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Old 01-26-2014, 07:11 PM
 
Location: Crafton, PA
1,173 posts, read 2,186,159 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pghuser View Post
Funny you mention that area, I wrecked there a few weeks ago when I hit a pitch of ice on the bend where the yellow barrier is. Wound up on that hillside.
You would up on the hill below the curve??!? Yikes. That curve (with the yellow wall) is bad, along with the steep bend up the hill a little ways.
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Old 01-26-2014, 07:20 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,645,588 times
Reputation: 5163
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
No excuse. I've worked 12-hour shifts for most of the past week---driving for 95% of that time. Of course I'm tired. I know they're tired, too. Judging by the attitudes I received from people today I'm guessing the entire city is stressed out to the core from this incessant snow. The DPW workers knew the responsibilities of the job when they signed up for it. They knew they ran the risk of Pittsburgh having a severe winter, which is what we've been having, where they'd be out working seemingly incessantly. If people aren't going to cut us a break when their food is delivered ten minutes late due to barely passable roads then why should we cut THEM some slack when they're the reason why our customers were agitated with us?

I will actually buy the "ran out of salt" excuse because if the roads were barely passable for most of today for any other reason I'll be at City Hall raising chaos at the next council meeting. I actually had an SUV come within inches of striking my car today when its driver lost control on Fifth Avenue in Shadyside and skidded sideways into oncoming traffic (me). Luckily we were both able to avoid impact or else I'd be griping about yet ANOTHER SUV DRIVER plowing into my car since moving here. The SUV instead hit the curb and went up onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing a streetlight.
I suspect there is a whole lot more to it than that. Work rules, equipment issues, salt or lack thereof, all this comes into play. Note I didn't say it couldn't involve bad management. But I could see how it would end up like this due to factors entirely beyond control.

You probably aren't subject to driving work rules, but I suspect these drivers are subject to certain CDL rules. That might be the biggest problem, not enough legal crew to man the trucks. (Legal as in they've had the proper amount of rest as required by law.) But I'm only guessing. I haven't confirmed but I found one reference to a max of 11 hours driving (within a max 14 hour workday) before 10 hour rest period, and if that info is correct it is a federal law.

I find this sort of modestly informed guessing preferable to armchair quarterbacking.
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Old 01-26-2014, 07:22 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,645,588 times
Reputation: 5163
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
It should not have been "unexpected", though. I guess DPW Director Rob Koczorowski (or whatever his name is) didn't see the large shield of moderate snow in the Midwest advancing towards us on radar that I saw prior to leaving for work this morning? The roads were in DEPLORABLE condition up until just a couple of hours ago when it seems like the city finally started plowing/salting with a vengeance. Many roads in the East End were barely passable. What was the long delay for? Did the DPW workers need time to watch football?
My remark was really about what I saw on Friday and Saturday. I'm quite sure the people who have to remove snow for a living looked at it a lot more closely than I did and got more updates. I slept in today until about 8:30 and didn't look at the weather this am before going out.

I suspect the problem is due to what I stated above.
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Old 01-26-2014, 07:25 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,616 posts, read 77,579,178 times
Reputation: 19101
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
I suspect there is a whole lot more to it than that. Work rules, equipment issues, salt or lack thereof, all this comes into play. Note I didn't say it couldn't involve bad management. But I could see how it would end up like this due to factors entirely beyond control.

You probably aren't subject to driving work rules, but I suspect these drivers are subject to certain CDL rules. That might be the biggest problem, not enough legal crew to man the trucks. (Legal as in they've had the proper amount of rest as required by law.) But I'm only guessing. I haven't confirmed but I found one reference to a max of 11 hours driving (within a max 14 hour workday) before 10 hour rest period, and if that info is correct it is a federal law.

I find this sort of modestly informed guessing preferable to armchair quarterbacking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
My remark was really about what I saw on Friday and Saturday. I'm quite sure the people who have to remove snow for a living looked at it a lot more closely than I did and got more updates. I slept in today until about 8:30 and didn't look at the weather this am before going out.
Fair enough. You are the "hyperbole police" after all! Sorry. I just needed the opportunity to vent a bit. I've been under an extreme amount of stress lately in my professional and personal life, and any additional stressors (i.e. the city not doing a damn thing to the streets for six hours as my employees and I just skidded around) just makes my eye twitch.

I need a vacation. I also need a massage. Any takers?! I tip well!
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Old 01-27-2014, 07:00 AM
 
458 posts, read 656,527 times
Reputation: 283
I know I'm very well known for being critical of Pittsburgh drivers, but this weekend, everyone got a free pass.

It took me an hour and ten minutes to get home from Warrendale on Saturday night. It usually takes 25. I had to pull off of 279 twice because I simply couldn't see where I was going.

We had a tax appointment at 1pm in West View on Sunday. I knew the snow was supposed to start again, but being an experienced Erie driver, I wasn't concerned. I made the turn off of East End Ave on to Brashear and couldn't make it up that street. I came back down to East End and tried to turn on to Penn Ave. I made the turn but struggled to get on Penn. The street conditions were so bad, I just turned on to South Braddock and went back home. Accidents yesterday were everywhere. Part of Mcknight Road was even closed for a period of time. This morning, traffic on Route 19 in Cranberry and Warrendale was terrible. Brush Creek and Thorn Hill Roads were terrible too.

It seems like there is a major shortage of salt. In my 7 years, I've never seen anything like this.
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Old 01-27-2014, 07:24 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,645,588 times
Reputation: 5163
The other thing that appeared to happen this morning is that the temp didn't go down in the city as early as it went down up north. The NWS noted this morning that temps would fall 10-15 degrees within half an hour after the snow came through. The roads up near me were pretty treacherous, plus 79 in Marshall and Franklin Park and then 279 down to about Bellevue were pretty nasty. In going farther south and into the city, they got clear. I don't think it was all because they used more salt down there or something. I think the temp change had not had its full effect yet.
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Old 01-27-2014, 07:49 AM
 
458 posts, read 656,527 times
Reputation: 283
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
The other thing that appeared to happen this morning is that the temp didn't go down in the city as early as it went down up north. The NWS noted this morning that temps would fall 10-15 degrees within half an hour after the snow came through. The roads up near me were pretty treacherous, plus 79 in Marshall and Franklin Park and then 279 down to about Bellevue were pretty nasty. In going farther south and into the city, they got clear. I don't think it was all because they used more salt down there or something. I think the temp change had not had its full effect yet.
The upsetting thing is I heard nothing but "all road crews have been working 12-16 hour shifts to ensure that roads were taken care of".
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Old 01-27-2014, 08:09 AM
 
480 posts, read 611,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SlurmsMcKenzie View Post
You would up on the hill below the curve??!? Yikes. That curve (with the yellow wall) is bad, along with the steep bend up the hill a little ways.
luckily not that bad, spun out on the other side of the road and wound up on the wall free side
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Old 01-27-2014, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,645,588 times
Reputation: 5163
Quote:
Originally Posted by WPANative View Post
The upsetting thing is I heard nothing but "all road crews have been working 12-16 hour shifts to ensure that roads were taken care of".
Well, they probably were, but the rapid freezup up there sure didn't help. There's only so much that can be done, especially once they get behind and the traffic is packed on there going slow. Trying to clear things at rush hour is darned near impossible.


And now, the sun is out. LOL
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Old 01-27-2014, 08:42 AM
 
1,714 posts, read 2,358,013 times
Reputation: 1261
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
Well, they probably were, but the rapid freezup up there sure didn't help. There's only so much that can be done, especially once they get behind and the traffic is packed on there going slow. Trying to clear things at rush hour is darned near impossible.


And now, the sun is out. LOL
It was awful this morning. With the pre-light whiteout conditions, I'm lucky I didn't drive right off of the road.
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