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City of Pittsburgh will let boaters dock overnight at Point on July 4th
Monday, July 02, 2001 By Marylynne Pitz, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
For the first time, boaters tied up at Point State Park will be allowed to stay overnight after the July Fourth fireworks.
But city police have set strict rules for boaters who do remain.
On July Fourth, boaters are asked to follow these rules:
• Boaters who are not tied up in Point State Park must leave the park by 10:30 p.m.
• Boaters who are tied up at the Point and remain overnight must not enter the park after 11 p.m. to drink, congregate, deposit trash or use the restrooms.
• Do step on the wharf to walk from one boat to another but do not carry alcohol while you make the trip.
• Do not congregate on the Allegheny or Monongahela wharves after 11 p.m.
• Do not play loud radios.
• Do not swim or dock on the wharves.
• Do keep a designated operator onboard in case of emergency.
• Do not congregate on the steps or seats of the concrete amphitheater along the Allegheny River after 11 p.m.
It's common for captains and skippers to gather on the city's rivers a few days before the holiday, but in the past, police have insisted they leave as soon as the fireworks end.
One reason to stay overnight is to avoid a major traffic jam on the waterways.
"Believe me, most of these boaters want to get out of there. It's like trying to get out of a Pirates game when the game has been decided late in the innings," said Jim Schmitt, editor and publisher of Anchors Aweigh magazine, a local boating publication.
In an effort to clear the crowded park, police often ordered boaters to untie their crafts once the fireworks ended at 10 p.m., an hour before the park closed.
"We had a lot of complaints from the boating community," said Pittsburgh Police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr.
This year, McNeilly will allow boaters tied up at the Point to stay overnight on July Fourth, traditionally one of the busiest evenings of the year for his officers.
A few months ago, McNeilly approached Schmitt and arranged a meeting with him and Robert McCaughan, assistant chief of the city's Emergency Medical Services, which includes the River Rescue squad.
"I just wanted to make sure that it was an event that everybody was satisfied with," McNeilly said in a telephone interview yesterday.
In previous years, McNeilly said, police have been called back to the park after the colorful pyrotechnics ended to deal with complaints about loud radios, excessive drinking and fights.
"We understand that the boating community wants to relax and celebrate the holiday. We're asking the boating community to cooperate with us and follow the rules and guidelines that have been established for the park," McNeilly said.
Every time police had to return to Point State Park, it reduced the number of officers available to cover other areas.
"The park is at maximum capacity for the fireworks events. That's part of our dilemma. We have to have everybody leave the park so ... we don't have to be faced with providing security there when the park is closed," McNeilly said.
McNeilly hopes that his goodwill gesture works.
"If there is a mutual cooperation, they will police themselves and we won't need to be summoned. Two police officers will be there in the park all night long," the chief said.
By tomorrow, Schmitt said, many boaters will arrive at the Point. Motor boats and house boats will tie up to one another, creating a large, patchwork raft.
"It's like a floating get-together, a floating party. Boaters almost pride themselves on being able to build a raft. Some of these rafts can get pretty long. ... It's very festive," he said.
In his publication and on his Web site, Schmitt urges boaters to police themselves, avoid confrontations and use common sense.
"Boaters are asked to remove their friends, and fellow boaters from any confrontation, especially if alcohol is involved. This is not a prudent time to test one's alcohol-induced manhood," Schmitt wrote.
Schmitt has never docked overnight at the Point but says that for most people, "a weekend on the boat is like a week on vacation."
He knows that problems have arisen in past years.
"I have heard that people are loud and sometimes altercations break out. People complain of the noise, people as far away as Mount Washington," he said.
But Schmitt said boaters know how to behave.
In 1999, when a lighted boat parade was part of the annual regatta, temporary docks were installed and boaters had water, electricity and security, the basic elements of a marina.
"They did that at riverfront park. One of the conditions was they had to behave themselves. This is a family event. It went beautifully," Schmitt said.
Boaters must remember that the Point is a major gathering place for families and children on July Fourth and should behave accordingly, Schmitt said.
Policing boaters, McNeilly said, is like policing a vacation area.
"I know when people are relaxing, nobody wants to be told anything," the chief said.
In recent years, Schmitt said, police officers on patrol in Point State Park during July Fourth "have been much more friendly. I think McNeilly's done a good job in that regard. I'm really trying to foster detente."
McNeilly discussed the change in plans at a commanders' staff meeting Wednesday. Nate Harper, assistant chief of operations, will notify the rank-and-file officers of the change.
"Cmdr. Regina McDonald will be in charge that night and she is aware that the boaters can stay," McNeilly said.
After midnight, he said, police hope that two officers will suffice at Point State Park.
"If we do need additional officers because of the failure of the boating community to honor their side of the bargain, then we'll have to review what we'll do in future years," McNeilly said.
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