OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Council Post-Agenda Discussion on Utility Coordination – August 31, 2026

City Council — Monday, August 31, 2026
BodyPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, August 31, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 59:15

Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

I could take that one.

0:08

So councilwoman, we're going to try to get the list out to council members as early as possible.

0:12

I think it's been the beginning of the year every year.

0:14

I think we're going to try to get it to you by the end of the this year.

0:17

And this way you could add to that list of possible roads that you would like to get paved.

0:21

And then once we receive it, we could give it to Brian and his group, and they could coordinate with the utilities on any conflicts that can happen.

0:30

Yeah.

0:30

And then but what about a year's out?

0:32

Like I do we have even like the disco, well, this one doesn't really rise to the level of repaving next year, but we save that in a year.

0:40

We you know through our own data collection, our own street you know, street data collection.

0:47

We stinked that by two years out is going to need to be dug out or research anyway, let's get that on the list for you know utilities to do their data now so that it could need to be a co-op rather than the city or repaves, you know, in and um in coalition with them or in partnership with them.

1:05

Right.

1:06

I mean, we're looking to eventually have maybe a three to five year plan for our roads for paving.

1:11

Um, but like I said with the budget constraints and everything, it's kind of hard to do, but it's a goal that we're looking at do to do in Domi to share with council members.

1:18

Okay, so it's the goal.

1:19

That's great.

1:20

Okay.

1:21

Uh those are all my questions.

1:23

Thank you.

1:23

This is always a great conversation.

1:25

I'll look forward to my colleagues' questions as well.

1:27

Thank you all for being here.

1:28

Thank you, Councilman.

1:29

Appreciate it.

1:30

Um, okay, up next, uh Councilman Wilson.

1:35

Okay, thank you, Tri.

1:36

I want to thank everyone for uh taking the time out of their day to come and talk about utility coordination.

1:43

Appreciate all the work that you all do.

1:46

I know that I'll talk to several of you, so uh you know, represents whether it's authority to the company or the or Domi about the work that's being done, especially members of my office.

1:59

Uh so I don't uh I mean a lot of it lots been covered.

2:05

I appreciate you know going over all the information over the slideshow, and just all the questions that other members had.

2:15

The one question uh that maybe maybe I missed um the one that continues to come up because there's so much work being done, which is such a great thing, but I don't know if we all uh fully appreciate that, uh especially all the work that Pittsburgh Water's doing to put new lines in, new main lines, and there's a lot that the public sees and on their street about all the work being done, and you know, I know that's challenging to lift through construction on upload through it as well on my street, but I think the end result is you know, hopefully a hundred more years of uh you know good good water lines.

3:00

So with that said, uh whether it's multiple uh utilities do work in the area, so let's just say gas, there's a gas company, and there's a water company.

3:14

Uh can we just review that again, just how that how that plays out, like how you all communicate with each other.

3:19

Does that is Domi the one that's facilitating that?

3:22

Or what's what's the what's the parent group that's facilitating that communication?

3:29

If it's just between two utilities, I I'll let them speak to it.

3:34

We let them know if we identify it first, but I believe they are doing plenty of coordination without us as well.

3:42

That's right.

3:43

We do have a data sharing and financial cooperative agreement with people so that we can coordinate our projects together with respect to paving coordination.

3:54

Uh and then you know, our teams have contacts at all of the utilities to work through any any conflicts or opportunities for coordination on a project-by-project basis.

4:06

And to add in, I mean, from Columbia's perspective, and uh, you know, our engineers are reaching out to the engineers or those planning for the water company projects uh on streets.

4:17

Um it can be challenging to try to coordinate quickly.

4:23

Um again, the more time that we know uh in advance, uh financial resources, budget dollars can be shifted and say, well, you know, um street was not on our list, but we will need to take a look at it now.

4:38

Hey, the water company's gonna go in um in 2027 or 2028.

4:43

Let's see if we can coordinate and you know, uh open up the road once, maybe for an extended period of time, uh a little bit longer than just one project, but again, it's opening it up once and then doing that paving uh cooperative.

5:00

So a variety of factors, um budget resources being one of them, the good coordination and the discussions among those planning the projects.

5:09

I think we have that in Pittsburgh, and as was mentioned, sometimes you know, uh pipe goes bad that you hadn't identified previously, and that you know, is uh a difference that again the public may have a perception of why wasn't that coordinated?

5:25

Well, we did, but the pipe, as far as we knew, was good uh until recently, and then we you know needed to go in and get it out.

5:36

The only thing I can't do that I I sorry, councilman I'd add briefly too.

5:40

I think uh, you know, it is very site specific traditionally our water mains are in the right-of-way, but sometimes they're in the sidewalk.

5:50

You know, our our partners at the gas utilities often have mains running in the sidewalks or closer to the sidewalk.

5:58

So uh sometimes it seems like there are many opportunities to coordinate, but some of those site-specific limitations make coordination a little more complicated or less feasible.

6:07

So just wanted to nerd out a bit on that specific dynamic at play.

6:14

Okay, thanks.

6:16

Uh coordination with the with the ROM, specifically the I don't know what you call it, the you know, the detour.

6:26

Yeah, the detour between you know, you know, like when there's multiple projects going on between utilities.

6:34

So once again, like if there's a gas company and a water company, doing something close by, is there any sort of coordination?

6:41

What each of the detours that you all were suggesting?

6:46

Well, we you know, we submit um traffic plans for approval by the city.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Public Works████████████████████████24%
Public Safety███████████11%
Public Engagement███████7%
Parking Management█████5%
Disability Rights███3%
Budget███3%
Procedural██2%
Summary of Proceedings

City Council Post-Agenda Discussion on Utility Coordination – August 31, 2026

The Pittsburgh City Council held a post-agenda discussion on utility coordination on August 31, 2026, at 12:00 PM. Council members and representatives from the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA), Peoples Gas, and Columbia Gas discussed challenges and improvements in coordinating infrastructure projects, paving, detours, public communication, and resident impacts. No formal votes were taken; the session was informational and exploratory.

Discussion Items

  • Paving Planning and Coordination: DOMI stated they will try to provide the annual list of roads for paving to council by the end of 2026 (previously beginning of the next year) to allow earlier utility conflict checks. A goal of a 3–5 year paving plan was mentioned but constrained by budget limitations.

  • Utility-to-Utility Communication: Representatives from PWSA, Peoples Gas, and Columbia Gas reported that they coordinate directly through data-sharing and financial cooperative agreements, and also via DOMI’s traffic review process. Councilman Wilson asked how coordination works when multiple utilities work nearby; utilities noted site-specific limitations (e.g., mains in sidewalk vs. road) can complicate coordination.

  • Detour Coordination: Councilman Wilson raised the issue of detours overlapping. DOMI noted that with only two traffic reviewers and a supervisor reviewing over 10,000 permits annually, capacity is limited. One instance of combined detours was achieved, but more staff would be needed to do so regularly.

  • Mapping and Public Communication of Progress: Councilman Gross expressed frustration that his district (District 7) shows nearly every street on PWSA’s 2026 work map. PWSA clarified that the map includes blocks with even one lead service line replacement, exaggerating the visual impact. Gross requested retrospective data showing cost-sharing and progress (e.g., where lines have been replaced) to better communicate to residents that the work will eventually end.

  • Spending and Mileage Statistics: DOMI spends approximately $19–20 million annually on paving (miles not provided). PWSA reported $26 million this year on maintenance sites alone (excluding lead service line and water main replacement). Peoples Gas replaced 21 miles ($47M) in 2025 and 16 miles ($33M) in 2024; Columbia Gas could not provide offhand figures.

  • Contractor Landscape: Councilman Gross inquired about major contractors. DOMI uses Felino and Mealy; PWSA uses Independent Enterprises as the biggest; Peoples Gas partners with Lindy Paving for large-scale restoration; Columbia Gas’s largest contractor in the city is Casper Colosimo. Gross noted that subcontractors sometimes give residents inaccurate information, and there is little overlap among utilities’ contractors.

  • Pedestrian Accessibility During Construction: Councilwoman Strasberger asked how pedestrian access, especially for people with disabilities, is maintained. DOMI reviews traffic control plans for pedestrians; utilities have flaggers and will make accommodations. For immediate issues, residents are advised to speak to the site leader or call 311. PWSA and Columbia Gas affirmed their commitment to the Pittsburgh Right-of-Way Manual.

  • No Parking Signs: Strasberger requested standardized, easier-to-read no parking signs and project overview signage. DOMI is working on standardization, emergency templates, and updating guidance. Signs must be posted 48 hours in advance except for emergencies. Utilities confirmed subcontractors handle sign placement.

  • Emergency Work: Councilwoman Strasberger asked about emergency work volume. PWSA noted about 1,000 sites this paving season, many urgent or emergency (e.g., leaking infrastructure) but not necessarily visible geysers.

  • Traffic Calming Integration: Strasberger asked whether utility work could incorporate traffic calming features. DOMI is exploring coordination: once utility coordination identifies roads, traffic calming projects could be programmed if the road is on the traffic calming network.

  • Restoration, Warranty, and Inspections: DOMI’s Brian explained that after restoration, the site is inspected and carries a two-year warranty for deficiencies. Issues after that require a new permit. Councilwoman Strasberger urged residents to report problems quickly. Property owners are responsible for sidewalk pitch to prevent ponding.

  • Paving Co-op Concept: Strasberger raised the idea of the city taking over final restoration (mill and pave) for all utility work, with utilities paying a fee. Columbia Gas expressed interest, noting that local governments often get better pricing. PWSA and Peoples Gas were open to exploring, though it would require additional city staff and resources. DOMI noted it would significantly increase workload.

  • Staff Capacity Constraints: DOMI has 4 permit technicians, 2 traffic reviewers plus a supervisor, and 7 right-of-way construction inspectors to handle 10,000 permits per year – a bottleneck especially in summer.

Key Outcomes

  • DOMI commits to providing the paving list to council by end of 2026 instead of early next year.
  • DOMI and utilities will work on standardizing no parking signs and developing emergency templates.
  • Utilities and DOMI will explore creation of retrospective maps showing completed work and cost-sharing to improve public understanding.
  • The paving co-op concept (city-led final restoration) will be further examined, including cost and staffing implications.
  • PWSA will study equipping in-house crews with equipment for temporary patches to reduce contractor mobilizations.
  • DOMI will look into improving the public permit portal (one-stop PGH) for better user-friendliness, specifically filtering by active projects.
  • Future coordination will consider integrating traffic calming improvements with utility work where feasible.
  • Residents are encouraged to report restoration or accessibility issues promptly via site leaders or 311.

Meeting Transcript

I could take that one. So councilwoman, we're going to try to get the list out to council members as early as possible. I think it's been the beginning of the year every year. I think we're going to try to get it to you by the end of the this year. And this way you could add to that list of possible roads that you would like to get paved. And then once we receive it, we could give it to Brian and his group, and they could coordinate with the utilities on any conflicts that can happen. Yeah. And then but what about a year's out? Like I do we have even like the disco, well, this one doesn't really rise to the level of repaving next year, but we save that in a year. We you know through our own data collection, our own street you know, street data collection. We stinked that by two years out is going to need to be dug out or research anyway, let's get that on the list for you know utilities to do their data now so that it could need to be a co-op rather than the city or repaves, you know, in and um in coalition with them or in partnership with them. Right. I mean, we're looking to eventually have maybe a three to five year plan for our roads for paving. Um, but like I said with the budget constraints and everything, it's kind of hard to do, but it's a goal that we're looking at do to do in Domi to share with council members. Okay, so it's the goal. That's great. Okay. Uh those are all my questions. Thank you. This is always a great conversation. I'll look forward to my colleagues' questions as well. Thank you all for being here. Thank you, Councilman. Appreciate it. Um, okay, up next, uh Councilman Wilson. Okay, thank you, Tri. I want to thank everyone for uh taking the time out of their day to come and talk about utility coordination. Appreciate all the work that you all do. I know that I'll talk to several of you, so uh you know, represents whether it's authority to the company or the or Domi about the work that's being done, especially members of my office. Uh so I don't uh I mean a lot of it lots been covered. I appreciate you know going over all the information over the slideshow, and just all the questions that other members had. The one question uh that maybe maybe I missed um the one that continues to come up because there's so much work being done, which is such a great thing, but I don't know if we all uh fully appreciate that, uh especially all the work that Pittsburgh Water's doing to put new lines in, new main lines, and there's a lot that the public sees and on their street about all the work being done, and you know, I know that's challenging to lift through construction on upload through it as well on my street, but I think the end result is you know, hopefully a hundred more years of uh you know good good water lines. So with that said, uh whether it's multiple uh utilities do work in the area, so let's just say gas, there's a gas company, and there's a water company. Uh can we just review that again, just how that how that plays out, like how you all communicate with each other. Does that is Domi the one that's facilitating that? Or what's what's the what's the parent group that's facilitating that communication? If it's just between two utilities, I I'll let them speak to it. We let them know if we identify it first, but I believe they are doing plenty of coordination without us as well. That's right. We do have a data sharing and financial cooperative agreement with people so that we can coordinate our projects together with respect to paving coordination. Uh and then you know, our teams have contacts at all of the utilities to work through any any conflicts or opportunities for coordination on a project-by-project basis. And to add in, I mean, from Columbia's perspective, and uh, you know, our engineers are reaching out to the engineers or those planning for the water company projects uh on streets. Um it can be challenging to try to coordinate quickly. Um again, the more time that we know uh in advance, uh financial resources, budget dollars can be shifted and say, well, you know, um street was not on our list, but we will need to take a look at it now. Hey, the water company's gonna go in um in 2027 or 2028. Let's see if we can coordinate and you know, uh open up the road once, maybe for an extended period of time, uh a little bit longer than just one project, but again, it's opening it up once and then doing that paving uh cooperative. So a variety of factors, um budget resources being one of them, the good coordination and the discussions among those planning the projects. I think we have that in Pittsburgh, and as was mentioned, sometimes you know, uh pipe goes bad that you hadn't identified previously, and that you know, is uh a difference that again the public may have a perception of why wasn't that coordinated? Well, we did, but the pipe, as far as we knew, was good uh until recently, and then we you know needed to go in and get it out. The only thing I can't do that I I sorry, councilman I'd add briefly too.

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