Residents raise concerns about additional parking lot near Wiltshire Park in USC
With recent renovations to Wiltshire Park in Upper St. Clair, the neighborhood park has become quite the popular place to play. Maybe a little too popular.
In addition to residents, visitors from nearby communities are enjoying the amenities the park offers, creating traffic problems. The parking lot near the park is too small to handle the increased number of vehicles, resulting in visitors parking on both sides of the streets near the park.
To try to alleviate safety issues due to on-street parking, Upper St. Clair officials decided to construct additional parking on township property. In late July, homeowners near the park received a letter explaining that plans for expansion of the existing parking lot for approximately 30 parking spaces would begin in August. The letter stated that the parking area will include a bioswale drainage trough adjacent to the park, and would include landscape and vegetation and timed parking lot lighting.
During the USC commissioners Aug. 28 agenda meeting, several residents spoke out about the planned parking lot, voicing a range of complaints about the parking lot and the increase in visitors to Wiltshire Park.
Anne Deiuliis of Cramden Road presented the board with a packet of information detailing residents’ concerns, an alternative parking lot plan, and signatures of 111 residents calling for the township to change the location of the planned parking lot.
The township’s plan is to build a small access road leading from the current lot to a second 30-space parking lot and cul-de-sac behind three homes on Cramden Road. Residents have proposed that a second parking lot could be located adjacent to the left of the current lot.
Anne Deiuliis said residents received the letter from the township a week before trees were cleared. She said that based on the letter, which did not include a detailed description of the plans, she thought the current 18-space lot was being expanded to 30 spaces. Deiuliis said the proposed parking lot was never presented to the township’s planning committee or parks and recreation committee. She added that if the township followed its own zoning laws, the project would have come before the planning committee and there would have been a public hearing for input from residents.
“I think zoning laws are there for a reason,” Deiuliis said. “Our due process was ignored.”
Charlene Machi of Cramden Road thinks the additional parking may not solve the problem, and could make things worse. She said the extra parking could draw additional people to park, so cars will still have to park on the street. Machi wants to see police ticket more people parked illegally. She said it’s “frustrating” that she and her neighbors can’t safely walk to the park because of people parked on both sides of the road.
Other concerns were about people from neighboring municipalities using the facilities like the hockey rink and basketball courts for regular practices, so that neighborhood children can’t use them.
After listening to residents’ comments for more than an hour, board President Mark Christie thanked them for bringing their concerns to the board. He said the number of people parking on the streets near Wiltshire Park and the difficulty getting through the area has created a safety problem, and that was the reasoning behind the plans for additional parking. Christie said that for the safety of the neighborhood and for those who use the park, the board was going to move forward with additional parking. He added that the board would review the proposed alternative parking solution.
Christie said the board would work on improving communication to residents, including expanding and increasing notifications about activities planned in their neighborhood.
In other business, the board is expected to vote at the Sept. 5 regular meeting on an amendment to the township code regarding sewers and drains sanitary sewer lateral inspections.
The proposed change would require sewer lateral inspections at the time of sale or conveyance of a property, or for improvements to an existing home that require a building permit and a plumbing permit. Video results from the televised inspection would be reviewed by the township.
The purpose for the new amendment is to help reduce or eliminate stormwater and groundwater infiltration and inflow into the sanitary sewer collection system.
The township currently requires dye testing at the time of sale or conveyance of a property.
Township Manager Matthew Serakowski said several other communities already require sewer lateral inspection prior to home sale, and he expects that the other 83 communities that are under a similar consent order will also adopt similar requirements.
A copy of the proposed amendment will be available on the Upper St. Clair Township website.