Pittsburgh Bars Prepared For Toned-Down St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It is expected to be a busy weekend in Pittsburgh.
There won't be a St. Patrick's Day parade, but police and Pittsburgh Public Safety expect people to hit the streets and head to bars.
The streets are normally packed for St. Patrick's Day, and Mullaney's Harp & Fiddle Irish pub has been a hot spot for celebrations. But this year, there aren't just socially distanced tables. Every patron has a designated time slot for entry. Pub owner David Regan said the tickets sold out in minutes.
"Instead of 1,200 to 1,400 people throughout the day, we'll have 200. But we'll make the best of it," said Regan.
"Normally, it's come and try to get in line at the door," Regan added. "This year, we sold tickets to eight different sessions."
Typically, the pub is standing room only, but there will be no lines or parades this year because of COVID-19 restrictions. This is just Regan's way of keeping the St. Patrick's Day madness at bay.
"We're only allowed to have 70 people," Regan said. "They're allowed three hours, they're going to stay three hours. The first session is 10:30 to 2, then we have an hour and a half to clean everything."
Pittsburgh police and fire say they're cracking down on drunk driving and plan to do occupancy checks on establishments to make sure they meet coronavirus regulations. PennDOT is also promoting on-the-road safety.
