PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio KDKA) — The City of Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) announced a new pedestrian safety plan Wednesday.
The first-of-its-kind policy, named the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP), was revealed by Mayor Peduto as part of the Complete Streets project.
The PSAP hopes to home in on the reasons for pedestrian-involved crashes and take the necessary steps to reduce them.
DOMI will be holding a virtual lunch event to unveil the initial goals and begin implementation for the PSAP on Wednesday, June 16 at 1 p.m.
Interested residents are welcome to register for the event or call DOMI at 412-255-8850 to gather more information.
According to DOMI and census data, Pittsburgh has one of the highest rates of pedestrian commuters and is coupled with one of the least dependable employment markets.
There's risk involved with walking commutes, however.
According to reviews of traffic accidents, there is an overabundance of pedestrian deaths in the total roadway fatalities over the last five years.
And after analysis, it was revealed that there were "critical" pedestrian safety hazards leading to the high rate of casualties.
The PSAP is a years-long undertaking designed to emphasize pedestrian safety and lowering the number of fatalities caused near or in roadways.
Some of the new policies have already been introduced, too.
Some of the already-in-effect protocols included the city's "Safe Routes to School Program and data collection and evaluation on sidewalk and curb ramp conditions."