Drivers running red lights in Pittsburgh could one day be fined through an automatic enforcement system.
Legislation introduced Tuesday to City Council would allow Pittsburgh to install cameras at high-risk intersections to ticket drivers who blow through red lights.
“This technology will allow us to crack down on dangerous driving that all too often results in serious and fatal crashes,” said Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, who sponsored the bill.
The goal is to reverse a recent increase in fatal car crashes, officials said at a news conference Tuesday.
Last year alone, 23 people — including seven pedestrians — were killed in car crashes, and many more were injured.
From 2019 through 2023, there were over 700 serious crashes reported throughout the city because of people ignoring red lights, Kim Lucas, the director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, said. Seven of those were fatal.
If the technology gains approval, drivers will see signs at intersections warning that automated enforcement is in use. Officials said they hope that will act as a deterrent so people won’t run the lights in the first place.
The program will operate within parameters outlined in state law. Pennsylvania allows cities like Pittsburgh to implement such programs but requires that the state Department of Transportation approve the intersections.
State law mandates the city provide a 60-day notice before beginning automated enforcement at the first intersection and a 30-day warning at subsequent intersections. It sets the fine at $100 per violation and requires a person to validate the tickets before issuing them.
Any money made would go to a state program that funds infrastructure improvements. Pittsburgh has already gotten about $1.4 million for seven signal upgrades projects from money that other cities have contributed to the initiative from their red-light programs.
Four municipalities in the eastern part of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Abington in Montgomery County, and Warrington and Bensalem in Bucks County — use automated red light enforcement systems. Philadelphia’s program has been in place for about two decades.
Local activists said the initiative could save lives.
Katy Sawyer said the intersection of Madison and North avenues in her North Side neighborhood is a consistent cause for concern. She said she worries about her 4-year-old son walking through the intersection, and she stresses about driving through it because people frequently speed through red lights without consideration for pedestrians, cyclists or other cars.
On Friday, she said, she watched a driver speed through a red light as she walked to her son’s daycare.
“Unfortunately, this is all too common,” she said.
It makes her wonder what would’ve happened if she and her son had stepped into the intersection a moment earlier, or been in a car that pulled ahead as soon as the light turned green.
“We could be one of those statistics,” she said.
The program is part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, which seeks to eliminate traffic deaths. The effort also has included increased investments in other traffic safety initiatives throughout Pittsburgh.
Some details about the red-light cameras are still being finalized. Strassburger said officials have not yet decided which intersections to target through a data-driven process that would prioritize the most dangerous ones.
She also could not immediately say how much the equipment would cost, when it could be implemented or who would be responsible for reviewing and issuing the tickets.
Council will consider the legislation after returning in late August from its summer recess.
Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com.