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Thursday, September 24, 2009

What a commute! On our way to the G-20 summit

Well, that was a long commute to work.

Pittsburgh would look deserted if you could ignore the concrete barriers and chain-link fences. It feels like early Sunday morning in any U.S. city's downtown. Except it's mid-morning, mid-week and the sidewalks are virtually empty.

Security is extremely tight in the security zone around the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The media are taken by bus from the Mellon Arena, where the Penguins play hockey, to the convention center. It's a short drive, but road closures and security checkpoints provide a lot of time for window-gazing.

The Macy's department store is open, with its display wiindows on full view. On the next block, both the T-Mobile and Sprint phone stores are boarded up. As for the Goodyear tire store near the convention center, it looks like the tire shop is out of business for the rest of the week, given the fencing that surrounds it.

Besides the police, National Guard and other security personnel, the people you tend to notice are the security officers for most buildings, standing on the sidewalks near their front doors.

A panel truck got stopped in front of our bus, and judging by the pantomime between the truck driver and the police officer, someone's delivery wasn't going to be made today.

Pittsburgh has been eager to put on its best face for the dignitaries, and I'm sure they'll be delivered to some wonderful events. But the best part about cities is walking around and exploring. Outside the security zone, that'll still happen. Inside, however, it looks like Pittsburgh took a sick day.

Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 11:35 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:58 PM, 09/24/2009
    No, it actually looks like that all the time.
    — jackryan823


1 comments
About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
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