Allegheny Valley Hospital to offer valet service during work on garage

Usually the people going from car to curb at Allegheny Valley Hospital are patients being dropped off.

But for three weeks, starting Monday, Nov. 18, outpatients and visitors who pull up to the hospital entrance will get free valet parking because the parking garage will be closed for maintenance.

Linda Dalak, AVH spokeswoman, said work will include repaving the two top garage levels. “We are adding new lighting, cleaning, line painting, sealing, modernization of the elevators and work on the stairwells.”

But in order to do all that, she said the garage, which has five levels and 450 spaces, has to be shut down.

“If you are having paving on the top two levels, you can't have people parking below that because then they can't get out,” Dalak said.

The valet service will be available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, she said.

“Prior to 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m., our security department will assist patients and visitors with parking,” she said.

She said the valets will park the cars at the open lot behind the garage along Pleasantville Road.

Patients and visitors also will have the option of parking their cars in the lot on their own and catching a free shuttle bus up to the hospital.

“I think it will be nice for patients to take advantage of the free valet, to be honest with you,” Dalak said. “I don't want people to think they can't come here because the work is being done and parking is going to be an issue. We have that whole thing taken care of.”

Workers to park at Mills

Patients and visitors are not the only people affected.

Employees who normally park in the garage will, for those three weeks, be parking at the Pittsburgh Mills mall off Route 28, which is about 6 miles from the hospital, and be taken to work by shuttles. The same goes for employees who normally park in the open lot behind the garage.

Dalak said the parking area at the Mills will be near the former Dingbats restaurant by Entry 3 North.

A canopy will be erected in that area to provide shelter from the weather for employees waiting for a shuttle and a security officer will be on duty in the parking lot to keep an eye on the employees' vehicles.

According to Dalak, hospital officials tried but were unable to lease parking closer to the hospital for the employees.

“We need about 175 parking spots,” Dalak said. “We tried the Walmart lot and they said no; none of the churches have enough spaces. We searched everywhere before we went to the mall.”

Tom Yerace is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4675 or tyerace@tribweb.com.