Meet outside the ShurSave grocery store at 4pm on Oct. 18 for The Crossings: Bloomfield, a pop-up street demonstration to promote pedestrian safety at the Liberty Ave/Main St/Bloomfield Bridge intersection. Participants will cross together carrying signs (“Vulnerable together. Safer together”), dancing to music, and dressing in costumes — essentially putting on a show for drivers, residents, government officials, and media. With “Sole-Train”-themed music and costumes and an after-party, this will be a fun-filled event for a heart-warming cause—making these crosswalks safer for all. (Come join on Oct. 18, and in the meantime, please take our survey about safety at this intersection: Survey Link)
The Goal: A Safer Intersection for All
The goal for The Crossings: Bloomfield is to increase safety and walkability for everyone using the intersection, but particularly for the most vulnerable among us. When a walkway works better for someone using a wheelchair, it also works better for someone pushing a stroller or carrying heavy grocery bags. To accomplish this goal of a safer intersection, the event will combine the highly visible October 18th spectacle with a more long-term study of residents’ concerns about the crossroads. Bloomfield Livable Streets and Bloomfield Development Corporation will be working together to gather data on the needs of local pedestrians. This data will then inform the community’s vision for improving the accessibility of the intersection. With both an exciting public event and a more long-term data collection process, then, The Crossings: Bloomfield will shape new private development and future intersection revisions and bring about lasting, tangible improvements in walkability. (Survey Link)
Why The Crossings?
The Crossings is a project of Lively Pittsburgh in partnership with Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh, the region’s initiative to create more inclusive, respectful communities for all generations.* Their idea, a pop-up street demonstration for pedestrian safety filled with music, dancing, posters, and costumes, has gained momentum after successful debuts in East Liberty and Lawrenceville last fall and spring. As Lively and AFGP bring The Crossings to Bloomfield, Bloomfield Livable Streets and Bloomfield Development Corporation are expanding the project to include a more in-depth survey of neighbors and intersection users. The fun October 18th event and the data from the survey will help inform the community’s vision for the future of the intersection. (Survey Link)
Why the Bloomfield Bridge/Liberty Ave/Main St Intersection?
This large and complicated intersection has seen many collisions and close calls, and residents have repeatedly expressed a need to make it more pedestrian-friendly, particularly for those who may require more time to cross. This is especially important since it is adjacent to ShurSave grocery store, the Bloomfield Pool & baseball field, and Woolslayer Elementary School — destinations that attract pedestrians of all ages and abilities, including young children and older adults.
Want to make the Bloomfield Bridge intersection safer? Come dance. Meet in the ShurSave parking lot at the corner of Howley Street and Main Street on Wednesday, October 18 at 4:00 p.m. RSVP here, or by email to [email protected].
(And don’t forget to take the survey!: Survey Link)
*Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh is made possible through support by the Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation and Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging.
