Oakland Permit Parking??

[ctoocheck]

Parts of the Southside are permit parking (I think mostly south of Carson towards the slopes).

Getting a permit shouldn't be that hard, you just need proof of residency, proof of car ownership, and a driver's license.

From their website:

The program began in 1981 after many residents complained they were forced to park in distant or unsafe areas due to parking congestion in business districts. Parking surveys suggested that the parking congestion could be directly attributed to commuters and other non- residents who saturated residential neighborhoods with their parked vehicles while they worked at nearby hospitals, commercial districts, and universities.

Therefore, the Residential Permit Parking program was designed to free up on-street parking for neighborhood residents by preventing all day commuters parking on residential streets. As was the case then, as well as now, the program was designed to force those folks to take public transportation or park in the nearby parking facilities.

Thus, with the implementation of the Residential Permit Parking program, and a vigorous enforcement program, the problem of commuter and nonresident parking in all the existing program areas have been considerably ameliorated.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I think more of the problem was when Pitt turned the biggest parking lot in town across the street from the library into a park. Now dont get me wrong i'm neither endorsing (it does make the area 500% nicer looking), or criticizing the move (was it smart to get rid of a parking lot in an area that already severly lacked parking?), just that I think its less the fact that kids have more cars now then they did 10yrs ago and more that there is substantially less parking options available.

An inside source (old librarian) told me that many years ago when they were redeveloping Schenley Plaza following the demolition of Forbes Field they seriously were considering making an underground parking structure at the site a la Mellon Square and Soldiers and Sailors. The ultimate reason that plan was scrapped? Hydrology issues: Schenley Plaza is actually built on an infilled ravine and as such still has heavy underground water flow.

If parking is such a premium in areas such as Oakland, I don't understand how surface parking lots aren't just developed into parking garages. Same footprint, many more spaces.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Impala26

An inside source (old librarian) told me that many years ago when they were redeveloping Schenley Plaza following the demolition of Forbes Field they seriously were considering making an underground parking structure at the site a la Mellon Square and Soldiers and Sailors. The ultimate reason that plan was scrapped? Hydrology issues: Schenley Plaza is actually built on an infilled ravine and as such still has heavy underground water flow.

If parking is such a premium in areas such as Oakland, I don't understand how surface parking lots aren't just developed into parking garages. Same footprint, many more spaces.

Very cool to know about the underground ravine at Schenley Plaza!

As for turning surface lots into parking garages, there really aren't any giant surface parking lots in Oakland anymore are there? There might be a few here or there that you could put a small garage on, but I don't know of any large surface lots the size of Schenley Plaza that are still around.

[catchtwenty2]

Finding street parking during summertime in Oakland really never is that terrible since so many go home for the summer. In fact... Oakland as a whole is pretty pleasant during the summer. However, the PPA continue to be pretty strict about enforcement in the summer.

I'd try to figure out a way to get your name on a bill, as I recall visitor passes are/were time limited (could only park there a week or something), however I'm not sure about that. As far as "free" non permitted parking goes, look to the other posters. Any of that WILL be inconvenient.

Side note regarding the South Side; I don't think it is permitted due to the fact that most of the parking needs happen at night with bar goers, and not during the day. Its relatively easy to find parking during daylight hours on the residential streets, especially since UPMC South Side downsized. And if you'll look at any parking decal area in the city, you're totally allowed to park there at night.

Street Sweeping will get ya though, any part of town!

[WestLibertyAve]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

Very cool to know about the underground ravine at Schenley Plaza!

There's actually a buried bridge there too.

Bellefield Bridge 1898 - Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA