Wednesday, April 17, 2025
Aspinwall Neighbors today announced that local resident Ian Winner has been awarded a Community Grant to launch a pedestrian flag initiative aimed at improving safety at the borough’s busiest crosswalks.
Aspinwall is known and loved for being a walkable community filled with families, children, and older adults, making safe crosswalks a must. Winner’s grant-funded project proposes the installation of pedestrian flags at high-traffic crosswalks throughout Aspinwall. Each crossing will feature two receptacles stocked with bright orange flags. Pedestrians will be encouraged to carry a flag while crossing the street and deposit it in the holder on the opposite side. This low-cost, high-visibility system is designed to make pedestrians more noticeable to drivers and give residents—especially children and older adults—an added layer of confidence and safety while crossing.
Ian Winner was inspired on a recent trip to Rhode Island, to submit a grant application:
“We saw families using pedestrian flags to increase visibility at night while crossing a busy street to get ice cream. I was impressed that drivers stopped when they saw the flags. I have since thought back to those flags, especially now that I’m often crossing the street with my daughter in a stroller. When I saw Aspinwall Neighbors’ call for grant applications, I thought it would be great to try a similar system here to improve safety and walkability in Aspinwall.
I’m hoping that the pilot will make it safer for kids to get to their bus stops and for those visiting businesses on Brilliant Avenue. If it goes well and we get positive feedback, I’d like to explore adding the flags to additional crosswalks in our community to further improve pedestrian safety and contribute to a more walkable and accessible community.”
Winner has also expressed a commitment to working collaboratively with the Borough of Aspinwall’s mayor, police chief, Public Safety committee, and council to ensure the program complements other ongoing traffic-calming efforts in Aspinwall. Facilitated through Aspinwall Neighbors, these groups have been in close collaboration to pilot the project. “I’m looking forward to seeing the flag system in motion here shortly,” noted Lou Curcio, member of the Borough of Aspinwall’s Public Safety Committee.
The first opportunity to preview the flags will be at the Fox Chapel Area School District and Local Police’s Safety, Health and Wellness Event on April 26th, held from 10 AM to 2 PM in the Aspinwall Municipal Parking Lot. Kids and families will be able to practice using the pedestrian flags at a temporary crossing between the Aspinwall Police Department booth (in front of the Borough Building) and the Aspinwall Neighbors booth (in the parking lot).
Following the event, a three-month pilot program is scheduled to begin in May, with flags installed at two locations along Brilliant Avenue. These pilot sites will help gather feedback and assess the impact of the program before broader implementation.
One of the guiding priorities for Aspinwall Neighbors is to empower community members to take a solution-oriented approach to challenges. “Ian’s grant application is a great example of a resident seeing a problem and taking the lead on implementing a creative solution,” shares Sarah Shaffer, President of Aspinwall Neighbors.
With this grant awarded, Aspinwall Neighbors is currently reviewing additional applications. Community members with ideas for projects that will positively impact Aspinwall are encouraged to apply for up to $1,000 to bring their project to life. The initial funding for the Aspinwall Neighbors Community Grant Program was made possible by Aspinwall Neighbor partner, RE/MAX Select Realty. More information on the grant program, including how to apply, can be found at https://aspinwallneighbors.org/community-grant-program/