It came when a new parking sign went up in front of the bar his family has owned since the 1950s, creating a 30-minute loading zone. Suddenly, the curb space in front of the Evergreen on Penn Ave., where Bacharach has routinely parked for decades, thwarting eastbound right-lane drivers daily and, according to some, slowing traffic and creating safety hazards, would no longer be available. Bacharach simply couldn't park there anymore, right? Down with the parking menace!
Alas, the celebrations may have been premature, because Bacharach's car is still out front, its BEST JAG license plate proudly affixed like a permanent bird-flip.50 long years of being an unrepentant menace to a major city is pretty iconic when you think about it. It’s the end of an era https://t.co/DaUVntovgp
— Black Girl Absolute (@BlkGirlAbsolute) February 29, 2024
"I just load every 30 minutes," Bacharach tells Pittsburgh City Paper. "If I have to drive around the block I will, and then I'll load again for another 30 minutes."
Clearly, Bacharach isn't taking this lying down. Not only is he skirting the new rules, he tells City Paper he's actively fighting to get the parking space back.
According to Bacharach, a petition was the impetus for the new sign, and he assumes the city would have done a traffic survey before they would implement a rule change. (City Paper has reached out to a city representative to determine what went into the decision and will update this story if/when we get more information.)
"I called the city and asked for the survey," he says, indicating he spoke to an engineer who said he wasn't able to produce it. Bacharach filed an official request, and the city now has 30 days to produce their receipts, he says.
Bacharach is aware many locals are concerned about driver safety on the blocks of Penn Ave. near the Evergreen, and think his car makes driving there more dangerous. But Bacharach dismisses that, saying he doesn't think his car has ever been the cause of any accidents. He's also critical of the city's response to the accidents that have occurred, lamenting that when a pedestrian was recently killed on that block, officials put up radar speed signs in both directions, presumably to encourage drivers to slow down, but that they were removed after just one day.
"People get killed [on Penn Ave.] all the time, and they're worried about my car," he says. "It's stupid."
What's even harder to believe, according to Bacharach, is that this can happen at all, after all this time.
"We've been parking out there for 67 years," he says. "And now it's suddenly a problem. It's crazy to me."
