Mt. Lebanon began easing back into its paid parking operations last week. The municipality had relaxed enforcement of parking since the beginning of the governor’s stay-at-home order in March.
Commissioners discussed returning to normal parking operations at a May 12 virtual meeting.
During the meeting, Mt. Lebanon’s finance director, Andrew McCreery, said beginning May 15, Mt. Lebanon’s no overnight parking policy would be enforced between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. each night.
That means if residents or visitors want to park on a Mt. Lebanon street overnight, they will have to submit a request online at www.mtlebanon.org/2109/Overnight-Parking.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Mt. Lebanon Police Chief Aaron Lauth said typically about 250 to 300 requests came in per night for overnight parking either over the phone or online.
Requests for overnight parking will be taken only via an online form until at least July 1 because the clerks who normally take phone requests will not be in the office until then.
Commission President Craig Grella said the majority of the overnight requests come from the same 10 to 15 streets where parking is at a premium.
“The majority are from apartment buildings where people refuse to pay for parking,” Mr. Grella said. “The clear indication is the system is being abused.”
As for municipal garages, beginning June 1, the gates to the garages will be functioning normally. The gates have been up since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.
On June 1, anyone wanting to park in a Mt. Lebanon garage will pay a reduced flat rate of $2 for up to a 24-hour period. On July 1, rates will go back to the normal price of $1.50 per hour with a maximum of $15 for 24 hours.
Paid parking lots and on-street metered parking will begin to be enforced beginning Tuesday.
For the first week, those parking longer than the maximum time allowed at metered parking lot or street spaces will receive a warning rather than a ticket.
A full list of parking rates can be found at www.mtlebanon.org/2055/Rates.
Deana Carpenter, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 21, 2020, 5:26 p.m.