I always wondered why this large parking lot in Allentown at the corner of Arlington and Wadsworth was always empty. Especially since it’s so hard to find a parking spot in Allentown. Not that I’m a big fan of frontage parking lots to begin with, but if they exist already then they should be used. Even the mini marts in Allentown charge for parking.
Apparently Mark Goldman, owner of Allentown Hardware, had the same idea – he and three other businesses are renting the lot in order to alleviate parking in the neighborhood. “We’re going to stripe it this week… we’re going to keep it open so that we can get the cars off the street. It should hold between 50-60 cars. We’re renting it from Carl Paladino since he doesn’t have any plans for the lot at the moment – all total, four Allentown businesses are renting it. We’re not going to supervise it… but it is free for anyone who is visiting Allentown.”
If you think about it, 60 cars is a lot when you look at how little parking exists in Allentown. Seeing that it is the most walkable commercial district in Buffalo, people living in the neighborhood have it easy. It’s the visitors to the area that often times spend 15 minutes just driving up and down Allen Street looking for spaces, which creates even more congestion.