Crumbling Parking Garages Create Problems For Westmoreland County Cities
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) - In the wake of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, there's been a lot of focus on failing infrastructure in the region.
Public roads, bridges and the like are in bad shape in many places but so are parking garages. Three Westmoreland County cities are dealing with troubled structures so dangerous they were closed.
New Kensington is a community trying to get back on its feet. Something that's established is the condition of the city's parking garage. It's decrepit, deteriorating and dangerous to use.
The holes in the deck are joined by chunks of concrete that have fallen as well as exposed steel supports. The floor of a stairwell deteriorated to the point you can see the floor below. This eyesore isn't exactly something that draws potential investors.
"I've seen other municipalities having the same problems and it's quite costly to get two or three more years out of their parking garage," said New Kensington City Administrator Dennis Scarpiniti.
In 2019, Latrobe plunged $68,692 into renovations to keep their still heavily-used parking facility up and running for now, unlike Monessen's cement and rusting white elephant of a parking garage.
"The options are to fix it, take it down to a level parking lot or let it go," said Monessen Mayor Ron Mozer.
Mozer said if he had his way, it would be leveled to make way for more development. For local officials, getting rid of these structures will cost a lot but in the end, they believe you have to spend taxpayer money to create opportunities for taxpayers to make money.