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It may be futile to complain about the crowds and the revelry that characterize night life on the South Side. Because of the vitality of its bars and restaurants, the place has become the de facto playground for many in the city and its surrounding suburbs.

But "success" on the scale the South Side has experienced has come with a price. Before Carson Street became a loud and bustling strip, it was the main thoroughfare of a proud, neat, relatively older residential neighborhood. Those folks haven't gone away.

When a person drives in for a night of bar hopping, the scarcity of parking often leads visitors to spaces in the front of homes owned by these longtime residents. They're the same folks who often find their stoops littered with beer cans, urine and the detritus of excessive night life the next day. Recently, the rowdiness along Carson turned dangerous. The shooting of a bouncer and two others early Sunday cast a harsh spotlight on the popular strip.

City Councilman Bruce Kraus has for a long time made cleaning up the South Side a priority; those residents are his constituents. He's called upon Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to pay attention to deteriorating conditions in the neighborhood in general and to escalating crime in particular.

Increasing the visibility of police on the street just as the bars are closing would go a long way toward keeping a lid on the rowdies before they spiral out of control. Strictly enforcing noise ordinances and patrolling the residential streets for egregious parking violations would help, too.

A step forward was the announcement yesterday, after a meeting between Mr. Kraus and police officials, that officers will talk to all South Side bar owners on how they can reduce alcohol-fueled problems.

No one wants to crimp the vitality of South Side night life. It's an important part of Pittsburgh and its newly hip image. But the neighborhood is home to thousands of good residents. They shouldn't have to put up with gunfire outside their windows.

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