PITTSBURGH \u2014 Church members were surprised and then angry after they were ticketed in a city lot they\u2019ve used for years during Sunday services.<\/p>\n
Chief Investigator Rick Earle got a complaint from the South Side earlier this week.<\/p>\n
The priest told him that practitioners are pretty upset about this.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes indeed. They say they\u2019ve used that lot for years and never had any trouble and just about a week ago they started getting parking tickets in the mail,\u201d said Father Patrick Carpenter.<\/p>\n
They found out on Friday, following Thanksgiving, when they got Black Friday gifts from the city, and they were gifts in the form of tickets.<\/p>\n
Father Carpenter says his parishioners at St. Mary\u2019s Orthodox church on the South Side have used the parking lot near 19th and Carson for years and have never been ticketed.<\/p>\n
The tickets arrived for the first time after the Pittsburgh Parking Authority recently installed cameras and began enforcing paid parking 24\/7. <\/p>\n
Earle asked Councilman Bobby Wilson about the situation. <\/p>\n
Earle: They put those automated cameras in and now they\u2019re sending tickets by mail to these churchgoers?<\/p>\n
Wilson: Ah\u2026we\u2019ve got a lot to confess.<\/p>\n
While the authority posted signs about the new hours, councilman Wilson, who\u2019s on the parking board, suggested more public input before making changes and more publicity to alert drivers. <\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully they can rectify that because people are just trying to go about their [lives] and trying to participate at Sunday mass. I don\u2019t want to deter anyone from doing that,\u201d Wilson said. <\/p>\n
Earle took the concerns to Parking Authority Director Dave Onorato.<\/p>\n
Earle: You understand their concerns? They\u2019ve been doing this for years.<\/p>\n
Onorato: Just because you\u2019ve been doing it for years doesn\u2019t make it right.<\/p>\n
Onorato has agreed to waive the tickets and is working on a solution that will likely allow the church members to use that lot on Sunday mornings. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the plan, but we want to come up with a permanent solution that works with their input that works for everybody,\u201d Onorato said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the grace of God, the matter has been rectified. They will be able to park in the lot from nine to one and not have to worry about tickets…for free,\u201d said Father Carpenter.<\/p>\n
Several members from another nearby church also use that lot, and they, too, were ticketed. <\/p>\n
More than 30 tickets have been issued, but again, the authority says they will all be dismissed. <\/p>\n
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