Top Agenda Items
- Verra Mobility’s red light cameras land on a list of 37 surveillance tools up for review
- Love Your Block returns after a two-year pause with $20,000 for 17 neighborhood groups
- Permit change aims to end no parking signs that linger for weeks with no work
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SUBSCRIBEVerra Mobility’s red light cameras land on a list of 37 surveillance tools up for review 🔗
As Pittsburgh readies itself for the next round of automated red light enforcement (ARLE) cameras, city council has asked to know more about the technology’s surveillance capabilities.
The discussion during council’s Sept. 9 committee meeting came on the heels of receiving the Department of Innovation and Performance’s surveillance technology report. Verra Mobility, with which the city has the ARLE contract, is one of 37 surveillance technologies listed in the report that was compiled at council’s request.
Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park, who has frequently expressed her concern about surveillance, said she is putting together a post agenda meeting with people who are advising cities on the technology.
Pittsburgh installed its first three ARLE cameras earlier this year. According to Jeff Skalican, Director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), the cameras are positioned to only capture license plates. The city owns the data and permanently destroys it within 30 days of the final disposition. Any other use of the cameras or data would be in violation of state law regarding ARLE.
Council Member Erika Strassburger of Squirrel Hill North said adherence to data retention policies should be scrutinized by a controller’s audit.
The legislation on the table — which council agreed to move forward — would update the city code pertaining to automatic red-light enforcement in order to streamline enforcement with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. Changes include allowing for online payments and the ability to use the internet or phone to request a hearing to contest a ticket.
Which privacy protections would need to be in place for you to be comfortable with red light cameras in Pittsburgh?
Love Your Block returns after a two-year pause with $20,000 for 17 neighborhood groups 🔗
The Office of Community Affairs (OCA) is once again helping neighborhood groups to love their blocks.
After a two-year pause, OCA is ready to disperse $20,000 to 17 community organizations for the 2026 Love Your Block program.
Corey Buckner, OCA supervisor, said during the Sept. 9 committee meeting that 44 organizations applied for reimbursement agreements of $1,000 or $1,500 through the reinstated program.
Qualifying projects must benefit the organization’s community at large and either combat blight or create art. Bonus consideration went to projects that involve property in the city’s Adopt-A-Lot program.
The selected organizations span seven council districts. They include groups such as the Spring Hill Civic League, Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh and Brookline Teen Outreach.
During the discussion, Buckner said none of the funds were allocated for districts 2 or 5. He said both OCA and Council Member Kim Salinetro of Banksville reached out to community groups in District 2 but none applied. In District 5 (represented by Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield), he said the applications weren’t as strong.
“We’ve been in touch with all these groups, and we’re trying to help them get better situated for next year when we do this project again,” he said.
Council agreed to move forward with the request.
What would make it easier for a group in your neighborhood to take part next year in Love Your Block?
Permit change aims to end no parking signs that linger for weeks with no work
In the chaos of Pittsburgh’s construction season, if it’s not one frustration, it’s another.
Council held a post agenda meeting on Aug. 31 to learn more about construction coordination between the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) and local utility companies.
Katie Wettick, DOMI’s Senior Right of Way Manager, said DOMI tries each year to best coordinate city projects — including roads slated for repaving — and planned projects by utility companies. Coordination goals include reducing unnecessary costs and public inconveniences such as digging up recently repaved streets.
DOMI’s plans cannot account for run-of-the-mill utility repair emergencies. The Pittsburgh Water Authority alone has nearly 1,000 miles of water main, a little over 1,000 miles of sewer main, 23,000 drinking water valves and 30,000 catch basins and storm drains, according to chief executive officer Will Pickering.
The infrastructure, with a median age of over 80 years, can sometimes break from street milling and paving vibrations. “If you see a street was repaved and now it’s being dug open again, that could be one of those reasons,” Wettick said.
Another point of contention for residents is the abundance of no parking signs with no construction in sight.
Council Member Bob Charland of the South Side said, “Eventually no one takes them seriously. And then all of a sudden, utilities need to get in, and you take them seriously. Cars are towed, and people are upset.”
Wettick said DOMI launched a new permitting process in 2025 that better reflects phased work for utility projects instead of its previous one-size-fits-all no parking approach.
She also addressed the frustration of street closures and detours, which are “impossible to avoid.” She said that the department only has two traffic reviewers and one supervisor. To better coordinate closures, she said they would need additional staff.
Which construction-related problem has affected you most in the past year?