PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – This year may have been a white Christmas, but it is now causing a headache in many Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
Many residents have reported that their streets remain untouched and untreated, leading to dangerous driving and walking conditions.
Carrick is one of those neighborhoods, with Spokane Avenue right in front of Carrick High School still covered.
Some Carrick residents decided not to wait in town and took the snow in their hands, shoveling the streets after waiting for city plows and salt trucks.
“This is the whole neighborhood that comes out and has to do that,” said Peter Freeman, a resident of Carrick.
“It’s horrible,” Biff Austin added. “He never plows or leaves, unless he calls and complains. I think they forget it’s here. “
Austin has lived in Carrick for 12 years and feels like they are being overlooked after a winter storm.
“Nothing was cleared up this morning when I took my daughter to work,” he said, “18th Street was covered, Brownsville Road.”
Still, Carrick isn’t the only Pittsburgh neighborhood that deals with these conditions.
In Overbrook, there are also several unpaved or slippery roads.
KDKA has received several calls and emails from spectators complaining of poor conditions in neighborhoods such as South Side, Lincoln Place and Hays.
District 4 Councilman Anthony Coghill, Pittsburgh City Councilman, posted on Facebook this morning that his office has received more than 50 complaints that the streets have not been plowed. He says the holidays are partly to blame for the slow start.
District 4 includes Brookline, Beechview, Bon Air, Carrick, Mr. Washington and Overbrook.
A representative of Mayor Bill Peduto’s office has said crews continue to work to clean the streets and that Department of Development staff from other divisions also come in to help.
“It’s going to be a dangerous situation,” Freeman said. “I don’t know if I can build this street right now. There has been no one to put salt on. We pay taxes and this has happened year after year ”.
Carrick and Overbrook are not alone.
Brookline’s Berkshire Avenue was still pretty well covered in snow and ice when our teams were away from home on Saturday evening.
The city has also said certain neighborhoods are also experiencing delays in garbage collection and recycling, and has said some neighborhoods that were supposed to pick up trash today may not have them until Monday or Tuesday.
Covered roads not only caused headaches to residents, but also became a danger to drivers.
About 800 Duquesne Light customers ran out of electricity after a traffic accident pulled out a utility pole and its cables on West Liberty Avenue.
According to Duquesne Light, the crews initially had difficulty getting to the scene due to the icy roads, but now they say the vast majority of customers should have had their energy restored.