Pittsburgh sets goal to clear roads within 24 hours of snowfall

Pittsburgh officials outlined the city’s plans for snow removal efforts this winter in a virtual meeting Tuesday evening, saying they hope to have all of the city’s roads cleared within 24 hours of snowfall.

“We’re going to do all we can to make sure these streets (are clear),” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said. “We know that snow’s a big, big question in the city.”

Director of Public Works Chris Hornstein said the city already has a plan in place to deal with snow events. Their goal is to have roads treated and cleared within 24 hours when snow storms strike, he said.

“That’s what our goal is to get through every single city street,” he said.

In the long-term, once the department has built up its equipment and staffing, Hornstein said he’d like to see that turnaround time drop to 10 hours.

The Department of Public Works will lease 15 additional vehicles this season to augment its aging fleet. The city’s plows, he said, are about 12 years old on average, making them more prone to breakdowns.

“New equipment is going to be safer and more operationally sound,” Hornstein said.

The city will continue leasing newer vehicles until officials get the city fleet’s average age to their goal of around five or six years old, Hornstein said.

Gainey’s proposed budget also includes funding for additional staffing, including 40 new laborers and 15 new drivers for the Department of Public Works.

Gainey and Hornstein highlighted that snow plow drivers perform a skilled, sometimes dangerous job. Gainey highlighted how he came to better understand the process after riding along with a plow driver in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood last year.

The pair encouraged Pittsburgh residents to make plow drivers’ jobs a bit easier by staying off the roads unless absolutely necessary during snowfall.

Crews need time and space to clear the streets, Hornstein said, and they can be called off from plowing to assist with crashes when people are driving in poor conditions.

If people have to drive on snow- or ice-covered streets, Hornstein urged them to consider the safest routes — preferably routes that avoid steep hills or include more major roadways, which are plowed first.

The city clears emergency routes and primary streets first after every snowfall, he said. Then, they tackle secondary streets, such as roads through neighborhoods. Tertiary streets, such as back alleys, are cleared last.

Some roads that have a history of being dangerous in bad weather — such as Rialto Street in Troy Hill or Capital Avenue in Brookline — may be closed altogether during severe weather, Hornstein said.

Snow preparation often begins before the first snowflakes fall. Hornstein said crews monitor the weather and plan for snow events days in advance. They pretreat the roads when possible, he said, though it’s often ineffective if the snow is preceded by rain, which can wash away salt.

A new Department of Public Works facility that was slated to be built this year to service neighborhoods in City Councilman Anthony Coghill’s District 4 — which includes hilly neighborhoods such as Beechview, Brookline, Carrick, Bon Air and Overbrook — will not be ready this year.

That means snowplows servicing those areas have to come from other parts of the city, a problem that has led to dayslong delays in snow removal for some residents.

The new public works facility has been in the works for about five years but was delayed repeatedly. Most recently, Coghill said, the project was delayed when crews found an unknown mine shaft under the site.

Officials now hope to have that facility ready for next winter.

Gainey’s announcement came as Pittsburgh saw its first snow of the season Tuesday.

Gainey encouraged residents to consider signing up for the city’s Snow Angels program, where volunteers offer to shovel sidewalks for elderly or disabled neighbors who can’t do it themselves.

“That’s one way we can all work together to make sure we have safe streets and safe sidewalks,” the mayor said.

Related:

• New public works facility won't be ready to help Pittsburgh's South Hills neighborhoods this winter

• Frigid temperatures, possible snow to hit Pittsburgh this week

• Slow snow removal causes frustration in some Pittsburgh neighborhoods