Can dynamic pricing help ease Pittsburghers’ parking headaches?
Courier Newsroom
Owner Martin Guajan sweeps the sidewalk in front of Lucy’s Handmade Clothing Shop on 2023 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill as a motorist pays for parking at Pittsburgh Parking Authority kiosk. (Photo by John Altdorfer/PublicSource)
Owner Martin Guajan sweeps the sidewalk in front of Lucy’s Handmade Clothing Shop on 2023 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill as a motorist pays for parking at Pittsburgh Parking Authority kiosk. (Photo by John Altdorfer/PublicSource)
In the seven months he has co-owned Lucy’s Handmade Clothing Shop in Squirrel Hill, Martin Villalba has already heard many complaints from customers about the lack of parking on the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, Murray Avenue.
“They say they cannot park because there [are] so many cars. They say, ‘Oh, we tried to buy something from you, but [there] is no parking around here,’” Villalba said.One block down from Lucy’s on Murray Avenue is Safi’s Hair Salon. Owner Safa Safi said his customers are sometimes late for their appointments because it takes so long to find a spot.“Here, you have sometimes to go around the block two or three times to find a place to park,” Safi said. The difficulty of finding parking can make customers more reluctant to visit small businesses in Squirrel Hill. “It’s not good for the business, you know,” Villalba said. “Sometimes it’s empty—no customers at all. I don’t know if that’s [because of] the parking, or what.” READ MORE AT:
