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Emily Keebler · Office of Patrick Dowd · Pittsburgh City Council District 7
emily.keebler@city.pittsburgh.pa.us · 412-255-2140

 

 

CITY OF PITTSBURGH | Office of the Mayor

Public Safety Updates

Sent 02/09/2010 @ 4:35 pm

MEDIA ADVISORY

Mayor gets city ready for winter storm

(PITTSBURGH) Feb. 9, 2009   City Public Works and Public Safety personnel are working around the clock to execute their plan to keep residents safe and streets treated throughout this upcoming storm.

Tonight’s Snow Plan

Public Works are being assisted by 20 contractors who have added an additional 50 pieces of equipment to supplement the City’s 60-truck fleet. Those contractors will be working through this storm to help PW crews who will continue working extended 12-hour shifts. City procurement specialists continue to receive calls from contractors. Any additional contractors will be sent to the staging location. From there, they will be dispatched to divisions based on need.

“Personnel will be out in record-numbers to deal with this storm,” Ravenstahl said. “I am confident that with this additional equipment, we will be able to keep our residents safe. Part of this plan is taking care of our emergency routes so that we make sure hospitals are reachable in the time of need. Secondly, we have a plan that makes sure that every resident, even if they live on the City’s steepest hill, can be reached by public safety personnel in the unfortunate case of an emergency.”

  • DPW crews and contractors with smaller equipment will continue their neighborhood routes to make sure that every street receives public works service.
  • When the storm begins, DPW plows will move into emergency primary routes, plowing and salting using larger equipment.
    • These emergency routes ensure that critical infrastructure such as hospitals remain reachable and that workers can get in and out of town.
    • Smaller snow fighting equipment, such as pickup trucks with salt spreaders and plows, will be dispatched to critical neighborhood hill routes which serve primary arteries.
  • PennDOT will assist the City in plowing all City state routes. These routes include many primary roads and will allow DPW to better utilize resources.
  • Contractor service will continue to flow in through the evening hours and will be utilized as needed.

Public Safety

Pennsylvania National Guardsmen (PANG) will continue to support public safety efforts, ensuring that paramedics, firefighters, and officers can get to the most hard-to-reach calls. Paramedics and officers are all working extended shifts. All City firefighters have been called in to their station.

PANG will continue responding to 311 calls from residents who need assistance with critical pharmacy pickups and dialysis treatments. They are also patrolling neighborhoods where power is still out. As of 10 a.m., 225 residents were still without power. Guardsmen have responded to 70 calls for service from 311.

Warming Centers

The City’s warming centers will close at 4:30 p.m. tonight. In case the need arises, the City will open the South Side Market House senior center as a warming center and shelter.  The Market House will operate from 8 p.m. tonight to 8 p.m. tomorrow.

311

The City’s response line has been beefed up with 16 lines and will be operating 24-hours.

City Services

All refuse/recycling service continues to be suspended until further notice. City non-essential employees have been directed to stay home tomorrow.

The City takes care of 2,000 miles of City roads. About 45 percent of those roads are primary roads, or main arteries such as West Liberty Avenue; about 50 percent are secondary roads or residential thoroughfares; and the remaining are side streets and alleyways known as tertiary roads.

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