Pittsburgh leaders say they are ramping up efforts to make Downtown cleaner and safer.

“Downtown Pittsburgh is the heart and soul of our city,” Mayor Ed Gainey said during a news conference Thursday.

The city has increased the number of cleaning crews working Downtown by about 20%, Gainey said. Officials are planning to bolster inspections and enforcement of the city’s garbage and litter codes.

Gainey said the Department of Public Works “has been doing an excellent spring cleaning job” over the past week, sprucing up parks, removing graffiti and cleaning streets and alleys.

The city also has increased police foot patrols in the area.

“These officers are building solid relationships Downtown with people that live here, people that work here and people that play here,” Gainey said.

Assistant Chief Christopher Ragland, who heads that effort, said there had previously been four or five officers patrolling Downtown at a time. Now, that number is between eight and 12.

Allegheny County Police also are providing additional patrols. Ragland said there is no timetable for how long that will continue.

Local nonprofit leaders said they’re also stepping up to help.

Jeremy Waldrup, president of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, said the organization’s clean-up efforts will continue year-round.

For nearly 30 years, the nonprofit’s Clean Team has picked up trash and litter and removed graffiti tags. So far this year, Waldrup said, the Clean Team has removed more than 230 pounds of garbage from the Downtown area.

A new partnership with Renewal Inc., a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that helps people coming out of the criminal justice system to find jobs, will bring an additional four workers and a supervisor on board to power-wash and clean alleys, Waldrup said.

In all, Waldrup said his organization has an annual budget of nearly $1.9 million for clean-up efforts.

The nonprofit also recently launched its Golden Triangle Ambassador program, in which 11 people are tasked with offering hospitality and public assistance, conducting walking and biking patrols, monitoring and reporting on activity in the area and expanding outreach with local businesses.

“By prioritizing investments in cleanliness and public safety, we are ensuring everyone feels safe in Downtown,” Waldrup said.

The Downtown Neighbors Alliance also is working to attract more businesses to the area, said John Valentine, who serves as the nonprofit’s executive director.

As a temporary solution to improve the aesthetics of empty storefronts, the organization is teaming up with local artists for a storefront beautification initiative that will see art installations filling those vacant spaces.

“Part of being a clean city is also beautifying the locale,” he said.

Officials acknowledged there’s still more work to be done.

The Downtown area has “no real public bathrooms,” said Maria Montaño, a spokeswoman for Gainey. She acknowledged that there is a need for clean, safe public bathrooms in the area, and said the city is working with other local partners to find potential solutions.

The Second Avenue Commons homeless shelter in Downtown Pittsburgh is still at capacity — and has been since about a week after its November opening. Another shelter at Smithfield United Church of Christ — which traditionally has operated only in the year’s colder months, but is remaining open because of the need for additional space — is housing about 140 people each night, said Lisa Frank, the city’s chief administrative and operating officer.

“If we continue to work hard — and we will — we’ll continue to get the change we seek,” Gainey said.

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