Downtown residents, business owners express safety, cleanliness concerns

PITTSBURGH — For months now, Channel 11 has heard from downtown business owners, asking the city for help in keeping the area safe and clean. Recently, we’ve heard another round of concerns, some of which we’ve seen firsthand.

“I moved here because it was vibrant and exciting. I felt so safe. It was safe,” said business owner Kimberly Collins, owner of Blue Tomato Design.

But Collins said things have changed downtown over the course of the last few years. She showed us pictures taken this week of what appears to be used toilet paper found in a shared courtyard area and in an outside planter.

“The smell was…it was horrendous,” Collins said.

It was a similar situation to what happened at Mellon Square Park earlier this month. Channel 11 told you about a memo written by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy sent to the City of Pittsburgh, referencing a knife fight, feces, and urine throughout the terrace.

“This isn’t normal. This isn’t what Downtown Pittsburgh should be,” said Collins, who told us it’s fair to say she’s considering leaving the downtown area.

But not all business owners feel that way. This week, Channel 11 sat down with the owners of Love Pittsburgh, who said they feel hopeful about the future of retail downtown, planning to expand operations to Market Square.

We reached out to the city for a response on these recent incidents. Officials said while the number of police officers has tripled downtown, that’s just part of the solution to a complex issue. The city also recently implemented the Downtown Partnership Clean Team and the Golden Triangle Ambassador program.

Officials told Channel 11 on Tuesday that part of the problem is that there are no public restrooms downtown.

Collins said she wants the city to take these issues seriously and listen to residents and business owners.

“I’m hoping that somebody can figure this out. There’s a solution to everything. Let’s sit down and talk about what’s happening with the business owners and the residents,” Collins said.

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