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Record of Proceedings

Utility Coordination and Street Paving Briefing - Pittsburgh City Council Committee (September 3, 2026)

City Council — Thursday, September 3, 2026

BodyPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, September 3, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 59:15

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

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█████████████████████████████████████████████48%

Public Safety█████████████████████22%

Public Works███████████████████20%

Parking Management██████6%

Procurement██2%

Procedural██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Utility Coordination and Street Paving Briefing (2026-09-03)

A Pittsburgh city committee briefing on street paving schedules, utility coordination, and right-of-way restoration took place on September 3, 2026. Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) staff and utility partners, including Pittsburgh Water, briefed council members on paving list timing, no-parking signage rules, and long-term utility replacement progress. No formal votes were recorded in the available transcript; the session was informational and no consent calendar or public comment segments appeared.

Discussion Items

Paving list timeline: DOMI stated it will try to deliver the annual road-paving list to council members by the end of 2026, instead of the usual beginning-of-the-year release, so council members can add roads to the list. Once received, the list goes to Brian's group, which coordinates with utilities on any conflicts.
Two-year lookahead and cooperative paving: DOMI described using street data to identify roads that will likely need excavation or restoration work two years out, so utilities can do their work first and the street can become a co-op project between the city and utilities rather than being dug up later.
Budget constraints: Staff acknowledged that budget constraints make the effort harder, but the earlier timeline for sharing the list remains a goal.
Utility coordination agreements: A data-sharing and financial cooperative agreement with utilities supports paving coordination, and DOMI teams have contacts at all utilities to work through conflicts or coordination opportunities on a project-by-project basis. More advance notice allows budget dollars to be shifted to newly identified streets.
District 7 impact: A council member noted that on the utility work map, nearly every street in their district (including Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Highland Park, Morningside, and Stanton Heights) appeared marked. They described residents as having said for 10 years that once the lines were replaced, the system would be set for the next 70 to 100 years.
Residential program deadline: Staff reported that the residential utility line replacement program is on pace to finish all work by the end of 2027.
Spending and mileage data: Asked about annual spending and miles of facility replaced within city boundaries, utility representatives said 2026 project figures would need to be pulled and vary by year. One utility noted its figure does not include paving related to small-diameter water mains, sewers, or lead service line replacement, which often includes sidewalks.
Contracting and subcontracting concerns: A council member with past PWSA board experience noted that big bids typically attract only three or four proposals and that there appears to be little overlap among the subcontractors used by different utilities, making public information hard to triangulate, especially when contractor employees are not focused on public relations. The same member observed that the city once had its own crews, engineering department, and asphalt plant, but austerity led to outsourcing, and questioned whether the current volume of public works has reached a point of diminishing returns on efficiency, efficacy, and quality, while also raising safety concerns for workers and residents.
On-site problem resolution: Staff advised that the most effective way for residents to get a concern addressed is to identify the construction or project leader on site and speak with them directly.
No-parking signs: DOMI explained that no-parking signs are generated through the permitting system, which limits flexibility, and signs can vary by block depending on information received from utilities. PWSA is working on improvements, and DOMI is updating its no-parking sign guidance, with the updated version expected on the website within about a week. Emergency sign templates are also being standardized for utility use when work occurs without a prior permit.
Enforcement and 48-hour rule: A council member asked whether utility subcontractors are required to place no-parking signs 48 hours before work commences; staff said police officers try to support enforcement of that requirement and that DOMI plans a refresh with public safety to ensure everyone is aligned on the guidelines.
Speed humps and future restoration: A council member asked whether speed humps and future street design needs are being considered while restoration work is underway. Staff responded that once Brian's utility coordination group identifies roads, it can work with traffic officials to determine whether those roads are on the traffic common network, which would go beyond standard warranty obligations. Water ponding was noted as a separate issue.
Warranty and public messaging: Staff said a temporary patch is applied by in-house crews after utility base work, with final restoration later. The public was urged to report issues sooner rather than later so they can be addressed within the warranty window. Available public information tools include the obstructions map and "one-stop insights," which also displays PLI and zoning permits. The permit process involves a completeness check with four permit technicians.
City-led paving restoration proposal: A council member suggested having the city perform the final mill-and-pave restoration itself, removing that scope from utility contracts, because local governments generally get better paving pricing than utilities and could repave the entire road cost-effectively. Staff expressed openness to the idea but noted that such a program would require studying the volume of utility work and DOMI staffing, and could quadruple or quintuple the team's current workload; fees charged to utilities would need to increase to account for additional personnel.
Implementation timeline: Council members acknowledged that the city-led restoration idea will take time and careful thought, and one member noted the briefing gave council more information to address future constituent questions about utility coordination.

Key Outcomes

No formal motions, resolutions, or votes took place during the available portion of the meeting.
DOMI will aim to provide the paving list to council members by the end of 2026 so council can suggest roads before utility conflict coordination begins.
DOMI will update and publish no-parking sign guidance on its website within about a week and will hold a follow-up session with public safety on towing rules.
Staff will continue to evaluate the city-led paving restoration model, including workload and fee implications, without making a commitment in this meeting.

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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