Dear HP Neighbors, Peoples Gas has informed us that they will be starting gas line upgrade work on Jackson and Euclid (where we live) this week. I believe this work will be being done throughout HP but I am not sure of that. While I am glad they are doing this work, I am deeply concerned that they are doing it in the middle of winter. It is mild now, but when we received their first letter (dated Dec. 16) it was cold and snowy. This is winter so it is likely to be cold and snowy again without much warning. Before Christmas, I called both Peoples and the Mayor’s office (311) because it seems to me potentially life-threatening to replace gas lines in winter. If there is a problem in any of the work (and there are often problems and delays in work in these pandemic times), I am concerned that some of us in HP might be without heat when temperatures drop to single digits. I have tried to reach the Public Utilities Commission but haven’t been able to because of the holidays. I will try again on Tuesday. I have tried to find out the extent of the work planned—whether it is all of HP or not—at Peoples-Gas.com/streetwork, which is where Peoples says to look it up, but I was not able to find anything there to indicate the work they will be doing on Jackson and Euclid or anywhere else in HP. (I am pretty good with computer research, but maybe someone who is more computer savvy can find some real information there.) Again, I am deeply concerned that this is being done in the middle of winter. Gas will have to be turned off at least briefly (they told us 10-15 minutes) when the new pipelines are in place so they can pressure test them. Afterwards Peoples will have to enter homes and relight gas appliances. If they decide that an appliance is unsafe, they will not relight the appliance (this makes good sense, but what do you do if this is your furnace and it is the middle of winter and temperatures are in the single digits and you can’t get a certified plumber to come out and fix your furnace immediately). Also, according to the painted lines Peoples has put down on our blocks, it looks like they will be digging up a lot of sidewalk, which means that people will have to walk out in the street. Again this is more dangerous in winter, and one of our neighbors is blind. Peoples has also posted No Parking signs on Euclid and Jackson prohibiting parking from Jan. 3 until April 30, which seems an excessive amount of time for work that is supposed to not take much time according to what they said when we called. We have a parking pad, but it will be harder for neighbors to park in other areas in the winter when there is snow and ice. I sincerely hope our City Council person Deb Gross, and the HPCC will look into this quickly. Others of you in HP may also want to contact Peoples and the Mayor’s Office to find out if you too will be dealing with gas line replacement in the middle of winter. Yours for health and safety, janet jai, MLA vision-and-values.com