By Elizabeth Perry
Public consternation over the parking meter situation in Coraopolis bubbled over in a recent council meeting, with residents wondering when the gutted meters will be removed.
Residents, including business owner Brian Diggins, and political candidates Mike Harris and Trevor Reed, expressed displeasure at the look of the parking meters.
“That feedback does not go unnoticed,” Chad Kraynik said.
Alison Marine has spearheaded the parking study project, which has resulted in 330 disused meters.
“I would say that this is a topic I’ve done exhaustive research on and in municipal government with these types of projects, the challenge is always how to communicate with the public,” Marine said.
The borough paid Trans Associates Engineering $15,300 to conduct a 14-week study to determine what type of solutions would be best for the area.
“We really wanted to do this the right way, and not have a short-term or short-sighted solution,” Marine said.
Kraynik said at the meeting that the borough didn’t want to jump the gun and remove meters before they got the recommendations from the parking study.
“If we’re going to ask the public works department to do something, we want to be sure what it is,” Marine said.
A survey to collect public opinion solicited opinions for about a month and is now closed. The collected data is in the process of being compiled. More than 100 residents responded to the survey.
Marine said residents will still have the ability to give their opinions on parking.
“I don’t want anybody to feel like they missed their chance to give feedback, there are going to be several milestone meetings where the public can give your feedback,” Marine said.
Marine also said within the next few weeks the borough would schedule a milestone public check-in meeting.
The borough also reached out to local business owners and attended a local business owners mixer to present information and gather feedback, Marine said.
“Any option is on the table, we want to be inclusive,” Marine said.