PITTSBURGH — One week after that massive snowstorm that paralyzed our region, Pittsburgh leaders are hashing out what went right and what went wrong.
The mayor says that the 37 trucks that went down had a big impact on the response.
This afternoon, he also heard a number of suggestions, from better training for drivers, to improving technology, to utilizing trucks originally assigned to city parks.
“We still know there are residents that need support on alleys, and I know you guys are working on that,” O’Connor said.
Supervisors said that for many drivers, this was the biggest storm they’ve seen and they weren’t properly trained. They plan to let them drive their routes this summer with plows.
“To make sure we have drivers that aren’t scared to go up and down some of the big hills and I think, as you heard, that some of the drivers weren’t properly trained for this and that’s what we have to do this summer,” O’Connor said.
Among the other suggestions, improving technology in the trucks so drivers don’t have to rely on paper maps, outfitting 20 park trucks with plows and salt spreaders, making sure the garage is open to get trucks fixed and using parking authority lots to get cars off the streets so plows can get through.
The biggest issue was that 37 trucks broke down in the middle of the storm.
The mayor is now holding an emergency meeting of the equipment leasing authority on Friday to expedite an order for 50 new salt trucks after 12 million dollars in donations from UPMC and PNC.
The mayor says he wants to get those 50 new trucks in by the end of this summer, so the drivers are familiar with them and ready to go next winter.
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