Volume 27 No. 2 February 2011
Neighbors calling 311 for accidents, violations By Kelly Thomas
Photo courtesy Joe Renckly
Accidents like this one that occurred in January are prevalent at the intersection of Middle Street and North Avenue. Concerned residents have urged neighbors to call 311 in hopes that eventually, a stop sign or stop light will be placed at the intersection.
Everyone loves to complain. In Pittsburgh, city officials encourage it. When faced with problems in their neighborhoods, Northsiders have several avenues through which to seek redress. One way is to call or email the mayor’s 311 hotline. Established in 2006, the number gives residents a place to report non-emergency violations. Residents can also call their city councilpersons, for District 1, Darlene Harris and for District 6, Daniel Lavelle. Calling 311 Peg Eichner, a Deutschtown resident, e-mails 311 about three times per month, usually for burnt-out lights in Allegheny Commons Park, street cleaning and dangerous icicles on
houses. All her correspondence with 311has been pleasant and every problem she has reported has been addressed, she said. Eichner’s neighbor and East Allegheny Community Council member Lynn Glorieux, agreed. “I think they do a good job,” Glorieux said, although, “Sometimes the responses are amazingly quick and sometimes it seems like nothing happens.” One of Glorieux’s biggest complaints is the sewers, which are never addressed, she said. Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowksi said 311 requests are forwarded on to the appropriate department, and that it’s up to that department to address the issue.
See 311, page 7
City enacts snow emergency plan and rules By Kelly Thomas The Northside seems more or less content with Pittsburgh’s new snow removal plan, if low attendance at a late January meeting about the plan is any indicator. City officials, including Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski, Community Outreach Coordinator Christie Berger of the Mayor’s Office and Audrey Glickman of Council President Darlene Harris’s office, outnumbered the two Northsiders in attendance. The meeting was originally planned for Jan. 20, but was postponed to Jan. 27 because of snow, making residents wonder why the plan wasn’t rolled out before
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winter hit. Kaczorowski said he wanted to hold the meetings in November, even though not all of the snow emergency route signs had been posted, and the city had not finalized a map of the routes. Holding up the map, he said, “This was morphed so many times it was unbelievable.” Berger added city officials thought December would be a bad time to hold community meetings because of holiday parties. The new snow removal plan, developed after 27 inches of snow last February left much of Pittsburgh stuck for days, set up about 220 miles of snow emergency routes and guidelines for how Public
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Works will respond and how long it has to complete snow removal. The plan breaks snowfall down into four phases allows the mayor to declare a snow emergency when 10 or more inches of snow are forecasted. During an emergency Public Works can hire pre-qualified contractors to help with snow removal. Cars also can’t park on snow emergency routes, and may be towed or given a ticket. Kaczorowski said tow trucks will not take cars to the impound, but move them out of the way if they impede snow removal efforts. “If you get back your car might be plowed in,” he said. In determining which roads
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would be emergency snow routes, Kaczorowski said the goal was to make sure people had access in and out of their neighborhoods, and access to public transportation. Residents will need to wait the appropriate amount of time before calling the city to complain that their streets are not plowed, but Public Works will make exception in the case of medical and other emergencies, including pregnancy. Public Works purchased new equipment this year that is better able to cope with Pittsburgh’s 1200 miles of hilly, curved roads and increased the number of snow removal equipment and supplies stockpiles throughout the city to
See Snow plan, page 7
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