Pittsburghers skeptical of mayor's snow removal goals

A goal of clearing all city streets within 24 hours of each snowfall sounds too ambitious for some Pittsburghers who have experienced hellacious waits for snow removal in the past.

“I just don’t think it’s realistic,” said Margaret Loria, of Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood. “Pittsburgh is hills.”

It would be “awesome” if the city reached its 24-hour goal, Loria said. But Pittsburgh’s topography makes it tricky for even plow drivers to quickly navigate the city’s streets, which are often steep and narrow, in the snow.

Mayor Ed Gainey and Director of Public Works Chris Hornstein earlier this week said their goal is to have all of Pittsburgh’s roads treated and cleared within 24 hours of snow events.

City Councilman Anthony Coghill said the goal seems “awfully ambitious.”

“I personally would not make those guarantees,” Coghill said. “I would stop short of making such promises to my district, knowing the problems we’ve had in the past few years.”

Coghill represents a district that encompasses several hilly neighborhoods, like Beechview, Brookline, Carrick, Bon Air and Overbrook. Construction of a new Department of Public Works facility that was supposed to bring snow plows and salt into the district was delayed after officials found an unknown mineshaft under the site, meaning trucks will have to drive from the Strip District and West End to clear roads in that area again this year.

Residents throughout those neighborhoods — and elsewhere in the city — have complained about the city’s snow response in prior years.

Coghill said he’s afraid that’ll happen again this year.

“It’s taken three, four, five, six days sometimes before the roads are treated in my district,” Coghill said, adding that he’s “nervous” for another winter without the long-awaited Public Works facility. “Every winter, it’s not been good.”

Coghill said the city’s response time likely depends on the type of snow event. Snowfall at rush hour means it’ll likely take plow drivers longer to get through traffic. More snow often translates to more wait times. Freezing conditions can make it nearly impossible to clear roads quickly.

Coghill said the goal of clearing all city streets within 24 hours — especially considering the lack of a Public Works facility servicing his district — may be “wishful thinking.”

“I’m preparing for the worst,” he said. “They’re promising the best.”

Related:

• Pittsburgh sets goal to clear roads within 24 hours of snowfall

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

• Slow snow removal causes frustration in some Pittsburgh neighborhoods

David Auth, of Pittsburgh’s North Oakland neighborhood, said he thinks the city should be able to clear the city’s streets within a day. He doubted whether they had the staff and resources to do so.

Gainey has said he’s ramping up investments in the Department of Public Works to ensure they do, in fact, have the resources and staffing needed to improve the city’s snow response.

The city is leasing an additional 15 vehicles this season to augment their aging fleet, and Gainey’s proposed 2023 budget calls for 40 more laborers and 15 new drivers for Public Works.

Auth said he’s also concerned with how the city tackles snow removal in bike lanes and on public sidewalks, issues he said seem to sometimes fall by the wayside as the city prioritizes roads.

“I’d like to see the city remove the snow and not just push it into bike lanes and onto sidewalks,” he said. “I don’t want to have to ride my bike over large snow patches that are left in the bike lanes.”

Alison Keating, of Manchester, said she’s an avid cyclist. While she would also like to see bike lanes cleared in a perfect world, she said she feels the roadways should get priority.

Ultimately, Keating said, she feels that people should temper their expectations of the city’s snow response.

“Everybody just wants them to do their best, really,” she said. “I think most people understand it’s a difficult job to get done quickly.”

Keating said her neighborhood is “pretty flat,” so snow-covered roads aren’t quite as big of an issue as in neighborhoods full of steep hills.

“It seems like things are usually plowed within a couple days,” she said.

Keating said she wished the city would’ve outlined a more data-driven goal, rather than saying they’re hoping to clear all the roads within 24 hours. She said she would’ve liked to hear more specific, researched goals for how quickly the city could clear emergency routes or popular bus routes.

While Keating acknowledged that it can be frustrating when the bike lanes and sidewalks she likes to cycle on are left untreated and uncleared, she said she still feels the city should prioritize roads that are most necessary or most used. Keating said she thinks people need to use common sense and be patient during the winter months.

She said she felt that the 24-hour goal was simply “what people want to hear.”

“I don’t know that it’s realistically meetable,” she said.