Parking near Potomac/Dormont for Light rail (Pittsburgh, Green Tree: buy, live)

[jenid]

Hello,
I am new to Pittsburgh area and live near Banksville road (Green tree).

I need to commute daily to downtown and found that Light rail is the best commute to downtown.

I did get parking once in Dormont T station parking lot and at nearby street, but after that I was unable to find parking spots anywhere.

On other roads I saw either they needed residential parking permit or it was a 2 hr parking.

Can you please help me with the parking options for Light rail.

1. Is there any free / metered street parking nearby Potomac/Dormont?

2. Can I buy a residential permit for that area, even though being a non-resident?

3. Can I buy visitor's parking permit or something of that sort.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeni

[greg42]

There's a bus that goes right up Banksville Rd to downtown. More direct, maybe wouldn't have to drive? Depends upon how far you are from Banksville Rd.

The T wouldn't have to deal with the tunnel merge traffic but I think you're probably killing the time savings by driving over there and parking. Maybe not, but I have to wonder.

If you can't walk to Banksville Rd then there is a park and ride for the 38 Green Tree bus at a church on Greentree Rd. That lot shows spaces available all day. All the park and ride lots for the T fill early. You can check that info about park and ride lots here: Port Authority of Allegheny County > Rider Services > Park and Ride Lots

I don't know about your question #1 for parking in Dormont but 2 and 3 will be no for sure. That's the whole point of permit parking, to restrict it to residents and guests of residents because otherwise it would get filled with the likes of you.

This link goes directly to the PDF on the Port Authority site with the schedule and route map for the 36 Banksville and 38 Green Tree buses. http://www.portauthority.org/rt/36.pdf

Hope that is of some assistance. I can understand wanting to find the shortest total travel time. If you still think it will be parking in Dormont then we'll have to hope someone else knows about parking you could pay for there.

[Buckeye Burgher]

There is a Park and Ride lot in Dormont behind the Cochran Nissan dealership on West Liberty Ave.
But it fills up very fast. Aside from that most of Dormont is metered or resident parking only.

The T would be a much better utilized asset if the Port Authority could come up with more Park and Ride lots along its route.

[Copanut]

Try the Mt. Lebo stop, I believe there is a garage there.

[fleetiebelle]

Or you could scope out some of the side streets in Beechview. There's some streets that are permit parking, but some streets a block off of Broadway are good to go.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Try the Mt. Lebo stop, I believe there is a garage there.

There is. I was figuring that's going to waste too much time getting down to it, but maybe not. There also are a few designated (free? I think) spots to park for the T as well I believe but not very many so would fill up early as well.

I have to think by the time you drive down there to park and then get on the T down there it would be better to do the bus. The actual total time, with walking on one or both ends, might depend upon the precise downtown location. Could be close.

Cost would be $8-10, or you can get a monthly permit at $93. It doesn't say anything about the garage permits being restricted. $93 is a lot less than parking downtown would be for a month but I'd still try out other options for timing before committing to spending that. If you could get the Banksville bus without driving at all or the Green Tree one while parking at a free lot, that might be better, assuming the overall travel times are similar. I think you'd have to test it a few times to know.

[jenid]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I really appreciate your help.

what you all said does make sense.

The main reason I was looking to go by T is -- its cheaper. Time is almost same by car or T, but T save money.
Per day it would cause only 5$ if I travel by T. Whereas if I drive and park in downtown, it will cost $8 + gas (mainly coz of traffic).

Greentree is a good option, but fall kind of in opposite direction.

Today I parked near Beechview (a block down), it didn't need any parking permit. I think I will follow this route, unless I find something better.

Again, thank you all for helping me out. I have rated everyone's post as positive :-)

Have a Happy Valentines and a good weekend. :-)

[greg42]

Originally Posted by jenid

The main reason I was looking to go by T is -- its cheaper. Time is almost same by car or T, but T save money.
Per day it would cause only 5$ if I travel by T. Whereas if I drive and park in downtown, it will cost $8 + gas (mainly coz of traffic).

Well, you'd be really lucky to only pay $8 parking downtown. It's usually more like $12. The bus and T are the same price, $2.50 each way. I thought maybe you were looking at the T to save time because the bus still has to deal with some traffic, because there is the bus right on Banksville. But not everywhere around there would make it easy to walk down to Banksville. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of those options in addition to the T.

Good luck. It can take a lot of trial and error finding the best option for your commute.

[okaydorothy]

I have started taking the T from Dormont and if I get there before 7, there are plenty of spots.

Somedays I drive in and park at consol which ranges from 6-8 a day for parking.

Lots near my building are 16 a day.