Pittsburgh beefing up security presence for Downtown celebrations this weekend | TribLIVE.com

With full-blown Fourth of July celebrations back for this year’s holiday weekend, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials are stepping up security for events Downtown and in Point State Park.

After the pandemic canceled celebrations in the city last year, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said as many as 200,000 people are expected to crowd into Downtown and Point State Park for fireworks and other activities on Saturday and Sunday.

“We expect this to be one of the busiest nights of the year with people eager to gather together after a challenging time,” Hissrich said. “But Public Safety’s primary focus will always be to protect residents and visitors so they can safely enjoy Independence Day with their families and friends.”

Hissrich said there will be more than a dozen mobile light towers at key locations to increase visibility Downtown. Also, Pittsburgh police, state police and Allegheny County Mounted Units will be activated to keep crowds moving and allow first responders to reach people in the event of an emergency.

As part of the effort to head off rowdiness, Point State Park Rangers will help Pittsburgh Police with bag screenings at the Park’s entrances.

 

The fireworks are scheduled to end at 10 p.m. on Sunday. Hissrich said police will be working with Port Authority personnel to move people out of the Downtown core as quickly as possible to reduce problems related to overcrowding in some areas at the end of the evening.

Source: Pittsburgh beefing up security presence for Downtown celebrations this weekend | TribLIVE.com

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