2-way traffic to return, parking prohibition to remain on South Side's East Carson

East Carson Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side will be open to two-way traffic on weekend nights again, public safety officials said Thursday.

The switch comes after weeks of new traffic patterns and stepped-up safety measures meant to address a spate of violence on the busy thoroughfare.

Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said he is “pleased with the progress that has been made to increase safety on the South Side.”

Since late July, East Carson between South 10th and South 18th streets had been open only to outbound traffic from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. That was later amended to start at 9 p.m., a concession meant to address concerns of business owners.

Parking will remain prohibited on those blocks starting at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The prohibition on parking is meant to keep streets clear for emergency vehicles, a problem that has plagued the South Side since the expiration of covid mitigation measures revived the nightlife scene in early summer.

Police in early July cited a “dangerous and untenable” situation involving crowded sidewalks, unruly pedestrians and sometimes violent tendencies, and shootings over subsequent weekends later that month led officials to expedite plans for the traffic restrictions, a plan with which city and state leaders had been tinkering.

Public safety officials said that over the past four weekends, they’ve made 12 arrests, seized one firearm, towed 69 vehicles and issued 371 citations. The stepped-up enforcement measures, Hissrich said, will remain in place.