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City, help revelers find safe ways to get home
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There is an old Pittsburgh legend that tells of golden vehicles -- guided by little more than a raspy, grumbling voice -- dispatched to whisk away princes, princesses and frogs from the danger of post-2 a.m. revelry.
"Cabs," they're called in other cities, although good luck finding one in the South Side.
Despite the city's short-run cab initiative introduced last month, it's as impossible as ever to find safe transportation home from the South Side -- buses stop running shortly after 2 a.m. and cabs are little more than myth.
The best answer lies in moderation and responsibility. But the reality is that Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of binge drinking and, according to MADD, spent $2.33 billion last year subsidizing drunk driving fatalities.
If the city was really interested in promoting the "safe atmosphere" of which Sgt. Stephen Matakovich speaks ("Police Sirens Wail and Scream on the South Side in an Effort to Control Late-Night Bar Crowds," June 19), it would focus on getting revelers home in one piece, not just off the street and back to their cars.
Until then, we'll cover our ears and cross our fingers that the next Travis Isiminger (who killed a 7-year-old girl while driving drunk on the South Side) is one of the lucky few to find a ride home.
JENNIE LUPTAK
Lawrenceville
First Published June 25, 2012 12:00 am
