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Mt. Lebanon revises block party criteria

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 2 min read
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New rules are on the way regarding where block parties will be permitted in Mt. Lebanon.

During their Jan. 22 discussion session, Mt. Lebanon commissioners agreed to support a proposal to post maps on the municipal website to assist residents in determining how their streets, or parts of them, are affected.

“An entire street is not necessarily vetoed, just a segment of that street,” Steve Silverman, commission president, explained. “The rest may be perfectly OK to have a block party.”

Traditionally, the municipality has prohibited block parties on streets classified as arterials, high-capacity thoroughfares such as Washington and Bower Hill roads, and connectors, which move traffic from local residential streets to main roads.

“But that gave us some issues because of certain conflicts in terms of how we determined what was arterial or collector,” municipal manager Keith McGill said.

To help clarify the matter, public works director Rudy Sukal, whose department reviews party requests, met with traffic engineer Mike Haberman of Gateway engineers, along with police Chief Aaron Lauth and Lt. Mark Rayburg, who heads the traffic services unit. They developed a set of criteria for determining which streets, or portions thereof, would be suitable for hosting large outdoor gatherings.

Considerations include relative traffic volume, access for emergency and safety vehicles, and whether alternative routes are readily available to certain neighborhoods.

The new system is intended to streamline the application process by providing a consistent, clearly understood means of determination, rather than have the public works department review every request. Some, though, still may require scrutiny.

“There are times I may deny a block party because there’s a parallel street that already has a block party,” Sukal explained. “That has to be taken into consideration, too.”

For residents who look to host parties where they are not permitted, Haberman suggested having information available for potential alternative sites, such as public parks and recreational facilities.

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