PITTSBURGH — At the Pittsburgh City Council meeting on Tuesday, residents blasted the response to Saturday’s snowstorm, as dozens of city streets remain in bad shape.
“You had this whole weekend, and none of the streets are clean. None,” Yvonne F. Brown said. “I feel sorry for these bus drivers.”
Some Pittsburgh City Council members said Saturday’s storm proves that funding the vehicle fleet needs to be a top priority in future discussions about the city’s finances.
“Right now, our fleet is in horrible condition,” said Anthony Coghill, councilman for District 4. “The onus is on us as council and government to really make sure our fleet is in good condition.”
City council members told Channel 11 there are not enough trucks to adequately remove snow, saying there is much work to be done to ensure the city’s snowplows, salt trucks, and the rest of the fleet are where they need to be for the rest of the winter season.
“We believe the number is about $20 million a year of what we need to be putting in there,” said Bob Charland, councilperson for District 3. “This is not a new problem for us. We have not been making enough investment in the fleet for multiple years now, and it’s something we need to address moving forward here.”
Council members we spoke with agree that investment is needed into the fleet, but whether to do that by raising taxes – as proposed by Council member Barb Warwick – is up for debate.
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Councilman Bobby Wilson of District 1 said there could be a better approach and is looking forward to having conversations with a new administration. Wilson said typically, the City of Pittsburgh has bought vehicles with straight revenue that’s coming in, but he’s looking into the possibility of paying for vehicles through a bond.
“The county does this, and there’s other municipalities that do this. It is a strategy – we just have to figure out if it’s the best strategy for us,” Wilson said. “I’m going to do everything I can to not raise taxes.”
Coghill said he’s looking forward to the opening of a new public works facility in District 4 that should be done this spring.
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