Greensburg could get rid of off-street parking at businesses

GREENSBURG, Pa. — If you ever head to Greensburg to eat downtown or shop, you may have found it difficult to find parking. You either park on street with a meter or in a parking lot that’s not always near your destination. Now, the city is looking at potentially getting rid of the requirement for businesses to provide off-street parking.

Les Mlaker is an attorney who works nearly every day in Greensburg. He said the city has a parking problem.

“Lack of the ability to park,” Mlaker said. “Especially for elderly people because of the hills.”

He’s not alone. Several people spoke to Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek along Main Street and agreed. -- including carol whelan -- a local realtor and business owner.

“The lack of parking is definitely... it hinders the desire to come into Greensburg,” said Carol Whelan, a local realtor and business owner.

The problem is -- the city says parking also hinders businesses and developers to choose Greensburg as somewhere to open up shop.

That’s because right now, the city requires businesses to provide off-street parking.

City planning Director Jeff Raykes said they want to remove that barrier to hopefully spur development.

“We’re also trying to not allow our city to become one big giant parking lot,” Raykes said. “No one wants to spend time in a parking lot, they want to spend time in a great place.”

The city’s planning commission is working on a proposal to eliminate that off-street parking requirement.

That doesn’t mean the off-street parking lots that currently exist are going anywhere.

It just means the city wouldn’t be dictating how many spaces each business has to provide.

“They’re not going to come to build a place with no parking,” said David Kahley, Chairman of the Greensburg Planning Commission. “They won’t be able to sell it, but what they’ll do is right-size their parking to match the realities of what their land use will be instead of us telling them exactly what they need.”

Despite being often frustrated with the lack of parking, people who live and work in the city say they want to see this happen.

“I think they recognize that they have to do something,” Mlaker added. “It’s impossible. If somebody wants to come in and do a business here and meet their off-street parking requirements? It’s almost impossible.”

The planning commission may make that proposal to the city council this month. The council could approve it in October.

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