PITTSBURGH — Camarae Broadus reached out to Channel 11 frustrated by the lack of snow removal on her street and what she says happened when she called 311.
Broadus has been waiting since Sunday for a plow or salt truck to show up, but so far, nothing. Her street is untouched. The conditions on the roads near her home are so poor that Channel 11 actually got a 4WD SUV stuck, trying to get to Broadus. We were forced to do a Zoom interview with her instead.
“To feel stuck and actually be stuck is horrible,” Camarae Broadus tells Channel 11. “It’s horrible.”
When she called 311, Camarae was told she doesn’t live in the city!
“I have a Wilkinsburg zip code, but I don’t live in Wilkinsburg, I’m considered the city,” Broadus explained. “They told me I needed to call Wilkinsburg and talk to them. When they looked at my address, they said you’re in the city and to call 311 back.”
She called back and was on hold for hours with no answer.
“I probably tired to call 311 at least 50 times - literally, maybe more.”
Broadus is a single mom of four and says she hasn’t been able to get to work in three days, missing critical wages she relies on to pay the bills. She also has a serious health condition.
“I’m an asthmatic,” Broadus said. “Sometimes I do have to call 911 to assist me to the hospital. They can’t get up here. I would be up here having an asthma attack with my kids in the house. With no help.”
The city tells Channel 11 that snow removal in this neighborhood is covered by the city DPW and contractors.
Broadus just wants someone to show up.
“They should have been prepared,” Broadus said. “They should have been way more prepared.”
311 has been slammed with calls. The city says they’ve received 2,400 since the snow started falling this weekend. 1,900 of those calls were Monday alone.
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