The Oakmont Bakery’s proposed parking lot is steadily making its way to reality.
Oakmont’s planning commission recommended to council that it approve a conditional use of the property at 815 Allegheny Ave.
The parking lot plans have been a popular discussion among community members. Borough Manager Scot Fodi said the borough office had received about 40 correspondence through the borough’s online communications form.
“I won’t use the words ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ (parking lot), but it was more about the consideration of access and egress,” Fodi said.
A few residents spoke at the meeting about how the lot will affect traffic.
The plans call for the borough to vacate a 99-foot-long and 24-foot-wide section of land along Cedar Way. The lot takes up about 105 feet of land along Allegheny Avenue and stretches about 150 feet to Cedar Way.
The alley between the bakery’s current parking lot and the proposed parking lot would be integrated into the properties. The plan would enable drivers to access the lot from Archie Street.
Katherine Doas, an Archie Street resident, said while she’s not opposed to the parking lot, she is concerned about the lot’s access from Archie Street.
“As you all already know, Archie Street is a narrow, short street that is no stranger to congestion,” she said. “Archie is of high volume in both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The street has regular, school, public and park traffic.”
She said there are three nearby businesses that use the road and school buses drive the street every day, and there’s more traffic on nearby Riverview High School’s game days. Vehicles are able to park on both sides of the street.
“Everything you said is true,” said James Joyce, chair of the planning commission.
Melinda Turner suggested the lot be used by employees only so traffic won’t be so congested. That’s because employees will be in the bakery for hours at a time rather than in-and-out trips customers make throughout the day.
“It’s going to give more traffic flow,” said local business owner Meg Burkardt. “By flowing the two lots, it’s going to let things spread out a little. There’s going to be a lot of traffic there. We all know that. There’s no way to make it go away, but there is a way to make it better. … I think this is going to help.”
Christopher Doas, another Archie Street resident, said the street is congested every day. He said while he supports the parking lot, he believes it doesn’t need to include an access point to Archie Street.
Oakmont Bakery owner Marc Serrao said he thought the proposed parking lot would be a “win, win.”
“I don’t don’t believe all of the traffic will be exiting out on Cedar Way, but I do understand the concerns of the residents and the people who have children,” Serrao said. “Right now, most of our traffic is directed onto Third Street, which is directly across the school and the (Riverside) park.”
He said the parking lot is meant to take pressure off of Third Street and presents a safe place for customers and employees who work early or late to park their cars when it’s dark.
“I really thought that because we’re pulling some of our traffic up to the top rather than down where the residents and the school and the church are, it would be a win, win for everyone,” Serrao said.
Joyce said his first impression of the lot was similar to Serrao’s. He thought it would relieve some of the traffic on Third Street. Joyce said he and other members will continue speaking with council members and residents to see if there’s a way to avoid traffic congestion on Archie Street.
According to Ken Howard, director of field services and municipal representative of Bankson Engineering, the lot will have 49 spots and five access points. It was proposed to borough council in June.
Howard had hoped to get planning commission approval as well as the property’s land development plan at the same time.
But borough Solicitor Jacob Leyland said the borough needs a letter from the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development regarding the land development before it could act it. And it also will require separate public hearings before council regarding conditional use approval and on the land development plan.
Leyland said those will be set for some time in November.
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.
