Pittsburgh council debates program to cut sidewalk repair costs

Pittsburgh residents and business owners are responsible for repairing the city sidewalks at their properties, but a pilot program proposed by city officials looks to make the process easier and more affordable.

Legislation before City Council would create a pilot program that would see Department of Public Works crews performing sidewalk and curb repair work at a lower cost than private companies.

Low-income residents would get a discounted rate and have the option for payment plans, while landlords, businesses and higher-income residents would cover the cost of the work, said Eric Seltzer, who serves as the chief engineer for the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.

“Maintaining sidewalks and curbs are the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. Obviously, there are many folks who that’s a challenge for them, either (because of) financial reasons or getting a contractor, which takes time and effort,” he said.

Under the proposed pilot program, the city would seek out residents in specific corridors and ask them to participate in the program, he said.

Reactions this week from City Council were mixed.

“I love the concept of this program,” Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, said. “I think most of us have had constituents faced with a citation from the city forcing them to replace their sidewalk. Some of those constituents cannot afford it.”

She criticized the “random” process of citations. Essentially, she said, if someone calls the city’s nonemergency 311 line to complain, the city will issue a citation. If nobody calls to complain, the city lets poor sidewalk conditions go.

Because sidewalks are technically the city’s right-of-way, Gross said, there’s an argument that the city should maintain them.

“If we had the resources, we could and should replace them,” she said. “But we don’t. So we have chosen to force that cost onto residents. I think it’s time to try to rectify… the burden on residents who can’t afford it.”

Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said she, too, supported the idea of improved sidewalks, particularly given how problematic damaged sidewalks can be for disabled residents who may find broken walkways dangerous.

But she argued the city should prioritize taking care of its own sidewalks, as some city-maintained walkways are some of the most “egregious.”

She also rejected the pilot’s plans to include sidewalks that are a landlord’s responsibility, rather than focusing efforts strictly on low-income owner-occupied houses. Landlords, Seltzer said, wouldn’t get a discounted rate.

“There are people who actually need help,” Kail-Smith said.

The pilot program is set to initially begin in Kail-Smith’s West End district and along a portion of North Braddock Avenue near Kelly Street in Councilman Ricky Burgess’s, D-Point Breeze, district.

Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said she wanted to a see “a more comprehensive solution for fixing our sidewalks citywide.”

“For a government to do anything piecemeal like this is just incredibly inefficient,” she said, suggesting the city would have the cash to start repairing all of the sidewalks in Pittsburgh if they’d first issue citations to all of the cars illegally parked on them.

She and Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, acknowledged the city often doesn’t issue citations for cars parked on sidewalks, though they’re damaging sidewalks and costing the residents or business owners who will have to pay for repairs.

Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South Side, said it doesn’t make sense to delay the pilot program while waiting for larger fixes.

City Council advanced the measure in a preliminary vote Wednesday, with Kail-Smith abstaining. Council is expected to take a final vote next week.