After residents expressed frustration over untouched side streets during the recent winter storms, the Pittsburgh city controller is blaming the mess on Public Works not heeding a past audit.

City Controller Michael Lamb said Tuesday that an audit last year raised concerns about the Department of Public Works’ GPS-based snow removal system. He says with Pittsburgh’s 1,200 miles of paved roads seeing double the amount of snow this year, the “flaws” in the system’s implementation have become visible…

Lamb says his audit points to an expensive GPS Snow Plow Tracker system, saying the contractors and subcontractors tasked with implementing it failed to consult with the on-the-ground Public Works employees who have to actually get on the roads.

Lamb says Public Works drivers said the new routes are one to two hours longer and feel like the system was designed for a flat, grid-based city unlike Pittsburgh.
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