A three-year traffic study completed last year showed an average of 11,000 vehicles pass through Mt. Lebanon daily, with the busiest intersection by volume of traffic at Washington and Gilkeson roads. In the study period, the municipality saw 228 crashes, of which 51 were classified as reportable. Under state law, a reportable crash is one that involves injury or death, or damage that renders a vehicle undriveable.

“The vast majority were mirror-to-mirror crashes,” said Mt. Lebanon Police Chief Jason Haberman at a Commission discussion session. Of the 51 reportable crashes, 29 involved injuries, all of which were non-critical.

On Washington Road, six crashes involved pedestrians, three of which were determined to be the fault of the driver and three the fault of the pedestrian, resulting in one pedestrian injury.

Haberman’s advice to drivers and pedestrians alike:

“You always want to be where people expect you to be,” he said. “If you’re pulling through a parking spot that’s not meant to be pulled through, driving on a roadway that’s not meant to be driven on, or walking on a roadway that’s not meant to be walked on, that’s when bad things happen.”

Haberman added that the highest number of crashes were what’s known as “A-pillar” crashes. The A-pillars are the structural support posts that connect the vehicle’s roof to its body. Depending on factors such as topography, the A-pillar can create a blind spot for drivers making turns. Haberman cited the intersection at Washington Road and Shady Drive, next to the public safety center, as an example.

“You’re turning uphill, sometimes you can’t see a walker.”

Haberman said the police department is doubling down on efforts to stop distracted drivers, through education and outreach, and increased traffic stops — 2,550 in 2025, up more than 200 from 2024.

Education efforts include the 2024 launch of PACE Yourselves, Lebo, a three-pronged campaign aimed at drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, beginning with a feature story in the May, 2024, issue of Mt. Lebanon Magazine and continuing with a new tip in each issue. Haberman has spoken on pedestrian/driver/cyclist safety on two editions of Inside Lebo, Mt. Lebanon’s public information podcast series, and has periodically updated the school district’s PTA Council on the issue.

At the same Commission discussion session, Public Works Director Rudy Sukal highlighted a few structural upgrades over the past few years that helped to increase pedestrian safety.

Flashing pedestrian devices and curb bumpouts designed to narrow the crossing distance at Cedar Boulevard, Hollycrest and Salem drives “has been a real improvement,” he said. “I think everyone agrees it’s money well spent.”

A dedicated left turn lane from Morgan Drive to Cedar Boulevard, traffic calming on Arden Road — including speed humps, a traffic circle and traffic island — and narrowed intersections at Brafferton and Sleepy Hollow roads and Hoodridge Drive and Rockwood Avenue have also contributed to safety.

Another major improvement has been the 2023 reconfiguration of the intersection at Bower Hill Road, N. Wren and Firwood drives, near St. Clair Hospital.

“There were quite a few accidents at that intersection,” said Sukal. “This has been a real improvement. We changed the angles, made it easier to travel through. I don’t think we’ve seen any of the crash history we used to have there.”

The addition of turning lanes at Segar and Bower Hill roads and at Bower Hill and Washington roads have also had an impact.

“Motorists get jumpy and upset when they have to wait to make a turn,” Sukal said. “Now they have the ability to get out of the intersection with the dedicated right turn lane. It cleans things up, makes traffic move a little better.”

Finally, efforts to make the streets more walkable include the municipality’s root-damaged sidewalk assessment program, which has resulted in 4,838 sidewalk slab replacements since 2019, and accessibility upgrades such as talking pedestrian crossing signals, in the Uptown business district, Cochran and Washington, Cochran and Cedar and Bower Hill and Washington.