G-20 Security Driving Away Pittsburgh's Bustle

JOE MANDAK

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Mancini Hartner is like a lot of downtown business operators: He doesn't know what to expect if thousands of protesters show up for the Group of 20 economic summit or, for that matter, how many customers will show up either.

That's why he'll try something new during this week's summit at his Mancini's Hearth Baked Bread shop. He'll lock the doors and instead sell a limited menu of fresh breads on the sidewalk out front.

"That way, we can react to whatever's happening," said Hartner, whose mother's family owns the business. "If it's a regular lunch crowd we can open up the store. If it's slow, we can pull back and come inside and lock up."

Security plans include a vehicle-free, three-block perimeter around the convention center and a ban on most vehicles elsewhere in the city's dense, triangular downtown — leaving protesters and foreign dignitaries to likely experience an emptier-than-normal Pittsburgh when the two-day summit begins Thursday. Commuters will have to park outside downtown and either walk or take mass transit into the business district.

Thousands of protesters and media are expected to come to town for the summit, a gathering of the leaders of the world's 20 top economies.