Park-and-ride expansion gets commission’s help

Port Authority of Allegheny County is getting closer to beginning the expansion of a heavily used park-and-ride lot in Monroeville.

The Monroeville Planning Commission has recommended approval of the Port Authority's application to excavate two tracts of land to prepare for the construction of 240 additional parking spaces in the lot located in Alpine Village near Routes 286 and 22. The lot currently contains about 90 spaces, officials said.

The Port Authority plans to excavate and remove 17,000 cubic yards of material on 16.86 acres owned by Babcock Enterprises Inc. and take it across the highway to use as fill between a cliff and a stream to create the larger lot.

The Port Authority also wants to excavate 24,500 cubic yards on the north side for site preparation.

The property at both sites is zoned business commercial.

'In the back of the property by the creek, we want to build a large retaining wall and backfill it to get the maximum spaces we want,' Port Authority spokesman Bob Grove said.

The recommendation by the planning commission now goes to Monroeville Council for consideration at its 7:30 p.m. meeting April 10.

Grove said if council approves the excavation request, the Port Authority will apply to the PennDOT for two permits - one to construct a driveway into the park-and-ride and one to place a traffic signal at the entrance to the lot.

'We anticipate getting PennDOT approval by the end of April,' Grove said.

Construction is tentatively expected to begin in mid-June and be completed by the end of the year, Grove said.

The $1.7 million contract, which was awarded last year to Frank J. Zottola Construction, includes the design, construction of the retaining wall, and paving and striping of the lot.

Beginning June 18, Port Authority customers who park in the Alpine Village lot will be directed to move to the 200-space park-and-ride lot at the Monroeville No. 4 Volunteer Fire Co. on Northern Pike.

'The lot can accommodate all the cars using the Alpine Village lot and some others,' Grove said. 'We will reroute service.'

The service change will continue throughout the construction period.

Grove said though the Alpine Village lot has 90 spaces, about 150 cars daily 'kind of park all over everywhere.'

The overflow situation is common at the lots.

'A number of our park-and-ride lots throughout the system are overflowing,' Grove said. 'We are always looking for more locations and (the opportunity) to expand current systems.'

In the original design, the Port Authority had planned to construct a three-level garage with 320 spaces at the site but abandoned the concept because of concerns about the cost and other factors, Grove said.

The Port Authority has not abandoned the idea for a garage.

The park-and-ride expansion 'will be constructed in a way that it could accommodate a garage,' Grove said.

Karen Zapf can be reached at kzapf@tribweb.com or (412) 380-8522.