BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Several people are calling for the City of Buffalo to fix the issues with elevated street parking in Allentown.
A server at Don Tequila, Madison Ortiz, says she's fed up with the elevated street parking between Allen and Franklin Streets.
“The elevation and the placement of the poles is what makes it so bad and nearly impossible for others to come,” she says. “And we do feel sometime maybe it’ll hurt our business because people don’t want to deal with it.”
Ortiz says traffic is terrible in the area, especially with celebrations like Pride over the weekend.
“I’ve really watched people hit their car and I’ll say that’s really the biggest problem,” she says.
A block down the road, construction continues between Delaware and Elmwood, which leads to more concerns.
“I was hoping they wouldn’t do the same design on that end because there are more bars down there,” says Giovanni Centurione, owner of Trend Up. “I can imagine how it’s going to be at night time with cars crashing into more stuff.”
Commissioner of Public Works, Michael Finn, responded to people’s concerns in a statement saying:
“The Allen Street project went through an extensive public outreach process during the design phase. That outreach process worked through various alternatives to balance the needs and desires of the community and project stakeholders. The Department of Public Works has continued that outreach during the construction phase to coordinate with business owners and to make tweaks to the design where feasible. DPW is committed to completing the Allen Street Streetscape rehabilitation project to benefit all those who live, work and visit the Allentown area.”
But several people in the area are hoping the city will see their frustration.
“To the city just come down here every single pole has repeated marks from cars and I’m sure the amount of complaints from businesses that you lose business,” says Ortiz.
