Pittsburgh considers peak pricing, more metered parking in Lawrenceville’s business district
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Parking has been a problem for Eric Keller since he opened a business on Lawrenceville’s busy Butler Street about seven years ago.
Keller said it’s hard for his customers at Lawrenceville Pet Supply to find parking spots in the crowded business district, but he’s hopeful that legislation before Pittsburgh City Council could change that.
The legislation, sponsored by Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, would create what officials call a mobility enhancement district in Lawrenceville’s business district.
The legislation would allow the city to implement a dynamic parking fee structure in the new district in which parking spots would cost more during peak hours of the day. Metered parking also would be extended into nighttime hours and the city would look to expand the locations where people need to pay a metered rate to park.
The anticipated extra parking revenue would be put into a designated trust fund and used for neighborhood infrastructure improvements, including traffic calming projects, bus shelters, sidewalk repairs and projects to improve bicycle safety.
Keller said he thinks the proposal could help increase parking turnover, making it easier for customers to find parking and, in turn, helping businesses.
“I see the same cars day after day parked in the same spots,” Keller said. “It will help business. It will enhance business.”
That and other projects could help make the area safer and more accessible, he added.
“I believe it will improve the lives of residents as well as the robust business community,” Keller said.
Nancy Gippert, of Lawrenceville, said the improvements would be particularly helpful for many older residents and people who don’t have cars.
“When most people in Pittsburgh think of Lawrenceville these days, they think of young, upper-income folks. The reality is Lawrenceville is still a community with many, many long-term residents who are in their 70s and 80s, including me, who lack cars,” she said. “Lack of accessibility is an enormous obstacle to these residents and their ability to maintain independence, which is so important to people.”
Gippert said it’s “terrifying” to cross the street when cars are speeding and there aren’t enough crosswalks. She complained that sidewalks also are poorly maintained.
“Any traffic calming measures that can be brought about will be of great importance,” she said.
The proposal is “an effective and thoughtful transportation policy” that could improve the quality of infrastructure available for bicyclists, pedestrians and others in the neighborhood, said Laura Chu Wiens, executive director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit.
The first mobility enhancement district was created in 2016 on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side. Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South Side, said the district there has collected about $1.4 million, which has funded efforts to improve cleanliness and safety in the bustling entertainment district.
“What’s really nice about crafting these enhancement districts is they can be tailored specifically” to match the needs and wants of each community, he said, explaining that what is being proposed for Lawrenceville will be different from what has worked for the South Side.
In South Side, he said, the mobility enhancement district money funds a three-person team that is on East Carson Street seven days a week ensuring the corridor is “clean and well-maintained.” This month, the team collected 18,000 pounds of trash in the area, he said.
In Lawrenceville, the money will instead focus on infrastructure projects that make the neighborhood more accessible and safer for pedestrians, cyclists and others, Gross said, because that’s what Lawrenceville stakeholders have said they want.
If the legislation is approved, it will go into effect six months later. Council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next week.