trucks couldn’t get around the circles.

Target 11 Investigators Rick Earle has this new case of circle confusion.

“They’re terrible. It’s just a waste,” said Neighbor Eric Smooke.

“I think there’s a lot of confusion,” said Daniel Dickens, a neighbor.

“It’s like playing Russian roulette,” said Lauren Barkauskas, a neighbor.

It didn’t take us long to find people who aren’t happy about the two traffic circles that were installed by the city in 2021.

And according to some residents, the confusion got worse last year when the city took down the stop signs at both circles and put up yield signs.

“You could literally go from Dallas (Ave.) all the way down to Frick park without stopping, which means that people hit pretty high rate of speed, and it’s concerning with the amount of kids and bikers and pedestrians in the neighborhood,” said Barkauskas.

And the additional traffic due to the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse didn’t make it easier.

In December, residents finally convinced the city to put the stop signs back.

“We are back to stop signs which I think in some ways, should make things a little bit better. At least you’re not taking your life in your own hands when you cross the street. But with small kids, it’s been really kind of scary,” said Dickens.

After the change, we spent an entire day watching drivers struggling to maneuver around the circles.

Many drivers didn’t even bother to stop, rolling right through the stop signs. Some trucks couldn’t make the turn and had to stop and back up just to get around the circle.

Others weren’t having anything to do with that. They just cut off the traffic circle entirely.

“You can imagine if you’re a pedestrian and you’re standing down there and you think you’re okay to go, and he cuts that corner,” said Barkauskas.

Earle: You’re worried about safety?

“Yes, yes. Safety in general. I run on these streets. My kids, walk to school and the playgrounds and the parks,” Barkauskas said.

Barkauskas even showed us a picture she took of an SUV going right through the intersection when kids were getting on the school bus.

“Luckily, the bus driver honked the horn, and the car stopped,” said Barkauskas.

Earle: He can’t even make it around there.

We showed the video of drivers running stop signs and cutting off the circles to Pittsburgh City Councilmember Erika Strassburger, who represents this district and supports the traffic calming devices.

“I think we are still in the learning curve phase,” Strassburger said.

Strassburger said it needs to be addressed through education and enforcement.

“When we see people running stop signs, running red lights, going through the traffic circles incorrectly, we also have to pair that with enforcement,” said Strassburger.

City traffic engineers said circles and other calming measures, like speed humps, have resulted in a 9% to 21% reduction in speed.

The city said there have been 30 accidents along a stretch of Reynolds Street since 2004, and the city is hoping the traffic circles reduce that number.

And despite the struggles in Point Breeze, Strassburger said across the city traffic calming devices are in high demand.

“I can’t tell you the number of people who have emailed me asking for traffic calming on their street. We are not trying to make people’s lives difficult. We are trying to do the right thing for the neighborhood. And I have heard from many residents who fully support this and any effort to make the streets safer and calmer all over the place,” said Strassburger.

But some residents along Reynolds Street don’t see it that way.

Earle: So the roundabouts make you feel a little bit more unsafe?

“Yes they do,” Dickens said.

Earle: Which it was supposed to be the opposite?

“The opposite of what they were to accomplish,” Dickens said.

Since the opening of the Fern Hollow bridge, traffic has eased somewhat.

Still, some residents said they would like to see those traffic circles replaced with speed bumps.

That appears unlikely at this point, but Strassburger promised that she would continue to monitor the situation and work with the residents.

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