Part of downtown Pittsburgh road will close for outdoor restaurant seating

PITTSBURGH — A street in downtown Pittsburgh is about to be closed off, and it has nothing to do with construction and everything to do with the pandemic.

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced the group has been working on this intervention to narrow Sixth Street since May.

Part of the road in front of Tako and Butcher and the Rye will now be used for outdoor seating. The PDP is also putting up barricades to protect the diners eating outside.

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Chris Watts, the vice president of mobility for the PDP, said this is being done to help restaurants bring in more revenue and bring more life to downtown.

Watts said with more people working from home and fewer commuters coming into the area, now is the time to give it a try.

If the trial run is successful, PDP plans to do the same in the 900 block of Penn Avenue, Market Square, and further up Sixth Street to Fort Duquense Boulevard.

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