Top Agenda Items
- Closing a bike lane parking loophole could also destroy the case for parking on sidewalks
- Beltzhoover rec center next in line for Stop the Violence funds
- Ballfield lights could go remote with a $73,050 software upgrade
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SUBSCRIBEClosing a bike lane loophole could also destroy the case for parking on sidewalks 🔗
A proposed change for parking regulations could force Pittsburghers to park with all four tires in the street.
The parking regulations, as they are now written, allow for vehicles to park in bike lanes if it’s to protect the safety of the people and the vehicle. Council Member Bobby Wilson of Spring Hill sponsored legislation to close that loophole.
Wilson said during the July 29 committee meeting that people have used the loophole to argue tickets for parking in a bike lane.
“The reason that the judge has been hesitant to rule—or officers were hesitant to give the ticket—was because there was that language,” he said.
The proposed amendment removes vehicle safety as an exception.
That change, however, could mean Pittsburghers will lose their ability to use that justification to illegally park on sidewalks since the change would apply to all prohibited spaces.
Council Member Anthony Coghill of Beechview pointed out that his district has narrow streets and an average of two vehicles per household.
“It’s one thing when you put one tire up on the sidewalk, but people are abusing it,” he said. “If you’re in a wheelchair, you can’t get by. Baby stroller: You have to go out in the street.”
However, he added, if everyone parked correctly, “ambulances and fire engines can’t get by.”
Council voted to move forward with the legislation but remained conflicted about sidewalk parking.
When cars park partly on the sidewalk, it helps with tight parking but leaves less room to walk. On your street, which is the bigger problem?
| Not enough room to park |
| Sidewalks that are hard to get past on foot |
| Both are problems where I live |
| Neither is a problem where I live |
| Other |
Beltzhoover rec center next in line for Stop the Violence funds 🔗
McKinley Recreation Center in Beltzhoover could soon run out-of-schooltime programming with $200,000 from the city's Stop the Violence (STV) fund.
Council agreed to move forward with a request to use the money from the fund for out-of-schooltime services and programming at McKinley Recreation Center in Beltzhoover.
This follows a similar request made by Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield earlier this month. She asked council to authorize $200,000 for programming at Glen Hazel’s Burgwin Recreation Center, which received final approval during council’s July 28 general meeting.
“If that’s the vehicle that we’ll be using to fund these programs, I want to make sure that my district, folks at Upper McKinley that do summer and afterschool and senior programming and don’t receive any funding from the city, that they have the opportunity as well,” said Council Member Bob Charland of the South Side.
Council Member Kim Salinetro of Banksville said she is studying using the same funding source for Ream Recreation Center in Mount Washington.
Council President R. Daniel Lavelle of the Upper Hill District reminded council members, “These funds were specifically set aside for violence prevention efforts, specifically to reduce homicides, 80% of which are, unfortunately, due to gun violence,” he said.
He added that, while he has voted in favor of these short-term funding solutions for rec centers, the centers do not attract the youth population most at risk for gun violence. “They’re not going there no matter how much they’ve tried to program,” he said.
Thinking about the young people in your neighborhood, what would most help keep them safe and supported?
Ballfield lights could go remote with a $73,050 software upgrade 🔗
The superintendents of the city parks will soon be able to control ballfield lights with a tap on their phone.
During its July 29 committee meeting, council voted to move forward with a payment of $73,050 to Musco Sports Lighting for software that remotely controls lighting in the city’s ballfields and parks.
Don Mudrick, finance manager for the Department of Public Works, said the system enables the city to pre-program lights to run for the duration of a sports field permit.
Residents can still manually turn on lights in spaces like basketball courts when they are not being used under a permit.
Mudrick said the software also allows for adjusting the lights’ brightness and takes into consideration the city’s dark skies ordinance. He added that the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure has similar technology for streetlights.
Council Member Erika Strassburger of Squirrel Hill North said, “The technology that allows us to do that is a difference maker in people’s quality of life.”
When it comes to the city's parks and ballfields near you, what would make you use them more?