Weekend night restrictions coming to busy East Carson Street on South Side

Traffic and other restrictions are coming to the South Side on weekend nights, Pittsburgh officials said Wednesday. The move is meant to curb pedestrian and traffic congestion after weeks of overflowing sidewalks, gridlock and violence.

Between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, East Carson Street will allow only outbound traffic between South 10th and South 18th streets. Only Port Authority buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed to travel in both directions.

Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing services also will not be permitted to use that section of East Carson. Rather, officials said, passengers will have to arrange pick-up and drop-off points outside the restricted area.

Parking and deliveries will be prohibited on either side of East Carson on weekends from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m., and PennDOT will halt overnight work on its East Carson Street Improvement Project.

In addition to restrictions on East Carson, the South Side’s main drag, side streets from South 11th to South 17th will be closed during that time. Officials said traffic will be rerouted using either Muriel Street to the north or Sarah Street to the south. Residential permit holders will be allowed through. City police, officials said, will be positioned in “key areas” to help with traffic flow.

Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich acknowledged the weekend restrictions will be “an adjustment” for those who live in or frequent the South Side.

The South Side has been a thorn in Public Safety’s side for weeks now, particularly as summer weather has coupled with the expiration of pandemic-related restrictions.

Police began stepping up patrols in early July as officials cited a “dangerous and untenable” situation involving crowded sidewalks, unruly pedestrians and sometimes violent tendencies.

Shootings over each of the past two weekends led officials to expedite the announcement of traffic restrictions, a plan with which city and state leaders had been tinkering.

Three people were shot about 1:30 a.m. Friday on East Carson Street, though it remains unclear whether they were the result of one or multiple shootings. A 15-year-old has been charged with two counts of attempted homicide in connection with two of the victims.

While police investigated the gun violence, a man allegedly punched out another man on the street and then took off when he saw police had noticed the assault. Police caught up with him and said he tried to take an officer’s firearm. Meanwhile, a woman with him punched an officer in the head, police said.

“I will not repeat what was being said to the officers,” Hissrich said last week. “It’s almost like certain people want to escalate the situation and pick a fight with officers.”

A week prior on July 17, a man was shot in the chest near South 13th and Bingham streets.

“The problem is, in my opinion, we could put 30, 40 more officers (on the streets), and we’d still have the same problem,” Hissrich said last week.