The Steelers will play their first home game of the new football season Sunday, a time of excitement for their fans. But for some residents of the North Side, it comes with a sense of dread as well.
With the season comes an invasion of black and gold into their neighborhoods, with many fans looking to snag free spaces to avoid paying $40 to park near Heinz Field. Some begin arriving hours before the game.
North Side residents and organizations are looking for help, some even suggesting they be compensated for living with the headaches — but so far answers seem as scarce as parking spots on game days.
Even a tried-and-true Pittsburgh method of reserving a spot for actual residents of the North Side neighborhoods doesn’t seem to help. “Even if you put a chair out, when you come back, it’s on the sidewalk or gone,” said Bob Edmunds, who lives on Sheffield Street in Manchester.
As a result, many residents fear leaving home on game days or running the risk of being unable to find a place to park when they return.
“Everything we plan to do ... we have to stop and think, ‘Is this a Steeler Sunday?’” said Mary Callison, who lives on North Avenue half a mile from Heinz Field. “We know it’s going to be tough to put up with it.”
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“From here back, it’s a free for all,” added Mr. Edmunds. “If I go to a store or a service, when I come back, I definitely don’t have a spot.”
The situation has become disruptive enough that the Manchester Citizens Corporation appealed to the Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority earlier this year for help in dealing with it.
In a letter to the SEA board, the organization stated the influx of thousands of people into the neighborhood during football games and other events “results in excessive litter along our streets, issues of public urination, and disorderly conduct.”
“It also removes the ability for residents, particularly in the lower portion of the neighborhood, to have access to parking in front of their own homes,” the letter stated, according to SEA board minutes.
Lisa Freeman, a Manchester Citizens Corp. board member who has spoken before the SEA, said her neighborhood is “bearing the brunt” of the traffic from Steelers and Pitt football games, and other high-profile events at Heinz Field, and should be compensated for it in some way.
“We’re not getting any benefit from the stadium” while incurring pollution, trash, and loss of parking, she said.
Just what can be done to combat the woes is not so clear cut.
The Pittsburgh Parking Authority cannot remove cars legally parked on public streets, said David Onorato, executive director.
It can fine the owners of vehicles illegally parked in residential permit parking areas of the North Side, he said. Manchester does not have a permit parking program, although Ms. Freeman said that now is being considered.
But even permit parking sometimes doesn’t serve as a deterrent. Ms. Callison, who lives in Allegheny West, said fans have ignored permit parking warnings — and fines totaling $120 — to park on her street and have gotten away with it in the past.
Enforcement, she said, has been sporadic. She said there was none during the first two Pitt football games this year or during recent concerts at Heinz Field.
Mr. Onorato said he would check into that.
For those interested in trying their luck with the Pittsburgh parking chair system, some said they have heard that putting out a chair or a cone to prevent others from parking in a spot is illegal and could result in fines. Mr. Onorato said he does not believe the authority has ever removed a chair and said there is no fine.
“We associate our tickets with a license plate,” he said.
Mary Conturo, SEA executive director, said her agency has been talking to the Manchester Citizens Corp. regularly about the issues. She said the city has been involved in the conversations as well.
“We have been reviewing things like garbage pick-up, illegal parking, and illegal parking lots,” she said. “It’s a continuing conversation.”
There also have been discussions about increasing the police presence. Like Mr. Onorato, Ms. Conturo noted there is little that can be done if someone is parked in a legal space.
As for some type of compensation for Manchester, “That’s not something that’s being discussed right now,” she said.
The Steelers have urged fans who don’t have pre-paid spots near Heinz Field to park Downtown and walk or take the T to the North Shore.
Residents aren’t the only ones who have felt the impact of fans looking for a free parking space. Some businesses in the area have taken matters into their own hands to deal with rogue parking.
The Subway restaurant at 950 Ridge Ave. near the stadium usually tows “a couple of cars” during each home game, owner Paul Singh said. A sign in the lot warns in big red letters that parking is for customers only and that others will be towed.
On Allegheny Avenue, McDonald’s offers permit parking at a cost to some fans to use its lot. If cars are found to be parked illegally without a permit, they are towed, said Stella S., a shift supervisor who declined to give her last name.
The restaurant usually tows three to five vehicles a game, she said.
“They come back all upset,” she noted of the fans who gambled and lost.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: September 17, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
