PITTSBURGH — Frustration is rising for some drivers in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.
Steve Russell is the owner of R Wine Cellar on Penn Avenue in the Strip District. This morning, he wasn’t surprised to see that the city mistakenly put the wrong street blocks on these signs when warning drivers that their cars could be towed.
The sign says that for the rest of the month, cars parked between 22nd and 23rd will be towed, as city crews paint the new bike lanes along Penn.
Today, cars were towed farther up the street, all the way up to 31st.
“Around 10:00, we saw some tow trucks around and police coming down the street, knocking on doors trying to notify people that they couldn’t park here," he added.
Russell then approached the police officer who was issuing citations.
“He was surprised. Then he went up and waved them off,” he said.
The lanes are being painted after a several-months long battle between small business owners and city leaders. Business owners argued that the new lanes could hurt business, and after a hearing last week, the city agreed to scale back the project.
We reached out to the city for answers, and a spokesperson told me there was an error in their permit software, and it printed the wrong blocks.
The city says that people who had their cars towed will have their vehicles returned at no charge.
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