Pittsburgh Hoping to Improve its Winter Storm Recovery Efforts

"As winter weather coated Pittsburgh's roads with snow and ice again Tuesday, the city acknowledged a need to do 'a much better job' clearing the streets," reports Julian Routh.

Mayor Bill Peduto put out a press release to that effect outlining four steps to improving its snow clearing efforts:

• "[Investing] in more road salt and liquid calcium chloride, and study ways to improve the chemical composition of the ice-fighting materials that the Department of Public Works is placing on roadways."
• "[Working] with our Department of Innovation and Performance to increase our public presence on nights and weekends and ensure that resident complaints are efficiently received, responded to, and routed to the appropriate City officials."
• "[Meeting] with DPW partners to explore ways to get more drivers onto streets, particularly on weekends, nights and holidays similar to last weekend."
• "[Issuing] a request for proposals for a redesign of our snow removal routes to make sure they are being addressed in the smartest, most efficient and most productive manner.”

While studying and investing in more and better road salt, the city might want to consider a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documenting the negative effects of road salt on the salinity and alkalinity of streams and rivers, as reported earlier this month.

In December, Katie Pyzyk published an article surveying winter storm planning in cities like Minneapolis, Baltimore, and Portland.