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Mayor Peduto Commits To Paving, Urges Patience

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's hard to imagine a street in peacetime worse than Brookline Boulevard.

The potholes are so deep and so many that Denise Breisinger sprained her ankle in one just crossing the street.

"Could have done laundry in that pothole it was so deep," she said.

The good news, according to Mayor Bill Peduto, is that he has a long-term plan.

Paving more miles year after year on a sustained basis until the street are up to snuff and vowing to take the politics out of the process, evaluating a street on its condition and usage rather than who might live on it.

"For too long, the rattling of car tires has been a rite of spring in the City of Pittsburgh, and starting today, we're going to change that," said Mayor Peduto. "We need a real road maintenance program, a professional management system for street maintenance that we don't have right now."

The bad news is that there's very little money to start now.

"Unfortunately, with the budget that we have this year, we're only going to be able to pave 27 miles of street, which means that streets that need to be pave will not be able to do so," Mayor Peduto said.

The city has more than 800 miles of paved street and estimated that 500 miles of them are in serious need of resurfacing.

Brookline Boulevard and a few heavily-traveled disaster candidates will get attention, but Mayor Peduto says he regrets that others will have to wait.

"We have to be prudent this year," he said. "We have to understand we have a problem that is beyond what we're going to be able to afford."

While Brookline Boulevard will be one of the few streets paved this year, Mayor Peduto is assuring the public he is on the job and that the condition of the streets will be top priority for years to come.

RELATED LINKS:
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