Pittsburgh councilwoman asks Munhall to solve snowplow problem in 1 neighborhood

A Pittsburgh councilwoman is looking to neighboring Munhall for help plowing snow in the city’s Lincoln Place neighborhood.

Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said there were portions of Lincoln Place where the city — handicapped by an aging vehicle fleet and plows prone to breakdowns — struggled to clear snow and ice off roads after winter storms.

The city sets a goal of clearing all roads within 24 hours but sometimes misses the mark.

Warwick acknowledged that target can be out of reach when vehicles are out of service.

So she’s pitching a partnership with Munhall in hopes Lincoln Place’s roads would be cleared quicker by a nearby municipality that already has plows in the area.

In exchange, Warwick said, the city will offer Munhall services like street cleaning and salt storage.

Lincoln Place, south of the Monongahela River, is the city’s southernmost neighborhood.

Munhall Borough Manager David Tye told TribLive officials have had conversations with Pittsburgh about such an arrangement but declined to comment further as the deal has not been finalized.

Warwick introduced legislation to City Council Tuesday that would allow the city to formalize an agreement with Munhall.

“The reason that we are in the situation we are in is that our workers do not have enough trucks, and that is something I am very sympathetic about,” she said.

Warwick on Tuesday also introduced a bill that would allow the city to buy four more snowplows, which she hopes could arrive by this winter.

The measure would move $750,000 from the liquid fuels trust fund to the Equipment Leasing Authority to buy the new plows.

Warwick acknowledged four new vehicles aren’t enough to fix the fleet’s problems, but hopes it would help.

“And then hopefully we won’t need to take advantage of the agreement” with Munhall, she said.