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Mayor Using "Pothole Blitz" As Measuring Stick For Public Works' Response Rates

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's hard to miss them, scarring so many local roads. But since the city's "pothole blitz" started, crews have been hard at work, attempting to fill hundreds of potholes by the end of the week.

KDKA's Harold Hayes Reports

By admission, this is only a temporary fix - a way to even out the road, if just for a while. But the brief reprieve is much needed, and so the blitz to fill potholes is underway.

"We're going to be working 'round the clock pothole patching until Friday," Chief Operations Officer Guy Costa said.

Pittsburgh Public Works crews are following snow routes, looking for any trouble spots on top of making repairs to the potholes that have been reported through the 311 Hotline.

"We started getting calls yesterday and the day before," said Costa. "As the mayor said we started getting calls Monday morning."

Mayor Bill Peduto is using the blitz and the influx of calls into 311 as a dry run to see how well the city responds.

KDKA's Heather Abraham Reports

"Right now, people want to know what we're going to do before the next snowstorm," said Mayor Peduto. "It's more than just filling potholes right now. We're testing and measuring what our response rates are going to be, how we're performing."

Mayor Peduto says staff is monitoring how quickly 311 calls for potholes are being answered and resolved with the 72-hour blitz.

Some who have used the system in the past have been let down, but hope that this shines some light on the problem.

"Any 311 calls for any situation aren't handled in a timely manner, and the residents aren't getting feedback that the situation has been resolved," said Ginny Hamer-Kropf, of Sheraden.

Pittsburgh Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski joined the KDKA Morning News with Larry Richert and John Shumway for a detailed conversation on the "pothole blitz":

Rob Kaczorowski

If you want to report a pothole in the City of Pittsburgh, you can call the city's 311 hotline. You can also report them online by visiting the city's website at this link: http://pittsburghpa.gov/311/form.

RELATED LINKS:
Mayor Peduto Orders 72-Hour "Pothole Blitz" (1/14/14)
Latest Traffic Alerts
More Reports by Heather Abraham

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