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City of Pittsburgh officials announced their plans to ensure a safe St. Patrick’s Day event Wednesday as they anticipate tens of thousands of visitors to partake in this weekend’s celebration.
The city anticipates traffic delays and some streets will begin closing around 7:30 a.m. from the parade staging area on Liberty Avenue from 11th Street east to 26th Street in the Strip District on Saturday morning.
The parade itself will begin downtown at 10 a.m. at Liberty Avenue and Grant Street. It will then go to the Boulevard of the Allies and will finish at a grandstand on Stanwix Street.
“This is a large event,” said Mayor Bill Peduto’s Chief of Staff Kevin Acklin. “It’s our goal to make sure that these events are handled in a manner that’s respectful to our neighborhoods.”
No alcohol will be permitted within the public plaza at Market Square for a family event hosted by the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but open containers will be allowed in a confined section of the plaza for those ages 21 and over from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Streets should begin reopening by 1 p.m., but those attending other Downtown events -- including the 1 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins game at Consol Energy Center and the Home & Garden Show starting at 10 a.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center -- should plan for delays or consider taking public transit.
More than 40 Port Authority bus routes will temporarily be detoured during the parade but should resume regular routing by mid-afternoon.
As the parade ends the Department of Public Works will begin picking up barriers and trash and sweeping Downtown streets.
With the conclusion of the parade public safety personnel including city police and mounted Allegheny County police will shift their focus to the South Side.
State Liquor Control Board officers will monitor the area for underage drinking. Pennsylvania State Police will be posted at entrances to the East Carson Street corridor at 10th Street and the Birmingham Bridge. An extra medic unit will be on scene through 3 a.m.
Those visiting the South Side are urged against parking in the neighborhood’s dense residential streets.
Alternate parking plans have been developed by the City, the South Side Chamber of Commerce, the South Side Bar and Restaurant Association and the Pittsburgh Sociable City Plan.
Those alternatives include three valet parking at lots at 21st Street and E. Carson; 18th Street and E. Carson; and the First National Bank lot on E. Carson between 11th and 12th Streets. Public parking is also available at garages at South Side Works and Station Square.
Port Authority buses will continue their normal routes through the South Side all day, though during the parade riders using the 48 and 51 bus routes will be required to transfer to the T at Station Square.
A taxi stand will be available from noon to 3 a.m. on E. Carson between 17th and 18th Streets, and pedicabs from 2 p.m. to midnight at a stand on E. Caron at 18th Street.
Thirty portable toilets will be in the E. Carson business district between 12th and 25th Streets, as well as 45 large cardboard trash cans.
Police will begin clearing the South Side at 2 a.m.
At that time Public Works will also begin collecting barricades, picking up trash and street sweeping. Crews will use backpack blowers to blow sidewalk trash into the paths of street sweepers.
WPXI
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