New push in Pittsburgh to silence open-air police firing range

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Many people who live in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood and the surrounding area have been holding out hope for years that something would be done about the loud noises coming from a police firing range.

But they've had enough and want to finally silence the issue .

"It's very jarring. If you just are enjoying the trees or the breeze or just kids playing at the park, those are just these normal noises, and all of the sudden you hear firing and it comes out of nowhere and it can be really loud. And some of it almost sounds like bombing," said Kate Black, who has lived in Highland Park for 20 years.

Those unsettling sounds are coming from the open-air shooting range used by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police off Washington Boulevard in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar.

Black said she and her neighbors hear the gunfire at all hours of the day. Black said it could be as early as 8 a.m. or as late as 9 p.m.

"It just has gotten almost worse. I think it's gotten louder. It's frequently over 65 decibels. It's every day, multiple times that it's over that decibel limit," she said.

She shared several videos she captured this week from her porch and front yard, and you could hear loud gunfire as late as 7:22 p.m. on one of the days.

"It's inside, it's not just outside. It's inside my home with the windows shut. Sometimes I wake up to it. It's just gotten to the point where it's really affected our lives here," Black said.

It also continues to irritate people enjoying Highland Park Pool and Carnegie Lake.

It has been a noisy issue for more than 40 years, and Highland Park Community Council has been fighting it for many years.

Mayor Ed Gainey's office said in a statement to KDKA-TV, "The situation surrounding the shooting range has existed for more than 40 years and does not have an easy or immediate fix. Mayor Ed Gainey proposed funding in the 2024 budget for the design of a new facility, but it was removed by a city council amendment before final passage. We remain firmly committed to addressing the issue and plan to propose design funding again in the 2025 budget."

Black said she understands police officers need to train, but it doesn't seem fair that after all these years nothing has changed. She also said there's been no communication or follow-ups with elected officials, even after dialing 311.

"I hope that they eventually can move it to another location that's not in the city or close to such a densely populated area. But in the meantime, putting more restrictions like once a week or even twice a week, something like that," she said.

She's making noise in hopes that someone will listen. She has plans for a peaceful protest in the near future, and she's putting up signs about a petition , which has more than 1,400 signatures.

"I'm hoping that more people will sign it and that somebody in the city will make the change and just stop it," Black said.

On Friday evening, KDKA-TV reached out to the council person for Highland Park, Deb Gross, for comment or updates on possible efforts to help the affected community members but did not hear back.