garage repairs starts august 12
garage repairs starts august 12
Nathan Construction will start a $400,000 improvement project on both garages August 12 and will complete the work by November 12.
These repairs are part of a four-year rehab plan for both garages recommended as the result of a survey by Atlantic Engineering Services completed earlier this year. At the south garage, the slab coating that was installed in 2004 to protect the wiring system and needs replacing. Some areas of concrete also will be repaired.
For the duration of the south garage construction, drivers will enter via Municipal Way (off Florida Avenue) and exit onto Florida Avenue. Informational signs will be posted and staff will “direct traffic.” The 5th and 6th floors of the garage, as well as the elevator to those floors are off limits, so for the time being people will need to use the outdoor stairs to get to Washington Road. (Those with mobility issues should park on the street, in a surface lot or in the north garage.) As the project progresses, Public Works Director Tom Kelley, who is supervising the project, hopes it may be possible to provide access to the elevator and bridge to Washington Road, but nothing has been decided about that yet.
At the north garage, the work will involve replacing the caulk sealant between joints in the slab of the top level. Some areas of the topping slab will be replaced and some repairs made to the precast double tee panels from below the top level. Because the repair work is limited to the top level and the rest of the garage will remain open, there is no change in ingress or egress at the north garage and the work should cause little inconvenience to parkers.
Kelley says he does not expect the work on the garages to have a big impact on parking uptown, as there usually are empty spaces in both garages. If a garage is filled, a sign will be posted. That said, people with appointments or reservations may want to allow a few extra minutes in order to find optimal parking. The commercial districts office will supply stores and professional offices with parking brochures that identify all parking spots in and near the business district.
Mark Quealy of the parking office says provisions will be made to ensure there is adequate parking for permit holders.
Thanks in advance to residents and visitors’ for enduring ”short term pain for longterm gain.” In addition to avoiding more costly repairs that eventually would be needed if the work were put off, the finished project will significantly improve the appearance of the garages. For example, the south garage’s top level will be clean and uniform and will have a hump to shed water better.
For questions about the construction project, contact Tom Kelley, 412-412-343-3869, tkelley@mtlebanon.org. For parking questions, contact Mark Quealy, 412-343-2035, mquealy@mtlebanon.org, or visit www.mtlebanon.org.
Where did the picture come from? The logo on the sign dates it to the days of the Parking Authority.
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense. Preventive maintenance is always a good idea.
ReplyDelete7:32 PM, the photo was from Susan Morgans. I copied and pasted the whole thing from the link I provided.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Another fine example of how the schools can learn from the town.
ReplyDeleteThe PIO should know about logos !
ReplyDeleteShe should also know about the difference between singular and plural.
ReplyDeleteTo be grammatically correct, the headline should read "Garage Repairs Start Aug. 12".
Lucy G.
Oh jeeze, 8:10 PM and Lucy G., Susan is going to be really cranky with me now.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Ms. Morgans has contradicted herself.
ReplyDeleteFirst she writes, “ . . . both the north and south garages are in better shape than anyone thought-“
Then she writes, “ . . . repairs are part of a four-year rehab plan for both garages”
Four years of rehab gives me the safety shivers.
Did anyone file a RTK to identify the permit holders with special parking permits?
Perfect use of unassigned funds right here.
ReplyDeleteI think we should build a new garage and line it with carpeting. Using the sports advisory logic, there arent enough parking spots in Lebo. And i moved here for the ambiance, the schools, proximity to downtown, abundance of easily-accessible recreational amenities and the vibrant business district. But alas, there isnt enough parking available for me to enjoy the Route 19 corridor at my leisure. If i have to park on a side street, well, that's just dangerous. I dont want to have to possibly cross Washington Road in the evening, especially in front of the school. Also, I shouldnt have to make alternate plans. If i want to go to Little Tokyo every night, I should be able to park right in front. Isn't available parking closer to "infrastructure" than artificial turf (an absurd assertion by Mr. Franklin)? Maybe instead of discussing Mellon field, we should discuss a new Mellon Public Garage. Thats more than enough space to meet demand. Yeah, yeah, I know there are always empty spots during the day. I'm talking about parking during peak hours, like evenings and weekends, and during the school year.
ReplyDeleteActually Jim, Mellon teachers would love a Mellon parking garage. There isn't enough parking.
ReplyDeleteI parked my car in the North Garage this morning. Many spots were blocked with orange cones. I think they might be painting lines. If the garage was paved with artificial turf, the lines could have been done in contrasting turf, thus eliminating the drying time. Something the Commission majority should consider.
Elaine
How about having the teachers at Mellon and Washington quit clogging the local streets so they can enjoy free parking? Good luck avoiding a collision when traveling Cornell Place or Castle Shannon Blvd. when encountering an oncoming car during school hours.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should have all of our bumpers turfed for protection, and the sides of the teachers' cars too?
Don't other people who work in uptown pay for parking?
At first I though of turfing the cemetery, but turfing the parking garages is an even better idea.
ReplyDeleteI love to drive barefoot, and a soft surface to walk on after I get out of the car would be ideal.
If you drop your eggs while getting in the car, they might survive if fallen on turf. The boy scouts would feel like they're at the campground while backing trailers in for storage.
Even the teenagers would benefit from the soft gentle surface while launching rolls of toilet paper from the top deck of the North garage. The abandoned cars in the South garage would look much better with turf under them. It's win-win for everyone!
10:18, if we turf the golf course, we could save the money otherwise spent on a new mower.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else remember the controversy about building the new parking garage in the early 90's? It sounded just like the dialog on both sides about the building of the new high school today.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, if we didn't need to replace the older garages then the opponents to the garage on the 90's were proven correct.
The question is whether this will be the same outcome for the high school - specifically, will history show that we built unnecessary additional capacity?
10:35 AM, the Capital Improvement Program for 2012-2016, (CIP), found here http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4034
ReplyDeletelists replacing the 1999 tractor this year. It is on page 57. But the Commission majority eliminated that from the unassigned funds list.
While you are looking at the CIP, check out page 54. The cost of turfing Mellon is listed as a cost to be paid for by the SCHOOL DISTRICT. "In addition, similar improvements could be done at Mellon Field by the School District for an estimated cost of $1,120,640."
See, there is long range planning done by the municipality, but the current crop of commissioners are coming up with their own ideas.
Elaine
11:40, We won't have too much capacity in our south garage. we will rent the extra space to the teachers union at a discounted price. Then we will run for judge.
ReplyDeleteWhy dont we rent each floor in the garage to one of the 27 sports crying about the "need" for more space? Oh that's right, they dont actually want to pay for anything. Nevermind.
ReplyDeleteDo we have four more years to issue bonds for garage repairs?
ReplyDeleteFederal Reserve Bank of New York recently found that municipal bond defaults are in fact much greater than rating agencies have reported. Standard & Poor's reported 47 defaults between 1986 and 2011, but according to the New York Fed, there were in fact 2,366 defaults.
Remember, unlike the federal government, states can't typically run a deficit, so they are taking drastic steps to cut back. For instance...
** Philadelphia announced it is closing 37 schools, because the district is "out of time and out of options," according to Superintendent William Hite.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, confirmed that this problem is going on all over the country...
He told 60 Minutes...
"It's not like you can avoid it forever, 'cause it's here now. And we all know it's here. And the federal government doesn't have the money to paper over it anymore, either, for the states. The day of reckoning has arrived. That's it. And it's gonna arrive everywhere. Timing will vary a little bit, depending upon which state you're in, but it's comin'.
"We spent too much on everything. We spent too much. We spent money we didn't have. We borrowed money just crazily. The credit cards maxed out, and it's over. It's over."