Plans advance for new Downtown police substation on Wood Street

Pittsburgh police are looking to open a new, larger substation Downtown as some people continue to voice concerns about safety in the Golden Triangle.

Public safety officials said they hope to open a new substation at 439 Wood St. to replace the current Zone 2 substation at 604 Liberty Ave. at the start of the new year.

The existing space, which the city has leased for about six years, is “very small and not really conducive to community activities,” Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said. Renovations to make it more accessible and usable weren’t feasible, he said.

The new substation will be larger, providing space for community meetings, bicycle storage and e-bike charging for police, Schmidt said. The substation also will serve as a public safety command post during events Downtown.

Police Chief Larry Scirotto said 18 officers and a lieutenant will be assigned to the substation. That’s two more officers than the bureau now has at its existing substation, he said.

People will be able to walk into the substation to speak with an officer or community liaison, Schmidt said.

“Substations are great ideas. We know that they really can help in being there, just a presence, the relationship building,” Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, said, adding that they also can help improve response times.

Legislation before City Council would authorize a $590,150, five-year agreement with PNC Financial Services Group for the new space. The cost includes the lease, renovations, utilities and maintenance, Schmidt said. He said the cost was well below market rate for the area.

The city pays about $20,000 annually to PNC for its existing Downtown substation lease and utilities, he said.

Scirotto said most of the officers set to work at the new substation already patrol Downtown. They will remain under Zone 2’s command and are not coming from other zones.

“I think everyone at this table understands Downtown Pittsburgh needs help,” Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said. “We want Downtown to have that help. But we also want to make sure other areas have that help.”

She said she was concerned about whether there were enough officers in the bureau and whether communities she represents could end up with fewer police if too much focus is put on areas like Downtown.

Officials have repeatedly voiced concerns about the bureau’s staffing, which has been more than 100 officers short of the 900 officers it’s currently budgeted to have. A proposed budget for next year includes money for 850 officers in 2024, as officials have said they won’t be able to recruit enough officers to reach the 900 mark within the next year.

Scirotto has said the bureau is able to meet Pittsburgh’s policing needs with the officers it has.

He said the bureau is ramping up recruitment efforts, including from service academies across the region. That helps reduce the amount of time new recruits are in training, as it takes about a year for new recruits to go through the police academy and field training, Scirotto said.

The bureau also is shifting officers to times and locations where they are needed most, the chief said.

Zone 2, which includes Downtown, will see a “rather consistent” number of officers from this year to next, Scirotto said, but more officers will move to the Downtown area.

Kail-Smith voiced concerns about the amount of police Zone 6, which includes neighborhoods in her West End district, as well some neighborhoods represented by Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, who echoed similar concerns about police staffing.

Scirotto said plans for 2024 would have 57 officers in Zone 6, up from the 45 it has now. He said shifting when those officers work to reflect when they’re most needed also will help address concerns about policing there.

Council members unanimously supported the measure to authorize the new substation agreement in a preliminary vote Tuesday. Councilmen Bruce Kraus, D-South Side, and Ricky Burgess, D-Point Breeze, were not present for the vote.

Council is expected to take a final vote on the measure next week.