LETTER: Residents oppose Mt. Lebanon’s proposed parking ordinance

As Mt. Lebanon taxpayers with a combined total of 53 years residency, we are offended and outraged by the newly proposed parking ordinance (“Mt. Lebanon continues to pursue parking crackdown” in March 21 edition). It is clear from the updated ordinance that poorer and more congested areas in Mt. Lebanon will be disproportionately affected. The idea of allowing “three requests per license plate per year” for on-street parking is ludicrous. Those homes and dwellings in Mt. Lebanon that do not have large driveways and/or garages need on-street parking for necessary life situations: work (which sometimes necessitates overnight shifts or early morning departures), visitors (such as family visiting for holidays, or friends caring for ill loved ones), and other unforeseen circumstances which are frankly no one’s business.
On the Mt. Lebanon website, the “Overnight Parking Changes” FAQ suggests that “Residents may purchase affordable parking passes.” These parking passes to park in lots located mainly in Uptown Mt. Lebanon cost $38-40/month – or $456-480/year – are not insignificant to many struggling families. Making residents pay to park in front of their own homes is an unjust hardship and seems like a deliberate tactic to disenfranchise.
To hear our commissioners belittle our neighbors’ needs to work and fit cars into their driveways, which is a very real problem with homes built in the early 1900s, frankly lessens their stature in our eyes. While clearly there are some individual cases and systemic issues that need to be addressed, there is no need to punish the entire municipality. Mt. Lebanon is neither a gated community nor a police state.
Amelia Baisley, Mt. Lebanon Zanna Fredland, Mt. Lebanon Ryan Keeling, Mt. Lebanon