Gee! 20 Reasons to Avoid the G-20 Summit

Pittsburgh is a fine city – a great place to live and work. Most of us who grew up in Pittsburgh or have chosen it as our home realize this. We are also pretty sure that no one else knows how special it is here- that no one appreciates us, as it were. We swell with pride when some magazine deems our city a nice place to live, and celebrate our native sons and daughters who make it big. When some actress filming a movie here says something bad about Pittsburgh, we are outraged and defensive, perhaps wondering why we have to prove ourselves yet again.

So, I can imagine the excitement of our city officials when approached about hosting the G-20 Summit this September. They must have been over the moon at the thought of the President and leaders from around the world coming here- finally, the world would see how great Pittsburgh is! “Pittsburgh Welcomes the World!” is the Summit slogan being touted by the local news media.

My first thought was that this would be a great opportunity for the city. My second thought was- wait a minute, they’re going to be meeting downtown, at the Convention Center? Like any jaded Downtown worker, I dread all events that take place downtown on a weekday. It doesn’t it really matter what it is. A Steeler or Penguin victory parade, Light Up Night, a movie being filmed in Market Square, a Pirate game. They all just tie up traffic, make finding a parking spot more difficult, and add to the daily aggravation.

Still, I thought, this was something special. It would be exciting and kind of fun, like when “Kill Point” was filming a couple of blocks away from my office. Even I showed up when Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill spoke at Market Square during the primaries- I usually hole up in my office when there’s too much excitement going on in the streets. I appreciated that we average worker bees would not be able to get anywhere near the dignitaries. It would still be nice to part of the excitement.

Little did I know the extent of the security being put into place for the G-20 Summit. Pittsburgh may be welcoming the world, but in the process they are shunning those of us who live and work here. The details are sketchy and sporadic, presumably because the Secret Service likes to keep their plans, you know, secret.

We’ve heard all kinds of things, but the information can and does change at any time. First we heard that several blocks around the convention center would be shut off to both vehicular and foot traffic, but now they say it will be a smaller area and only vehicles will be prohibited. Pedestrians will be allowed in but will have to pass through security checkpoints, and no one will be allowed to bring weapons or explosives into the restricted area. This is certainly an excellent idea, one I applaud. However, does this mean they will be able to carry their weapons or explosives back into the rest of the city? Could they at least confiscate the explosives? Just a thought.

Even if you don’t need to go to the immediate area around the convention center, getting to and from work will still be problematic. There are already several streets Downtown closed for construction. Reportedly the T will not be coming into town, nor will most of the buses. Oh, and the Pittsburgh Parking Authority will allegedly be closing its garages downtown. So, essentially if you can park across a bridge and walk into town, you might be okay. Mail delivery in the city will be restricted for the duration of the event, and no packages will be delivered during that time.

The protesters are a lot harder to control, unfortunately. They’re coming from all over the place, and demanding their rights to assemble, and they want to pitch tents in Point State Park. There are rumors that some of these protesters have “targeted” some local companies. As we just passed the 8th anniversary of 9/11, one can only ponder what that could possibly mean.

All these factors are succeeding in scaring everyday Pittsburgh citizens away from our workplaces in the city. Many of us are staying home for two or three days while the Summit inhabits the city. We are working from home, or taking vacation time, and some have decided that this might just be the perfect time to leave town.

I feel like a parent being forced to leave town for the weekend while the teenagers are home alone. You just hold your breath and hope that if the party gets too wild that they clean up after themselves and you find the place in one piece when you get back.