Pittsburgh designing guidelines for removing tents
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After the removal of homeless encampments last year, the tents have reappeared throughout the city of Pittsburgh, causing an uneasy relationship between the public and those experiencing homelessness.
But the Gainey administration says a new policy is designed to keep both those experiencing homeless and the residents healthy and safe.
It's a problem facing every major city in America — homeless encampments filled with garbage and used syringes, but rather than ban them, the Gainey administration says it's establishing new rules so those experiencing homelessness and the rest of the public can coexist.
"They're clearly back. We have multiple tents all over the trial," said Nick Saltillo from the North Side.
The tents are back along the Allegheny River Trail and they're thick on the South Side along the Mon River Trail. They're even stacked up on Grant Street. Those experiencing homelessness are living their lives in plain sight of residents who complain of garbage, drug use and fires.
"This is what we put up with on the trail and I don't understand why someone can't do something about it," cyclist Jeff Sicilia said.
It's an uneasy relationship between those living in tents and the public but the Gainey administration has no plans for banning them — rather KDKA-TV has obtained a copy of new regulations, guidelines for their removal which are designed to "let residents of our city, housed and unhoused, to share space more comfortably together."
Under the new policy, the tents will not be allowed in city parks or private property and cannot be less than 10 feet from a trail or from a city street or public right-of-way. Tents will also be taken down for criminal activity and an unhealthy accumulation of garbage.
"What this is is a clear way for us to show if you work with us to keep these encampments clean, if you work with us to keep them safe, then we're going to do what we can to keep you in place while we work to identify housing options for everyone in our city," said Maria Montaño, Gainey's communications director.
"The rules seem good but we need to see some enforcement and I really think we need to have the needle policy. Let's take care of that first," said North Side resident Nick Santillo.
Months ago, KDKA-TV exposed the problem of discarded syringes supplied to those experiencing homelessness and addiction under a needle exchange program contracted by the city. The city promised to fix the program with cleanup programs and sharp boxes but in the past few days, KDKA-TV found dozens of syringes in an encampment of the South Side and more than a dozen more underneath the Andy Warhol Bridge.
Sheehan: "I don't see any sharp boxes out there."
Montaño: "We've been working to finalize this policy to make sure we have it in place. So that way we can help make sure the city is enforcing the policy on the books."
Some say these rules don't go far enough, but the administration says it won't ban these tents as it works with the county to get people into more permanent housing.
