Mayor Bill Peduto’s carbon-neutral emission plan is noble, but filled with stale and broken promises (April 23, “Peduto Pushes Plan to Make City Carbon Neutral by 2050”).
One of the ideas in the plan is to transition the 30,000-plus city street lights to LED lights — an idea Mr. Peduto campaigned on eight years ago when he ran for mayor. But eight years later, Mr. Peduto has not transitioned the city street lights to LED lights, even though millions of capital dollars have been allocated to implement this idea ($14 million in the 2019 capital budget).
As someone who studied public policy and moved back to Pittsburgh over a decade ago, I was excited for Mr. Peduto’s first term. Sustainability is key to our community’s future — it helps the environment and also saves money in the long term. When I look out over our city at night, I am disappointed with Mr. Peduto’s inaction. Many of our valleys and hilltops flicker in dull orange lights from a bygone era and the lighting on our bridges is not world class (an easy win to showcase our city to the world and its tourists).
Mr. Peduto should answer the hard question: Why does he think he can deliver on a broader sustainability plan when he still hasn’t delivered on the eight-year LED street light promise or a bridge lighting plan? Sustainability is key to our shared future. Mr. Peduto, if you need help, I’d be happy to help your administration.
BILL SCHLACHTER
Mount Washington
First Published: April 29, 2021, 4:00 a.m.