G20 Armed Encampment

This week seemed so far away when it was first announced. The G-20 Summit hits the city of Pittsburgh this week and already it is starting to feel like an armed encampment. Convoys of National Guard trucks are moving around, helicopters are buzzing, plywood is going up on windows, the Postal Service has even removed all of the mail boxes from the streets! Someone even saw a contingent of Coast Guard officers at lunch today, perhaps as part of some river defense system?

I keep telling myself, "This is somehow good for Pittsburgh", sorta like a mantra I repeat over and over in the hopes it'll sink in. And I certainly hope it will be in the final analysis. But right now, on this side of it, it is a major pain in the... well, you know what. I made the decision several weeks ago, based on what we knew at the time, that our offices would be closed Thursday and Friday. Not because we might be the target of some bizarre protest. But mainly because the city is going to be impossible the last two days of the week. Parking downtown is shut down for all intents and purposes, transit will be running a very light schedule and many routes are being shut down and... and well no one really knows anything do they?

We've seen protests turn violent in other cities during other G20 Summits, so the possibility exists. I'm sure that the City and County are doing everything they can to prepare and that any problems can be contained and mitigated. I know I wont be coming anywhere near the city during those two days. No thanks.

It hasn't all been bad. We have gotten new lines painted on the streets. I saw that the City Police have some spiffy new hi-tech bicycles to ride around on. And litter is hard to find, as is any chairs, tables or anything else not otherwise bolted to the concrete.

Hopefully this'll all go off without a hitch. The hotels will be full, people will protest peacefully and make their points well known to those important people they want to know about them, and everything will go back to normal on Saturday. And somewhere down the road we can all look back and say, "This was good for Pittsburgh." I for one hope so. But I have my doubts.