Study says Downtown Pittsburgh needs more restrooms, lights, cameras

A study conducted by Point Park University suggested Downtown Pittsburgh would be improved by public restrooms, more public garbage and recycling receptacles, and lights and cameras in alleys.

The study, released Wednesday, focused particularly on how the city could improve its alleys to improve quality of life for people in Downtown.

“When we envision a safe and clean Downtown, we have to consider alleys,” said Heather Starr Fiedler, a Point Park professor who co-authored the study with part-time faculty member and Ph.D. student Kelly Wilding. “Downtown is home to so many events, festivals and bike trails, in and around alleyways. Rather than be a source of odor, crime or rodents, alleys can be home to art projects, outdoor seating and other creative concepts if kept safe and clean.”

The “Taking out the Trash” study proposed installing public restrooms in Downtown Pittsburgh, adding more public waste and recycling receptacles, installing alley lighting and cameras, installing trash compactors in some alleys, requiring businesses to secure their dumpsters and encouraging a dumpster-sharing program for smaller businesses.

The study said clean, well-lit alleyways would likely make the area less attractive to would-be criminals, and such improvements could make people feel safer in the area.

Downtown Pittsburgh’s alleys have already seen some recent improvements, the study’s authors explained. Walks through the area’s alleys in Feb. 2022 and April 2023 demonstrated that some alleys “were clean and full of debris,” others “were dark, dirty and full of trash, urine and feces, and likely rodents.”

But the researchers said conditions had improved by May 2023, after the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership implemented its alley improvement plan and hired Renewal Inc. to clean Downtown’s alleys and sidewalks.

In an interview of 50 people who live, work and play in Downtown, 76% of people said safety was their biggest concern when it came to Downtown’s alleys. Twelve percent of people said lighting was bad at night, 24% said they were concerned about homeless people in the area, and 12% thought drug dealers were a problem.

Of the people interviewed, 72% identified cleanliness as an issue, with several people highlighting concerns that people used alleys as bathrooms in the absence of real public bathrooms in the area.

In the 26-page study, John Valentine, Executive Director of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, which initiated the study, said the key is to ensure there are permanent solutions, rather than temporary quick fixes.

“We can’t fix an alley with something that temporarily looks good and then goes back to the way it was as soon as the funding runs out,” Valentine said.

Pittsburgh’s Director of Public Works Chris Hornstein told the study’s authors that the city is working with other partners to address the need for public restrooms, support cleanup efforts and look for solutions for the homeless people living Downtown.

A spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the study.

The study suggested that having public restrooms “will help solve the root cause of public urination and defecation in the alleys.” The research team, the survey notes, saw that visitors who were not homeless were using alleys as bathrooms, which “is contributing to the smell and waste.”

It also suggested that every block should have one to two trash cans so that people are less likely to litter in alleys. The research team also highlighted that “very few recycling options were visible” in the area.

Lighting and cameras, the study suggested, could help reduce crime.

The study further said the city court install art walls, turn alleys into green spaces or gathering spaces and enclose dumpsters to help beautify and revitalize the city’s alleys.