Organization looking into ways to provide free parking in Downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A local organization is working on a plan that would provide free parking in garages in Downtown Pittsburgh in hopes of drawing more people to the city.

If you want to grab a bite to eat or shop Downtown, you have to pay to park, but the Downtown Neighbors Alliance is hoping to change that.

The Downtown Neighbors Alliance is a nonprofit organization that promotes Downtown's development on behalf of residents and businesses. The executive director of the alliance, John Valentine, said they did a survey to find out what prevents people from coming to Downtown Pittsburgh and the top two answers were crime and cost of parking.

"When they compared the parking convenience-wise and cost-wise, they would prefer to go to a mall," Valentine said. "So, we have to do something that not only competes with the mall but we have to create something that is different from the mall so they can get a unique experience out of it."

Valentine said that's why they're working on creating a proposal to provide free parking in garages for people visiting Downtown to eat or shop.  

"Oh my God, that's great, that would help out so many businesses and so many people," said Roman Ramsey, who works Downtown.

Valentine said visitors would have to spend a certain amount at a restaurant or store. So, if visitors aren't paying for parking, who would foot the bill for parking?

"A third of it would come from us and maybe a partner organization, a third would come from the parking garage, and then the other third would come from the business themselves because the goal is for them to attract more business," Valentine said.

This plan is in the very early stages, as they still have a lot of work and research to do. 

Valentine's next step is to talk with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority and Alco Parking to gauge their interest. 

"We do have some private parking garages that like the idea. A lot of the businesses -- that was the first step, the businesses -- they all love it," Valentine said.

The free parking is just one component of a plan the Downtown Neighbors Alliance is working on with Mayor Ed Gainey's office and other organizations to create a Downtown that people want to keep coming back to.

"Definitely taking off financial burden would help. The faster the better, please," Ramsey said.

Again, this plan is in the early stages. Valentine said if everyone is on board with it, it could take at least six months to get it started.