With the upcoming NFL Draft bringing new attention to Pittsburgh, the city’s entire focus is on the incoming visitors. The expected influx of up to 700,000 people into the city brings with it reroutes, increasing road closures and traffic.

However, this excitement isn’t the only thing running through residents’ minds. Draft week, unfortunately, doesn’t put a pause on daily life. People must continue going to school, work or anywhere else, and in a car-centric city, avoiding traffic is unlikely. This goes beyond accounting for added time to one’s regular commute. Remote school days put pressure on families to have adults at home, taking them away from their jobs. Many college students may miss class and assessments, critically impacting their performance as the spring semester draws closer to the end. It’s difficult to truly grasp the scale to which the city and its’ residents will be impacted. And herein lies the problem.

This level of uncertainty should have been accounted for. Rather than simply expecting the people to adjust themselves to upcoming events, conscious effort should be put into considering the impact on residents. A complete picture cannot be painted when most of the people living in the city are unaware of what is to come.

Underneath all the enthusiasm lies a city that has to keep running. The inconvenience from the disruption is a small part of the frustration among residents. A sudden and large increase in people is bound to bring disruptions, but better planning could minimize the effects. There has to be a better solution than simply telling people to stay home or avoid driving.

While national attention and economic prospects will be important for Pittsburgh, a city cannot run without its people. It is unfair to cater to businesses and tourists, putting residents on the sidelines when these will be the people at the core, maintaining the city once draft week is over.

What happens once the visitors leave? We are sure to find out soon enough.

As many prepare to stay home as much as possible, a question arises: Who is Pittsburgh for? For draft week, it seems not for the Yinzers.

The upcoming state of the city remains largely unpredictable but life continues on. If being on the road is unavoidable, plan ahead for the traffic, prioritize safety and leave early if possible. Just because the city will have a host of new visitors, does not mean we should suddenly have a lack of consideration for each other. This is our home after all. Anger and frustration are inevitable but make an effort to remain calm. It’ll be over before you know it.