With cranes dotting Pittsburgh's skyline it's easy to make the assumption -- as was made in Dan Simpson's May 14 column in the Post-Gazette -- that Downtown is undergoing a "makeover." However, unlike TV's "Extreme Home Makeover," ours won't happen in a week or a month; not even in a year.

Our Downtown is experiencing a multi-faceted, continual evolution. New skyscrapers will soon mark Pittsburgh's famous skyline; historic parks, squares and buildings are transforming the Golden Triangle, and a world-class university is expanding its urban campus. As these exciting projects are under way, with your help we are working hard to keep Downtown safe and clean.

In the past year, we've gone from one beat officer in Market Square to 11 patrolling Downtown every day. Our public works crews empty approximately 400 trash cans daily and, together with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's Clean Team, sweep the area of litter.

Our officers have been doing a tremendous job of law enforcement. In the past 10 months, they've issued 356 non-traffic citations for panhandling, disorderly conduct and public intoxication. They have made 137 arrests for aggressive panhandling, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, obstructing traffic, criminal/defiant trespass and harassment. Since April 1, Downtown Partnership safety ambassadors have mitigated 290 panhandling incidences.

The partnership's highly visible Clean Team ambassadors, clad in black and gold, patrol the Golden Triangle picking up trash. Last month alone, more than 4,547 pounds of trash and 193 graffiti marks were eliminated.

As our evolution continues and Downtown's residential population grows, we'll have more eyes on the street to hold persons accountable. Positive development is often followed by healthy activities.

Look at the Cultural District as a model. It was once the "red light" district of our city and is now thriving with nightly events, top-notch restaurants, public parks and plazas, and residential development. Panhandling in the area has been significantly reduced and its 14 cultural facilities draw an admirable crowd from all over the region. With positive programming and the removal of buses and panhandlers, more than 10,000 people enter Market Square on a given day.

Still, as in any downtown throughout the country, panhandlers exist and people litter. As we continue to put resources into Pittsburgh's business districts, including Downtown, we need everyone to be our partners in keeping Pittsburgh one of the safest, cleanest and most livable cities in America.

If you experience harassment by a panhandler, call 911-- a beat cop will be right around the corner. If you see litter, call 311-- our public works crew will be there to pick it up.

Just as it has taken an entire team to get the Penguins to the Stanley Cup final, it's going to take our entire Pittsburgh team -- businesses, government, residents and Downtown workers -- to move Pittsburgh and Downtown to the next stage of our evolution.