Over 100,000 people are expected to make the trip downtown over the weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July.
It will be the first major City event since the pandemic.
With community concern growing over increased gun violence in Pittsburgh, Public Safety says police presence this weekend will be larger than in previous years.
"It will be considerably larger than it was two years ago," said Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich. "That's with the help of the county police, state police, park rangers. We have a lot of additional personnel in, not only the downtown area, but throughout the city."
Hissrich said resources will include light towers, cameras, plainclothes officers, mounted units and river rescue.
Law enforcement will also be keeping an eye out for signs of impaired drivers.
Local ministers part of Faith and Blue, an organization that aims to connect faith leaders with law enforcement to better the community, are also working with the City this weekend.
"To a young person who may be thinking this is an opportunity to get away with something, one deterrent is having an officer at the corner," said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. "A much stronger deterrent is seeing the pastor from the church of your neighborhood on the corner. We want to be able to utilize both."
The increased police presence in the city coincides with a planned crackdown on the South Side.
Hissrich said with COVID-19 restrictions gone, people have flocked to South Side, often causing potentially dangerous situations.
"We want to prevent anything from happening," he said. "We are seeing warning signs of potential problems."
Pittsburgh Public Safety said in recent weeks, they've responded to fights, pedestrians hit by cars and gun violence in South Side. Sidewalks are becoming so crowded, people are carelessly walking in the street.
Beginning Friday, Pittsburgh Public Safety will increase patrols, handing out fines and then citations for people who block public roads or park illegally.
