City tells homeless encampments to relocate by Nov. 10
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Tents encampments filled with people experiencing homelessness have sprung up along the Pittsburgh rivers and roadsides, raising concerns about safety, sanitation and the people who live in there.
But now with a new shelter set to open downtown, the city is initiating a plan to move the homeless out and take the tents down.
Down along the Allegheny River Trail, the city has now posted signs telling the homeless they are going to take down the tent encampment and asking them to relocate.
It was once the province of cyclists, walkers and runners, but for the last several months, the Waterfront Trail along the 10th Street Bypass has been home to the homeless and cyclists like Terry Wolbert must navigate through this crowded tent encampment strewn with garbage.
"It looks like a dump," Wolbert said. "It's not a very good reflection on the city when we get visitors in. The Convention Center right there, the hotels."
Outreach workers have been trying for months now to hook these people up with support services and, when available, temporary housing. But with shelter space lacking, the tents have only multiplied, and the garbage has piled high.
But the soon-to-open Second Avenue Commons will be giving the homeless a viable alternative to life in tents and the city has now posted signs saying it will be cleaning up the site, instructing the homeless to remove all of their possessions and relocate by Nov. 10.
The Gainey administration didn't respond to request for comment Thursday, but on Wednesday, Councilman Anthony Coghill said once Second Avenue Commons open, it'll be easier to take the encampments down, and the hope is that they stay down permanently.
"They're not getting help and this is what it turns into," Wolbert said.
People like Wolbert are concerned for the homeless and believe it best they get out of these encampments into shelter.
"It'd be nice to get them off the street, get them employed, get them medical help if they need that," Wolbert said.
In taking down the tents the city may reclaim the waterfront but say it's only the first step. The goal is to get these people into shelter and ultimately into permanent housing of their own.