PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – We saw unploughed streets all over town this past winter and one of the reasons – a million dollar GPS system that the town says is not working as it should.
The complaints have lasted all winter, with some roads plowed late and others not at all.
CONNECTED: Four dead after the crash in North Huntingdon Township
Monday was no exception.
“This is one of the many roads that is being run over,” said Beechview’s Michelle Lenkner.
It goes without saying that they blame the staff shortages or the operators themselves, but it may not be their fault at all.
“I’m all for technology, but technology isn’t always the best answer,” said Councilor Anthony Coghill.
The city has spent over a million dollars on GPS systems for the plow carts, designed to guide drivers along prescribed routes that cover each street.
However, plow operators say a bug in the program bypasses some streets completely and Councilor Coghill has asked the city to fix it.
“So we don’t have to drive back three days later to get to the side street we just passed,” said Coghill.
CONNECTED: Pittsburgh Police investigate the Larimer shootout overnight
Other issues were noted in the city’s plow tracker app, which is designed to inform residents of the location of trucks and the frequency of plowing a road.
According to Coghill, the tracker does not register plows even after driving a road multiple times, leading to complaint calls in his office.
“We often have operators in the district, but it doesn’t show up,” he said. “So if it doesn’t show up, I’m not doing any good.”
“We’re not happy with the computer entrepreneur and his subs,” said former public works director Mike Gable. “Your team has not currently met our needs.”
Before Gable retired as public works director last month, he told us about his frustration with the GPS and plow-tracker systems and said the city had communicated regularly to fix the bugs.
However, according to Coghill, that may have to wait until next year.
“It appears that many bad components outweigh the good components in the tracker system,” he said. “I’m not ready to scrap it yet.”
Throughout the winter, the city has spoken to these software companies, threatening to withhold payments.
MORE: Fireman treated for dehydration while fighting the McCandless House Fire
However, the errors were not fixed.
Comments are closed.