PITTSBURGH — Communities continue to dig out four days after the major winter storm.
In that time, Pittsburgh’s Mayor Corey O’Connor says, Department of Public Works crews have removed 15,000 tons of snow.
One of the big focuses for crews on Thursday was bus stops. PRT says it wants to clear out the bus stops so its riders don’t have to stand around waiting in the snow.
Over the last few days, PRT rider Rachel Moffitt has experienced snowy bus stops as she tried to get in and out of Downtown.
It’s hard to know where to go," Moffitt said. “You feel like you’re in everyone’s way because the snow is really capitalizing on everything.”
PRT crews are taking matters into their own hands to make things easier for their riders. For the first time ever, PRT is deploying its own snow plows and dump trucks to clear snow from bus stops and problem areas across its routes.
“We have issues when there’s 3 inches of snow,” PRT spokesperson Adam Brandolph said. “When we saw 10 inches, we knew it was going to be just as bad if not worse.”
Channel 11 was there as workers shoveled snow along the bus stop at 6th Avenue and Ross Street Thursday afternoon, and a dump truck hauled it out of Downtown.
So far, some of the crews’ targeted areas have been Brookline, the Hill District, Polish Hill and Fineview.
Their focus is on bus stops where they’ve received complaints about access, where snow buildup is making it difficult to get on and off the bus.
“We live in a very hilly area, so we know that buses always have trouble. So we just went out, targeted those areas, and we are seeing a lot of progress,” Brandolph said.
PRT’s plows and dump trucks are typically used to clear their own property. PRT relies on the city and other municipalities for snow removal.
“Thanks so much for your help,” Moffitt said. “Any type of teamwork makes the city run better. Here’s to an early spring.”
PRT’s goal is to get several bus stops in Downtown before things get busy this weekend.
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