Lincoln & Frankstown Community Street Design
City staff schooled by students!
The Lincoln and Frankstown Community Street Design is a project intended to improve pedestrian and motorist safety surrounding Lincoln Elementary School.
The intersection of Lincoln and Frankstown Avenues was long due for improvement. The current complicated intersection design makes was confusing for all users. Eighty percent of motorists passing the Lincoln School on Frankstown were speeding, and fifteen percent were traveling at speeds greater than 35 mph. Left turns onto Lincoln or Lowell from Frankstown are difficult and motorists rushing to make the turn present a danger to pedestrians attempting to cross the street. Additionally, motorists do not often yield to pedestrians at this intersection, presenting a danger to the 80% of Lincoln elementary students who walk to school and to the 100 people who board nearby buses every day. Speeding motorists near and through this intersection prompt motorists to park on sidewalks, presenting a further danger to pedestrians on the sidewalk. Taking into account the current intersection conditions, it is not surprising that the intersection has more crashes than the average intersection in Pittsburgh.
What do you think?
This project uses temporary materials so the Department can change things if needed or install a permanent solution if the temporary solution works well. Let us know what you think:
Fill Out This Brief Survey!
Who is involved?
The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure worked with Lincoln Elementary administration, parents, and students to learn how people navigate the intersection. The Department also held a public meeting to hear neighbors’ concerns and discuss possible solutions.
Students showed the Allegheny County Traffic Safety Group where they crossed, where they would like to cross and where they would like to see more plants!
What is happening now?
The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure installed temporary improvements to test design solutions. These include all of the following and can be seen at the intersection today!
- Painted temporary islands installed in the center of crosswalks slow motorists and make crossing the street easier. This technique is called a “pedestrian refuge island.” You can see these at Julius and Frankstown and Lincoln and Frankstown. (photo with sandwich board)
- The addition of a left turn lane and left turn signal reduces conflicts between pedestrians and turning motor vehicles. The Outbound 82-Lincoln and P17-Lincoln Park Flyer bus stop was moved to a different location to accommodate the new left turn lane.
- Narrowed travel lanes on the north side of Lincoln and Frankstown make turning movements more predictable. This area included the installation of self watering planters.
- Painted curb extensions at Mayflower and Lincoln prevents cars from parking too close to the crosswalk to improve pedestrian visibility. Legally, cars cannot park within 20 feet of a crosswalk.
