With the opening of the new Grant Street center, parking in the Strip has become a lot easier
Ten trailers are scattered like Matchbox cars beside the Parkway East near the Allegheny County Jail.
The trailers are all that's left of the temporary Greyhound bus station at Pittsburgh Parking Authority's Second Avenue Parking Plaza.
Construction crews are dismantling the three-year-old station, as crews across the city put the finishing touches on the new Grant Street Transportation Center, a $50 million building at Liberty Avenue and 11th Street boasting two six-story parking garages; a Greyhound station; and connections to Amtrak service and Port Authority's Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.
The building opened Sept. 9, but a ribbon-cutting ceremony today was to mark the official opening of the building.
"The new station is better for customers and better for us," Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said. "The response we've received from Greyhound employees and customers has been very positive."
The Pittsburgh Greyhound station has 34 daily routes and books about 180,000 passengers annually, Wambaugh said. The new facade is a welcome change to Downtown, but it's the extra parking spaces that has created the biggest buzz.
"I started parking here the day it opened, because it's so convenient," said Janet Price, 51, of Wilkinsburg. "I've worked in the Strip for the past 10 years and recently had some parking problems. I waited a year for this place to open, because by the time I get here most of the spots are taken.
"Now I don't have to fight with anyone."
The new building holds parking for about 1,000 vehicles, and when the remainder of the Second Avenue parking lot reopens in December, there will be a total of about 1,400 new or reopened parking spaces Downtown, said David Onorato, executive director of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.
"This parking is needed in Pittsburgh," Onorato said. "All our current facilities are full every day."
Bernard Burton, 42, of McCandless said the garage could not have opened soon enough.
"I used to park at Smithfield and Liberty and walk six blocks to my office. Now I can park (in the new building), and I only have to walk one (block)," Burton said. "It's been great for me, and I think it's going to be convenient for a lot of other people, too."
Additional Information:
Second Avenue Parking Plaza
Where: Second Avenue near the Allegheny County Jail, Downtown
Full scheduled reopening: December
Parking rates: $6 flat fee, $120 monthly lease rate
Grant Street Transportation Center
Where: Liberty Avenue and 11th Street, Downtown
Scheduled opening: Ribbon-cutting ceremony today
Parking rates: $4.50 for two hours or less; $6 for between two and four hours; $8 for between four and six hours; $13 for between six and 24 hours; $260 monthly lease rate
Source: Pittsburgh Parking Authority
