As complaints arise over snowy roads, Pittsburgh Public Works says most streets are "passable"
Snow from Saturday's storm still impacted travel across Pittsburgh, especially on neighborhood streets, on Monday evening.
While most of the main roads were clear, the side streets were still covered in snow. It led to frustrated residents, as it was a struggle to get to work, school and appointments.
"It's not unacceptable, but it's obviously not the best case," Chole Shi, of Oakland, said.
In Brookline and Beechview, steep hills were still packed with snow and ice, forcing drivers to crawl uphill or turn around. In Oakland and Squirrel Hill, the main and side streets were covered.
"That's what happens when we have that significant amount of snowfall," Director of Public Works Chris Hornstein said.
Hornstein said crews have been out around-the-clock since 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the city running 40 to 48 snow plows every 12 hours. He said more snow fell than originally forecasted in the city, which stretched resources and slowed progress on side streets.
"The majority of the streets are what we call passable," Hornstein said. "I understand residents might be frustrated with that term, but we feel like they can be navigated with care and caution."
He added that narrow streets and parked cars continue to complicate plowing efforts.
"That's kind of like where we are currently addressing right now. And then we're going to reevaluate where we are this evening and go to the places we feel we need to next," Hornstein said.
Despite the barrage of calls from residents to 311 complaining about the snow-covered streets, the Department of Public Works believes crews did a good job responding to the storm.
Officials encourage residents to continue to call 311 so crews know where the problem areas are. Officials are also asking residents to be patient and drivers to use caution when on the roads until all the snow is cleared.