EDITORIAL – Casino parking garage a monstrous problem

The Majestic Star Casino, to be built on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, will no doubt be a… The Majestic Star Casino, to be built on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, will no doubt be a popular hot spot for Pittsburghers and non-Pittsburghers alike, attracting thousands of patrons to its slot machines every day. And so, it is only reasonable that casino owner Don Barden would want to build a parking garage to go with the casino.

But Barden’s proposal to build a 10-story, 3,800-space parking garage is outrageous. The Post-Gazette referred to it as a “concrete monster” that, being almost twice the height of the casino itself, would overshadow other buildings in the area.

It is clear that a casino should provide parking, but a garage of a 10-story height with 3,800 spaces is a bit much. For one thing, except on Steelers or Pirates game days, there are plenty of parking spaces available in and around the North Shore every day. Other Pennsylvania casino parking garages have not needed to go to such great (10-story) heights. Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack and the soon-to-be-opened Hollywood Casino have parking garages with 2,600 and 2,500 spaces, respectively.

The Post-Gazette outlined another potential problem. A 3,800-space parking garage may be more than the Majestic Star Casino could handle. If all 3,800 parking spaces are filled and other people visit the slot machines by bus, shuttle and by foot, there is a great chance there may not be enough slots to go around.

We can’t understand why Barden would want to build such a large parking garage, other than wanting to take the easiest, cheapest route possible.

There are, however, other, more efficient solutions to the problem. The casino could establish shuttles to run to the Majestic Star from other North Shore hotspots. Port Authority buses would also be available for those who wish to play the slots. An obvious solution would simply be to build a smaller garage. There is no reason the casino would need 3,800 parking spaces – most of which will likely be empty.

And if the garage must be built, why not build part of it underground? It may be more expensive, but at least it would be less of an eyesore. Furthermore, the casino is sure to provide enough revenue to make up for it.

Bringing us to another point. It seems the only thing Barden and casino officials are concerned with is money. An ugly, monstrous garage detracts from the beauty of the casino and the city, in general. But Barden is obviously not concerned about the beauty of the city.

What is unfair about this garage proposal is that the government intended the casino to be a part of a larger plan for the economic development of the region. But casino owners do not care to engage themselves in the economic development of the region. They only seem to care about the economic development of the casino.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Chief Executive Dan Onorato have also objected to the garage proposal, saying, according to the Post-Gazette, that the garage would ruin the city skyline.

It is reassuring to know that Ravenstahl has raised concerns about it and more importantly, that he has some say in whether or not this garage will be built. We only hope he will firmly put his foot down against the garage.