The Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s plans to renovate and expand its Park and Ride lot along Route 30 in North Huntingdon have been put on hold until February.
Domenic Sacchetti, a transit authority engineer with HDR Inc. of Pittsburgh, was granted his request to postpone his presentation to the North Huntingdon Planning Commission to allow for more time to work on the plans, the commission said.
The transit authority wants to expand the parking area from about 250 parking spaces to 329 spaces by creating parking on the footprint of the former Tomato Patch restaurant that once occupied the site adjacent to the Sheetz convenience store, said Andrew Blenko, North Huntingdon planning director. The project would involve paving a parking area, used by commuters traveling into Pittsburgh, that has weeds growing out of breaks in the pavement.
Before it can begin work on the existing parking area, Blenko said the authority needs to find a site for alternate parking and a place for buses to load and unload passengers.
Alan Blahovec, transit authority executive director, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
In November 2017, the transit authority presented the township with plans to create 300 parking spaces at the site, install lighting and add landscaping. A project of that size was estimated to cost about $2.4 million. To add more parking at the site, the authority had wanted township permission to create lined spaces about 2 feet shorter than the municipality’s requirements. The project was designed to bring the lot into compliance with North Huntingdon regulations.
The transit authority has been using the site since 2012, when it moved its lot from the Norwin Town Square shopping complex during renovations to that area.
Westmoreland Transit operates six Park and Ride lots. The others are at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, Five Star Trail in Greensburg, Trinity United Church of Christ in Delmont, Living Waters Family Worship in North Huntingdon and Westmoreland Crossroads Plaza on South Main Street in Greensburg.
