6-YEAR-OLD TY’ELLE HOLDS THE SIGN URGING DRIVERS TO SLOW DOWN ON CENTRE AVENUE BETWEEN ELMORE AND KIRKPATRICK STREETS IN THE HILL DISTRICT. (PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)
Courier assured by city spokesperson that sidewalks would be fully operational by Sept. 9
When Pittsburgh Weil Elementary School lets out for the afternoon, kids are everywhere along Centre Avenue in the Hill District. There’s a school crossing guard at the busy intersection of Centre Avenue and Kirkpatrick Street, but, to the disdain of some Hill District residents, there wasn’t a clear sidewalk that kids, adults or anyone could use to walk up Centre Avenue from that location. Instead, kids, their parents, even people in wheelchairs had to walk/ride in the street along Centre, navigating cars, trucks, PRT buses and vehicles that sometimes park on Centre Avenue next to the Carnegie Library.
“This is a very dangerous place for the children to walk from school,” voiced Renee Wilson, longtime Hill District community advocate, one of the adults who held signs at the corner of Centre and Kirkpatrick and urged drivers to slow down. “The library is right here and so is the store, you know they’re going to come this way, so we just have to make it safe for them. That’s all we want.”
Charles Lyons, one of the Hill District residents who led the effort to get the sidewalks fixed for use, said via a Facebook post on Sept. 4 that “some action” had been done towards getting the sidewalks back into service. A large dumpster on the side of the “Center Hill Market” store had been removed.
On Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, the New Pittsburgh Courier, after making its own inquiry to the City of Pittsburgh about the sidewalks not being fully operational on Centre Avenue between Kirkpatrick and Elmore streets, received a confirmation from spokesperon Molly Onufer that “DOMI (Department of Mobility and Infrastructure) received word this morning (Sept. 8) that the pedestrian walkways will be open by 6 a.m. (Wednesday, Sept. 9).”
Onufer also told the Courier in an email response that “when this came up last week, the city had already taken both property owners to court for blocking the sidewalks based on our regular inspections.”
“Our children, seniors, neighbors with disabilities, transit riders, and everyone traveling on foot deserve a safe path through their own neighborhood,” Lyons wrote on Facebook.
It’s unclear just how long both sidewalks were not fully operational. For Errol Reynolds, he uses a motorized wheelchair, and Wilson couldn’t believe he had to ride his wheelchair on the same street as the vehicles as they both rode along Centre Avenue towards the Thelma Lovette YMCA back on Aug. 26.
“Look how dangerous that is,” Wilson said in disbelief. “Look how dangerous it is.”
Goldette Shields told the New Pittsburgh Courier on Aug. 26 that she jumped into action when she heard about the issue, as Pittsburgh Public Schools students went back to school on Aug. 24. Shields grabbed a “slow down” sign and urged drivers to be very careful driving in that area.
Lyons, in his Facebook post from Sept. 4, added: “Safe sidewalks are not a luxury. They are a necessity.”
