City controller says O'Connor administration is not to blame for Pittsburgh's messy roads

She's heard the complaints of impassable, snow-covered streets, but Pittsburgh City Controller Rachael Heisler says Mayor Corey O'Connor's administration is not to blame. 

Heisler cites years of disinvestment in the city's fleet, resulting in more than one-third of the plow trucks breaking down. She said it's a wake-up call to address the problem. 

Pittsburgh still digging out

Two days after the heavy snow, Pittsburghers are still digging out, upset about the condition of untouched or barely plowed streets.  

"Here in the Strip District, it's terrible," Marlin Adams said. "I can't even get out of my parking garage."

But Heisler says it's not for want of preparation by the new city administration.

"The O'Connor administration came in and made some excellent staffing and operational changes 21, 22 days ago, but the unfortunate reality is that the fleet is old," Heisler said. 

Soon after the snow began falling, plow truck after plow truck broke down. Of the 95 plows that hit the streets, 37 soon ended up in the repair garage. And though 21 have now returned to operations, the Pittsburgh Department of Public Works is playing catch-up.   

"We need new vehicles, and that is what will make changes to snow removal," Heisler said.

It's the result of decades of disinvestment. While administrations scrimped, the fleet aged. According to Heisler, 41 percent of DPW vehicles have been in service 10 years or more, and 33 percent have logged more than 75,000 miles.  

What's next for Pittsburgh? 

Since many of those needed repair, the O'Connor administration has declared a state of emergency and hired private contractors to help clear the snow and to begin removing it. But the city has left the purchase of new vehicles for another day. 

"That's not the priority," O'Connor said on Monday. "That's not the talking points. Today is about how we get this city clean as fast as we can."

Still, the Pittsburgh City Council recently passed a tax increase to add $30 million to city coffers, and $16 million of that will be going to the purchase of new vehicles. Heisler says that needs to be sustained every year from now on. 

"My hope is that dedicated revenue will go towards the permanent acquisition of new vehicles year over year starting this year," Heisler said.