Floodgate-gate

Neglect of Washington Blvd. system defies logic

What was wrong with the warning lights and safety gates that failed to activate during the Aug. 28 flood on Washington Boulevard? Better to ask what wasn’t wrong with them. The problems included dead batteries, a blown surge protector and aging parts, but the most surprising finding in a city report involved the control units that activate the warning lights, lower the gates and operate the sensors that detect rising water on the road.

All 11 control units were found in the “off” position. City and state officials, who are squabbling over responsibility for maintaining the warning system, should find out how that came about and why. Even if all other parts are in perfect condition, with fresh batteries to boot, the system can’t work if it’s been turned off.

The state Department of Transportation had the system installed after an August 2011 flood that killed an elderly woman and a mother and two young children. In May 2012, thenMayor Luke Ravenstahl’s office announced that the $450,000 system was in operation and that it “will be owned and maintained by the city of Pittsburgh.” That sounded straightforward and equitable. But nobody maintained it.

In the wake of the most recent flooding, during which emergency workers had to rescue the occupants of at least two vehicles, city and state officials have disagreed over whether the transfer of ownership actually took place. The state says it turned over the system to the city. The city says it never formally accepted it.

The confusion is reprehensible; with the deaths of four people fresh in their minds, city and state officials might have been expected to nail down the niceties. They owe the people of Pittsburgh an apology for leading them to believe they would be secure against future Washington Boulevard flooding, when clearly that was not the case.

With neither party taking responsibility for the system, it is easy to see why batteries and a blown surge protector weren’t replaced. However, inattentiveness does not explain why the control boxes were turned off. Did someone do that? Did a storm “trip” them to the off position?

City public works director Mike Gable stressed that problems to the system require relatively minor fixes and that there were multiple reasons for the system’s failure last month. Still, he said he hopes additional information from the manufacturer and others familiar with the system will provide answers about the control boxes.

We hope so. The Washington Boulevard debacle raises larger concerns about local government operations. What else isn’t turned on?