Some Side Streets Overlooked By Pittsburgh Public Works In Winter Storm's Wake
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Two days after Mother Nature dumped ten inches of snow on the city, most of the streets in Beechview are clear down to pavement with the exception of small side streets like Kiralfy Street.
"It's been frustrating. We've lived here since 1981 and they just forget about this street," said Kathleen Grimm.
While the city says 97% of the streets were done in the first 24 hours, the remaining 3% have been passed over to the frustration of residents and Public Works Director Mike Gable.
"We're doing a good job, it's just those few handfuls of streets being left that we're not getting to, either plowing or treating," he said.
Hard-to-reach streets like Norwich Avenue in Brookline weren't touched until today, according to Celishia Rent.
"They came through the first time this morning at 8:30, there was like 11 inches of snow on the street, it's just always icy," said Rent.
KDKA was there for the second plowing. The plow operator says he understands the frustration, but the city just didn't have the resources to get there any sooner: "The main problem is that we're trying to keep the main roads clear for emergency vehicles and such so we couldn't get to these backroads until now."
Still, Gable concedes the city is missing some streets entirely.
"We've just had these little issues in past events where some streets tend to get missed repeatedly. It could be just simply that the operator isn't following the route as written," Gable said.
Kathleen Grimm is at wit's end.
"For this particular snowfall, I've emailed four times and I've called. I don't know what else to do," she said.
KDKA brought this to the city's attention and around 5 p.m., road crews arrived and plowed the street. Residents say they can't remember the last time this was done. Director Mike Gable is ordering mandatory overtime to work through Friday night into Saturday morning to get these streets done.
