Pittsburgh Councilman William Peduto expects to introduce legislation to City Council today to reform the city's politically tinged way of deciding which streets to pave.

It would require that the city update and reactivate a computerized system used in the late 1990s that based decisions on the composition, age and traffic volume of streets, rather than just on subjective observations and input from officials, political players and residents.

"I am concerned that we aren't prioritizing as we should," Mr. Peduto said yesterday. His legislation "would lessen the concern that taxpayers have had that money is being wasted for political purposes rather than addressing dire needs."

The city has neglected paving since 2000, as it has struggled with budgetary woes. Administration officials have said the city should be resurfacing 80 miles of its 800-mile asphalt road system every year, but it has been repaving around 40 miles a year.

Roads like Homewood's McCombs Street, which has deteriorated to the point where it can hardly be considered a paved street, have not made the city's paving list.

"It is embarrassing to say 'I live here,' " said Elaine F. Lee, a senior citizen who lives on the street and said she has been complaining to the city for years.

This year's paving list, though, includes the stretch of street where Councilwoman Darlene Harris lives, part of Councilman Len Bodack's street, and a street that starts six houses down from Councilman Dan Deasy's home.

It includes the stretches of road on which Public Works Director Guy Costa and his manager of personnel and finance, David Osterman. reside.

It includes the pavement directly in front of or next to the homes of at least 30 members of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, including 5th Ward Chairman Franklin Reed and 32nd Ward Chairman Raymond Matthews Jr.

Mr. Matthews said he got "no special treatment of getting my street done. My street's been a mess." His four-house block -- it's 433 feet long according to the city's paving list -- is one of the smallest sections slated for resurfacing.

Mr. Peduto's plan would assign each section of street a numerical value, based on age, composition, traffic, resident complaints and other factors. Roads with the worst scores would be at the top of a three-year resurfacing plan, which would be posted on the Internet, along with records on all streets repaved since 2000.

That system "for the most part, would take the politics out of it," Mr. Peduto said. Paving is "a public, not a political, interest."

Like most City Council members, Mr. Peduto has asked the city to repave specific streets in his district, but he said his requests have largely been ignored.