Council Discusses Residents' Frustrations on Snow Removal with No Action Taken, Sidewalk Repair Program for Low-Income Residents to be Made Permanent—City Council Week of Feb 24.

This Week’s Top Three Agenda Items

• Council discusses residents' frustrations with snow removal; no action taken.
• Council considers making low-income sidewalk repair program permanent.
• Childcare will continue to be offered for city employees when schools are closed.

Council Discusses Residents' Frustrations with Snow Removal

• At Councilperson Kail-Smith’s request, a meeting was held to address recurring resident complaints about snow removal, especially on hills and tertiary roads that are last to be cleared.
• Director Hornstein (Public Works) noted that 153 employees cover 5 city divisions, ranging from 193 to 265 road miles each.
• Removal is prioritized by traffic volume, hospital routes, and major arterials.
• The city owns 103 snow and ice mitigation vehicles, leases 8, and has 37 vehicles out for maintenance.
• City Budget Director McDevitt reported that of $1.2 million in equipment requests for 2025, only two crew cab dump trucks and one 1-ton dump truck were purchased.
• City Controller Heisler and Councilperson Coghill acknowledged that, like other municipalities, Pittsburgh is bracing for lean years and suggested involving nonprofit leaders, such as UPMC, in funding discussions.

Council Considers Making the Low-Income Sidewalk Repair Program Permanent

• The pilot program, launched in 2023, offers sidewalk and curb repairs at 25% of the cost for low-income homeowners (earning less than half the area’s median income), with waived permit fees and an interest-free payment plan.
• In Pennsylvania, property owners are responsible for sidewalk upkeep. In Pittsburgh, failure to maintain sidewalks can result in a $300 fine and pose safety risks and hinder ADA compliance.
• Funding is provided jointly through the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure’s Critical Sidewalk Gaps Program and existing Public Works funds.

Childcare will continue to be offered for city employees when schools are closed.

• Council is considering reneweing a $45,000 program to cover child care costs at the City-County Building on days when Pittsburgh Public Schools are closed but city operations continue. Offsite child care is also available for employees attending community events.
• Seventy percent of city-parent employees report that finding child care affects their work. Employees are not charged for using the service.
• The funding renews a one-year contract with Pittsburgh Event Childcare, a Beaver, PA-based provider that offers pop-up daycare. The initial 2024 contract reinstated a service available before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tell The Council What you think

Let the City Council know how you feel about the above issues by taking this brief survey. We'll share everyone’s thoughts directly before they take a vote (We wont be presenting in person until we get to 50 respondents).