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Jun 30, 2009 9:51 pm US/Eastern
Officials Update Plans For G-20 Summit
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Officials with the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County gave an update on plans for the upcoming G-20 Summit.
"Pittsburgh's hit the trifecta this year. We've had a Super Bowl, we've had a Stanley Cup and now from a business perspective, the world's largest global economic summit, the G-20," said Dennis Yablonsky from the Allegheny Conference.
The gathering requires extraordinary coordination on many fronts – including image.
Planners have identified 25 to 30 storefronts that need a facelift.
"So we're looking at a high design, quality – what's called a first surface appliqué similar to what you saw at the All-Star game where entire storefronts were covered up with some kind of design that both speaks to the future of Pittsburgh and all the things we want to have happen downtown in the cultural district and other places and our retail strategy but then also welcomes folks to the G-20 Summit," explains Mike Edwards from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.
Among the 600 ideas offered at brainstorming sessions was the suggestion to have the G-20 flags with words of welcome in different languages.
Additionally, volunteers will wear pins that read: "Ask Me. I'm a Pittsburgher!"
"The idea is for residents to wear them in late August and in September to encourage our guests to ask us for everything from restaurant recommendations to directions," Doris Carson-Williams, with VisitPittsburgh, said.
Meantime, thousands of protestors are expected in town for the summit. Federal financial resources will offset security costs.
"This event has been declared a national security special event," says Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, "which means we will have all necessary federal resources available ensure security.
"I know in the media recently it's been noted that 4,000 police officers are going to be needed in Pittsburgh alone to deal with these activities," he added.
Right now, about 800 officers are available.
So far, no information has been released about where a protesting staging area in the vicinity of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will be in part because some of those decisions will come from Washington and some of the information will not be released early.
"They may change. There may be reasons for last-minute changes and so it's our goal to make sure before we make anything public that it is going to remain constant, that it is going to be accurate," says Ravenstahl, "and we'll do so as we did here today as we continue to lead here up to September, update the public, make them aware of what's happening and let them know as soon as we know really what our plans are."
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