PITTSBURGH — It’s marathon weekend in the ‘Burgh!
“This is another Pittsburgh event that allows us to shine,” said Sheldon Williams, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director.
Marathon organizers expect more than 52,000 runners of all ages to participate in the different events this weekend.
“The views as you run are the best around, and also the excitement of all the cheer squads throughout really brings the energy up in the neighborhoods,” said Allyson Copeman of Irwin.
Even more people are expected to line the streets cheering on runners like Copeman. She’s running in her second half-marathon.
That’s leading to road closures in certain areas of the marathon route, rolling closures during the marathon, and a lot of “No Parking” signs.
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“Please don’t block any of the areas that are labeled no parking,” said Jennifer McDermott-Grubb, Assistant EMS Chief for the City of Pittsburgh. “That is for the safety of the runners and the access of public safety personnel into those areas.
Aside from the marathon events kicking off Saturday, the Pirates are also still in town. The first game of their series starts Friday at 6:45 p.m. Here’s what the team wants you to know.
For Friday’s game, many streets getting to the North Shore and around the North Shore are still closed from the NFL Draft. Most of them reopen on Saturday.
But for Saturday, North Shore roads will close at 6:30 a.m. and reopen at 1 p.m. because of marathon events. The game Saturday is at 4:05 p.m.
Sunday’s game is at 1:35 p.m. The Pirates said there will be limited access to the North Shore from 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Full access will open after 10 a.m. to all parking locations, and the West End Bridge opens at 10:15 a.m. because of the marathon.
“I definitely think that Pittsburgh, last week was kind of the test run, and they’re going to be ready for this week,” Copeman said. “It’s just good to have people coming into the city and checking it out.”
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