Oakmont officials are considering vacating land along Cedar Way to make room for Oakmont Bakery to build a new parking lot.
According to bakery owner Marc Serrao, the idea for the lot came as a solution for the consistent traffic on Third Street.
“We are trying to keep people from being on Third Street,” Serrao said. “That is a really big problem with the school. The whole idea was to try to get people to leave the bakery without making that turn (onto Third Street). Right now, all traffic goes that way.”
Riverview High School is across the street from Oakmont Bakery. Serrao said he had planned for the lot to take some traffic off Third Street to make it safer for students and easier for drivers to leave the area.
“Marc is able to purchase a portion of property that fronts on Allegheny Avenue,” said Ken Howard, director of field services and municipal representative of Banskon Engineering. “The intent of this project is to create a new parking lot and a new exit and entrance off of Allegheny Avenue that would connect to the rear of the parking lot behind the current Oakmont Bakery.”
Serrao plans to purchase the property on 815 Allegheny Ave. The land takes up about 105 feet of land along the road and stretches about 150 feet to Cedar Way.
“We’d like to develop this portion of land into parking that could potentially hold up to 48 spaces and provide a connecting thruway to drive between this proposed parking lot and the rear of the existing lot,” Howard said.
Howard said for the plan to move forward, council would have to agree to vacate a 99-foot-long and 24-foot-wide section of Cedar Way. The alley between the bakery’s current parking lot and the proposed parking lot would be integrated into the properties. It also would enable drivers to access the lot from Archie Street. Council already has vacated parts of Cedar Way for other businesses.
“My only concern is exiting this parking lot onto Allegheny Avenue and trying to make a left,” said council member Amanda Pagnotta. “I almost feel like with traffic coming from Hulton, especially at rush-hour times, that line is always so backed up.”
Pagnotta said it’s common for drivers to cut through different business parking lots to avoid rush-hour traffic. She said having a third lot with an exit allowing left-turn access to the avenue, especially a business that will attract a lot of customers, may cause traffic to get worse.
Before June 2022, traffic restrictions at the Third Street and Hulton Road intersection by Oakmont Bakery and the Speedway across Hulton included right turns only from 7 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Sundays had no restrictions.
After June 8, traffic flow was restricted to right turn only onto Hulton Road from Third Street both north and south, regardless of the time of day. Oakmont police Chief Michael Ford previously told TribLive there had been numerous accidents at the intersection, with an overwhelming majority caused by people turning left or trying to go straight across the state road.
Plans for the lot are preliminary. Howard said he wanted to hear council’s thoughts about vacating the property before going to the borough’s planning commission for sketch and land development plan reviews. He said they plan to conduct a traffic study to gauge the impact on Allegheny Avenue and Third Street and will apply for a highway occupancy permit from PennDOT to gain access to Allegheny Avenue.
Borough Manager Scot Fodi said council has a few months to consider the request to vacate. Council President Nancy Ride said council likely would discuss it publicly at the next workshop meeting at 7 p.m. July 2.
