Traffic calming, debris removal this week to make Mount Washington safer

The streets that provide the world-class view of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle will get a series of improvements to protect residents and visitors to Mount Washington this week.

Crews began work Tuesday on the second phase of a traffic-calming project on Grandview Avenue that will extend from Bertha Street near St. Mary of the Mount Church and Grandview Overlook to Sweetbriar Street near Monterey Bay Fish Grotto and the George Washington statue.

For the project, two speed humps will be installed between McArdle Roadway and Bertha Street, and three speed tables will be placed between Bingham and Oneida streets. Additionally, a raised crosswalk will be placed near the intersection of Grandview and Sweetbriar.

According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials website, speed humps are 3 to 4 inches high and 3 to 6 feet long. Speed tables are 3 to 3½ inches high and 22 feet long.

The goal of both items is to slow traffic along restaurant row and the scenic overlooks, where a 2019 traffic study showed 48% of motorists drove above the speed limit of 25 miles an hour.

Flaggers will alternate traffic during the construction, which should be finished by Wednesday. Road markings and street signs will be installed after the work is finished.

The work is a follow-up to a project in 2020 that installed three speed humps near Grandview Overlook and improved intersections for pedestrians with high-visibility striping and a flashing beacon at Grandview and Cohasset Street to encourage motorists to yield to pedestrians.

For the second project, the city will close McArdle Roadway from 5 a.m. Wednesday to 7 p.m. Sunday while a contractor removes debris. The city is concerned the debris could slide from the hillside onto the roadway.

During the work, the Liberty Bridge will have two lanes of traffic in each direction. To get to Mount Washington, the city suggests traffic heading outbound on the Liberty Bridge or coming from South Side go through the Liberty Tunnel to Route 51 north and exit at Warrington Avenue, then make a quick left on Boggs Avenue. Inbound traffic from Mt. Lebanon and Dormont also should take Route 51 north to Warrington.