A new group will hit Downtown streets in an effort to make visitors, shoppers, workers and residents feel safer.

It won't be the Fantastic Four or even a couple of new beat cops, but safety ambassadors deployed by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

Funded in part by a $200,000 federal grant to be announced this morning by U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, the program will feature about eight ambassadors who will circulate Downtown to improve safety and to report to police any problems they might see.

"They will be essentially an additional set of eyes and ears for the Pittsburgh police department," said Michael Edwards, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

The ambassadors also will be trained to lend a hand to people who are looking for directions, who locked their keys in their cars or who are in need of some other type of assistance.

But their main job will be to enhance safety Downtown. They will be on the lookout for things like aggressive panhandling, graffiti or other problems.

The ambassadors won't have arrest powers or carry weapons, but they will have radios and be able to report to the Hill District police station any trouble they might see.

Through the program, the partnership hopes to find problem spots Downtown and then deploy ambassadors to those areas to help improve the environment.

"Downtown Pittsburgh has significantly less police presence than it has had in the past. This is a way for the business community, in coordination with the police department, to enhance that service to keep Downtown safe and friendly," Mr. Edwards said.

Similar programs have been started in other cities, including Spokane, Wash., where Mr. Edwards served as president of the downtown partnership before moving here.

Mr. Edwards said the program has the support of the Zone 2 police command. He also said it was very consistent with Mayor Bob O'Connor's desire to make Pittsburgh one of the cleanest and safest cities in the country. Mr. O'Connor and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato are expected to attend today's news conference.

The first ambassadors are expected to be deployed in July. The partnership has already raised nearly $200,000 to start the program and to supplement the federal funding.

Mr. Edwards said he also sees the program dovetailing with efforts to bring more residential housing Downtown and to revitalize the Fifth and Forbes avenues corridor, noting that people need to feel safe and comfortable if they are to live, work or shop in the Golden Triangle.