Some in Pittsburgh's South Hills waited days for city snowplow, councilman says

It took two and a half days for some Pittsburgh residents to see a plow or salt truck after the region had the heaviest Christmas snowfall on record.

By the time Carrick resident Lucy Barrone saw a truck Sunday on Merritt Avenue near the city’s border with Brentwood, she said, “I don’t know whether the salt melted it or the sun.”

“I just think it was totally unacceptable that it took two and a half days,” Barrone said.

She said she’s heard the same “overtired excuses” for more than a decade about the challenges of snow removal in the city, especially on the steep streets of the South Hills neighborhoods.

Barrone’s complaints were echoed by many people in the area, who called, emailed or posted on Councilman Anthony Coghill’s Facebook page, Coghill said Monday during a council meeting.

Coghill represents the Beechview, Bon Air, Brookline, Carrick, Mt. Washington and Overbook neighborhoods and is chairman of council’s public works committee.

He received about 200 emails and 50 phone calls from residents about the city’s response to the snowfall, which amounted to more than 5 inches and was preceded by freezing rain as temperatures fell into the teens on Christmas and Saturday.

The hills in his districts are among the steepest in North America and they present a challenge to crews that’s been exacerbated by the closure of the District 4 public works garage in Knoxville in 2017.

“A lot of changes” are in the works, some of which will be made before the next snowfall, Coghill said.

He said he’s met with Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration to iron out what happened and prevent it from happening again.

He blamed unspecified “technology issues” on the lapses over Christmas. He asked council members for their support in approving changes that will be announced soon.

“I’m asking for help that I have the resources (in his district) so people can get to work,” Coghill said.

Peduto spokeswoman Molly Onufer said the city has a responsibility to “get every street in the city done as quickly as possible.”

“Our residents expect and deserve this level of service,” she said. “We are working with Councilman Coghill as the Public Works chair for City Council and DPW leadership on some changes that we will be announcing in the coming days.”

DPW workers worked 12-hour shifts through the holiday to respond to the snowfall, she said.

“We’ve struggled with snow removal for decades,” Council President Theresa Kail-Smith said.

The issue should be at the forefront as the city looks to replace Public Works Director Mike Gable, whose retirement is effective Jan. 8.

“I hope the administration hires someone who understands the operations of the City of Pittsburgh,” Kail-Smith said.

She thanked public works employees for the job they did, especially during Christmas.

During the snowfall, she drove through Green Tree, Scott and in the North Hills suburbs and “I was glad to reach city limits” because the roads were better, Kail-Smith said.

The issues in the South Hills neighborhoods should be remedied next year, when a new $2 million public works campus will be built to serve the area, Councilman Bruce Kraus said.

“It should make a world of difference,” Coghill said.