Advertisement Top leaders say police presence key to securing Wood Street T-station Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Pittsburgh's mayor and Allegheny County's chief executive both said they don't believe any major changes will be made to operations at the Port Authority's Wood Street station, despite Monday's shooting that injured four people after the Fourth of July celebration.The same night, police allege a 15-year-old boy followed a woman from the Wood Street station to the T stop in Overbrook before beating and raping her."I think uniformed police presence does have an effect," Mayor Bill Peduto said Thursday. "There needs to be both the presence that people see in uniform, so they feel safe, but there are also the undercover (officers) as well, to be able to get intel back to the officers."Port Authority police investigated 15 assaults inside and outside the Wood Street station in the past year, according to numbers from the agency obtained by Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Wednesday. That number does not include cases handled by Pittsburgh police.Port Authority Police Chief Matthew Porter said he believes the Wood Street station is safe. He said the rape and the quadruple shooting are isolated examples of extreme violence.The more frequent problem, he said, has been students fighting with each other after school."We're working with city police, the Pittsburgh school district, trying to address some of the issues that we have after school, with the high school kids downtown, and the bigger social aspects of the fights and the kids being rowdy downtown," Porter said.VIDEO: Watch Bob Hazen's report“There has been a historical concern about the location of the T station,” said Pittsburgh City Councilman Daniel Lavelle, who represents downtown. “Many of our students from across the city converge there.”In May, a large fight involving young people was caught on video spilling onto Liberty Avenue, in front of the station.Many people who live near the station told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 they often feel uneasy seeing large crowds gather outside the station, where many bus lines converge, and can become overwhelmed during sporting or special events.Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Thursday they don't believe changing routes, so that they don't all meet at Wood Street, would help alleviate the tension."The problem isn't necessarily the number of vehicles, or the routes, it is that there is an immediate gridlock that occurs when these events end," Peduto said."As we look at rerouting, I don't know that we'll change that," Fitzgerald said. "That's where people go, and that rail station connects to so many people. We'll certainly take a look at it, working with public safety."“One thing I’m looking forward to being able to do with the new (Pittsburgh Public Schools) superintendent is having a conversation with the superintendent, our chief, public safety director, to see what can be done on those special evenings to potentially mitigate those risks,” Lavelle said.Pittsburgh public safety officials said they are focusing on preparing for this weekend’s bicentennial celebration, which is expected to attract more crowds downtown and to the station.Get the WTAE Pittsburgh's Action News 4 App