After failing to persuade Pittsburgh officials to do something about "a life-threatening problem" near their Mount Washington home, Frank and Patty Colwell invited me to take a look.

And a look was all that was needed.

Pedestrians coming up Boggs Avenue from Warrington Avenue had to walk in the busy street because the sidewalk was blocked by overgrown vegetation in one section, broken sidewalk slabs in another section, and dirt and broken concrete in a third.

"Someone is going to get killed if pedestrians have to continue to use the street instead of the sidewalk," said Frank Colwell, 66, a retired Mt. Lebanon police officer.

"We're especially concerned about the young woman who pushes her daughter up the street in a stroller every afternoon on her way home from work," said Patty Colwell, 66.

"We've already had one mother killed while pushing a stroller this summer," added Frank Colwell, referring to Lisa Styles of Mt. Lebanon. Ms. Styles, 36, died June 29 of a head injury sustained after she was struck by an SUV. Her son and daughter in a double stroller weren't injured.

"Patty and I have been trying for two months to get the city to reopen that sidewalk," Frank Colwell said. "I've called the city's 311 number seven times and explained how dangerous that street is. Each time, I've been told the forestry division is busy, but will get to it as soon as it can.

"Patty wrote a letter to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, gave him all the details and marked it personal. She didn't even get an acknowledgement that his office had received the letter."

I walked a few doors up the street and spoke to Michelle Gabig, the woman who has been running this urban gauntlet for far too long. She works at Small World II, a day care center on Penn Avenue, Downtown. Her daughter, Madison, who will be 3 on Aug. 24, spends the day at the nearby Small World I.

Michael Gabig, a mail carrier, drives his wife and daughter to Small World I about 6:30 a.m. Ms. Gabig works at Small World II from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. After she picks up her daughter, they ride a Port Authority bus to the Palm Garden stop near Warrington Avenue.

Because Madison can't walk fast enough to minimize the amount of time they have to spend dodging car, bus and truck traffic on Boggs Avenue, Ms. Gabig puts her daughter in a stroller and hurries up the busy street. She gets on the obstacle-free part of the sidewalk as soon as she can.

"Some drivers are very considerate," she said. "They slow down and move over as far as they safely can when they pass us. But other drivers have come within inches of hitting us."

It gets worse when it rains. Madison holds an umbrella between her legs and her mother pushes the stroller as fast as she can to reach the safety of the upper sidewalk.

I explained the problem to Rob Kaczorowski, the city's public works director. I said the sidewalk might be the sole or shared responsibility of the city and the Port Authority because part of it is under the bus and T ramp.

"We'll take care of it," he said.

He called John McClory, the supervisor of the department's fifth division. Mr. McClory dispatched a crew last Thursday to cut back the vegetation and deal with the dirt and concrete chunks. The sidewalk was patched with asphalt on Friday.

"They really cleaned it up," Frank Colwell said. "Michelle and her daughter and every pedestrian coming up Boggs now have a safe place to walk."

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