The Oakmont Community Foundation parking lot on Allegheny Avenue, years in the making, is still closed to the public.
As for why, foundation leaders have remained mum.
Businesses in the area are hopeful the public lot will open soon, as it will help to alleviate a longtime parking issue in the borough’s main business corridor.
Ray Rogers, president of the foundation, did not respond to multiple TribLive requests for comment.
Lauren Marzullo, owner of Roots to Petal, a flower shop that neighbors the lot, said she hasn’t received any notice from the foundation regarding the lot’s opening.
According to PennDOT spokesperson Steve Cowan, the foundation applied for a permit for the curb and sidewalk around the lot late last year. It was approved in December.
All of the work completed thus far for the parking lot was completed based on that 2025 permit, PennDOT officials said.
“There is a supplement to the existing permit that should be submitted, either this week or next, for additional sidewalk north of the parking lot, toward Adeline Brown Avenue,” Cowan relayed from the department’s Highway Occupancy manager. “The parking lot remains unopen until this additional sidewalk can be installed, since there is a concern about ADA connections.”
The parking lot will not be open until there is a safe path for pedestrians between Adeline Brown Avenue and Allegheny Avenue, which will be addressed via the permit supplement, PennDOT officials said.
Marzullo said the work seemed to be completed at one point, then more construction began. The lot has a brick walkway where there was previously mulch.
Hannah Yeager, horticulturist at Roots to Petal, and Marzullo said they have regularly seen construction work at the site, but the brick work appears to be done.
Dylan Essig, co-owner of nearby Taco Boys, knew the lot was supposed to open years ago, but he also knows sometimes plans can take longer than expected.
He said, last year, around the time of the U.S. Open, there was a big push, but then nothing came of it.
“It does seem like it’s been a crazy production for a parking lot,” he said.
Marzullo’s store shares a 10-car lot with four other businesses, and there is street parking on the roads surrounding her business.
The lot, when opened, will add roughly 40 spots to the area.
“I think it’s good for all the businesses, so I am grateful for whoever took it from an abandoned gas station that was completely unused to something much more productive,” she said.
Staff writer Haley Daugherty contributed to this report.