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Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 1:23 am
by smithessmokin
Asking the masses, is there a consensus best place or places to park downtown or near the stadium? Preparing for the draft trip and trying to nail down our schedule. Currently planning on driving from our hotel near the airport early on Thursday and staying downtown all day.
Thanks in advance!
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 2:32 am
by SteelerDayTrader
If it was up your ass you’d know it
Sorry smith. Long boring offseason and probably multiple decades away from relevance lol
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:47 am
by swissvale72
smithessmokin wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2026 1:23 am
Asking the masses, is there a consensus best place or places to park downtown or near the stadium? Preparing for the draft trip and trying to nail down our schedule. Currently planning on driving from our hotel near the airport early on Thursday and staying downtown all day.
Thanks in advance!
Number of garages downtown, easy walk to Clemente bridge and the north shore
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 11:41 am
by Ice
That place is going to be mobbed. I'd give serious consideration to an Uber to and from the hotel or a spot outside the epicenter. Might be a little pricey, but avoids a ton of issues.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:11 pm
by langer
Over near the North Side Elks might be good, street parking, easy access to 279. But there might be way more people than at a game. Second uber/lyft.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:43 pm
by Jobu
Ice wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2026 11:41 am
That place is going to be mobbed. I'd give serious consideration to an Uber to and from the hotel or a spot outside the epicenter. Might be a little pricey, but avoids a ton of issues.
This is the correct answer. It’s gonna be a giant clusterfuck. I’d do whatever I could to avoid driving into the downtown area. If you do, it could be a come to Jesus moment!
But that’s just my two cents…couldn’t pay me to go anywhere near there!
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 9:14 pm
by Stlcrtn1974
Jobu wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:43 pm
Ice wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2026 11:41 am
That place is going to be mobbed. I'd give serious consideration to an Uber to and from the hotel or a spot outside the epicenter. Might be a little pricey, but avoids a ton of issues.
This is the correct answer. It’s gonna be a giant clusterfuck. I’d do whatever I could to avoid driving into the downtown area. If you do, it could be a come to Jesus moment!
But that’s just my two cents…couldn’t pay me to go anywhere near there!
That's what I was thinking too. I remember I took my wife and our nephew to Carnegie Science meusam not knowing their was that country concert thing going on at Heinz field. It took 1 hour and 10 minutes to go from Settlers Ridge to the other side of the Fort Pitt Tunnel.
Never again.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2026 9:43 pm
by bradshaw2ben
smithessmokin wrote: ↑Sat Mar 07, 2026 1:23 am
Asking the masses, is there a consensus best place or places to park downtown or near the stadium? Preparing for the draft trip and trying to nail down our schedule. Currently planning on driving from our hotel near the airport early on Thursday and staying downtown all day.
Thanks in advance!
If you and your guys golf at all, one of the best par-3 courses in the world is by the airport. Really tough but fun, and you can probably walk on on Friday morning.
https://www.scallysgolfcenter.com/par-3 ... hip-course
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2026 1:44 am
by Thrillsseeker
The congestion of the masses including traffic is going to be crazy.
I’d only consider Uber from outskirts to somewhere you can bike/walk from. Wear comfy shoes!
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2026 3:35 am
by Louis Lipps Service
I'd typically recommend parking at the second avenue parking plaza and then taking the T to the stadiums. It's typically cheap, easy to get to, and not crowded.
But as others have said, I think the draft is going to have so many people there that the entire area is going to be a giant shitshow.
Someone mentioned Uber. And it's not a bad suggestion. But be warned that the surge rates are likely to be absolutely insane.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2026 2:07 pm
by Ice
Yeah, could schedule the Uber/Lyft ahead of time to maybe avoid surge rates and/or more people needing rides than rides doing it day of event. Don't know how far ahead you can schedule, though. Scheduled one for an airport drop off two weeks ahead of time last year, if memory serves. Overtip. That driver's gonna go through hell for you.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2026 11:46 pm
by langer
You could go down the day before, sleep on the street, and be good for the next day, as long as you start drinking early.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2026 2:44 am
by bradshaw2ben
Another place you could park if coming from the airport is the Bell Avenue Park & Ride, which is at the busway-- connects with express busses to downtown.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2026 8:56 am
by AirRescueFF
This is gonna be painful.....
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2026 5:17 pm
by Ice
langer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2026 11:46 pm
You could go down the day before, sleep on the street, and be good for the next day, as long as you start drinking early.
I'm assuming since it's a national event, parking chair rules aren't going to be honored.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2026 8:29 am
by langer
Ice wrote: ↑Mon Mar 09, 2026 5:17 pm
langer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2026 11:46 pm
You could go down the day before, sleep on the street, and be good for the next day, as long as you start drinking early.
I'm assuming since it's a national event, parking chair rules aren't going to be honored.
He could use the parking sleeping bag and parking cardboard box.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2026 12:56 pm
by OhioSteeler
My dad and I are staying over near the National Aviary. We plan on getting in real early Thursday to hopefully avoid traffic (wishful thinking) and it's an easy walk from over there.
Good luck to anyone going in for the draft.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2026 1:25 pm
by swissvale72
OhioSteeler wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2026 12:56 pm
My dad and I are staying over near the National Aviary. We plan on getting in real early Thursday to hopefully avoid traffic (wishful thinking) and it's an easy walk from over there.
Good luck to anyone going in for the draft.
This might sound odd, but national aviary is one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2026 9:12 pm
by steelheadtrout
There are any number of garages downtahn.
But shite mon, they will be 200% full.
My advice, FWIW, is to figure out somewhere else to be and take creaking public transport. For example, stay in Sq. Hill, eat lots of chinese food and bus in. Stay on the south side and party hardy (and take the T). Or, as suggested, stay in the North Side and walk.
Note: Since you already have your hotel, what I would do is drive to a T spot. And just T into the stadium.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2026 11:30 pm
by OhioSteeler
swissvale72 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2026 1:25 pm
OhioSteeler wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2026 12:56 pm
My dad and I are staying over near the National Aviary. We plan on getting in real early Thursday to hopefully avoid traffic (wishful thinking) and it's an easy walk from over there.
Good luck to anyone going in for the draft.
This might sound odd, but national aviary is one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh
My brother in law has worked there for a few years now.
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2026 3:16 am
by swissvale72
steelheadtrout wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2026 9:12 pm
There are any number of garages downtahn.
But shite mon, they will be 200% full.
My advice, FWIW, is to figure out somewhere else to be and take creaking public transport. For example, stay in Sq. Hill, eat lots of chinese food and bus in. Stay on the south side and party hardy (and take the T). Or, as suggested, stay in the North Side and walk.
Note: Since you already have your hotel, what I would do is drive to a T spot. And just T into the stadium.
Or pizza at Mineo's or Aiello's on Murray Avenue..,two of Pittsburgh's best
Re: Best Places to Park in Downtown Area
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2026 11:48 am
by bradshaw2ben
steelheadtrout wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2026 9:12 pm
There are any number of garages downtahn.
But shite mon, they will be 200% full.
My advice, FWIW, is to figure out somewhere else to be and take creaking public transport. For example, stay in Sq. Hill, eat lots of chinese food and bus in. Stay on the south side and party hardy (and take the T). Or, as suggested, stay in the North Side and walk.
Note: Since you already have your hotel, what I would do is drive to a T spot. And just T into the stadium.
thus...
bradshaw2ben wrote: ↑Mon Mar 09, 2026 2:44 am
Another place you could park if coming from the airport is the Bell Avenue Park & Ride, which is at the busway-- connects with express busses to downtown.
