Proposed Changes Could Affect South Side Social Life
SOUTH SIDE (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh has a new plan to crack down on nighttime crime on the South Side, and a new person to oversee that plan.
This is all part of a bigger plan. The city says we used to be known as a place where they made steel, but now we're known as a place where they make students. And that means a whole new approach to social life and social dollars and blending all of that into existing communities, like the South Side.
So how do you do that? The city says it has a new plan, and a new person in place to make it happen.
The fun and the problems on the South Side on the weekends aren't new. In fact, both are legendary.
"It's very hard to get rest during the night," business owner Elizabeth Konecsni said.
But now the city is making plans to address that and more. A proposed change in parking would extend metered parking from 6 p.m. to midnight. The added revenue would help pay for free parking on Second Avenue and shuttle service over to Carson Street.
"If they run shuttle buses in a big loop from Tenth across the Hot Metal Bridge up by the parking lot on Second Avenue, and it just keeps running a big loop, then I think that would be a good solution," said Paul Timms of the South Side.
"I'd take a shuttle," artist/former Steelers running back Baron Batch said. "Any form of alternative transportation is good. There's just way too many cars."
And there's more. The city has a new Nighttime Economy Coordinator, bringing new ideas to the table. There's a focus now on the social aspects of the city, and the South Side is the pilot community. If it works here, it will be spread to other areas. Part of that plans means more off-duty police officers working the entire community, and not a singular bar or restaurant.
"Creating policing teams outside of the licensed establishments that can be both on Carson Street and on the side streets," Pittsburgh Council president Bruce Kraus said.
"We're going to take the lessons we learn here, and apply them to other districts like Lawrenceville, East Liberty, the Strip District," said Mayor Bill Peduto.
The new Nighttime Economy Coordinator says she's been in the city for three weeks, and she's been on the job two weeks. She says she's excited to see what she can bring to the area.
It is not clear how soon the proposed plans for the South Side could go into place, but expect to see some changes sometime in the very near future.
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