Lifeway Baptist Church parking lot to be expanded
CRANBERRY TWP — Supervisors on Thursday, June 27, approved a major expansion to the parking lot of Lifeway Baptist Church on Rolling Road.
The expanded lot will increase the number of spaces for worshippers to about 79.
Daniel Barna, of engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, said the expansion was necessary to prevent overcrowding and overflowing because the church has seen significant growth in recent years.
“As a church, it’s a good problem when you need to expand a parking lot,” Barna said. “They’ve been overflowing the existing parking that they have.”
Lifeway Baptist Church first opened in Cranberry in 2012 and, according to Butler County property records, first moved into the property on Rolling Road in 2018, purchasing a building once occupied by another Baptist church. Since then, according to Barna, Lifeway has grown steadily to the point where finding parking spaces can be difficult for worshippers.
According to a satellite shot of the church, the current parking lot has only 17 marked spaces, with seven facing the side of the building and the others facing Rolling Road.
“They’ve been getting a number of cars in the 50s on any given Sunday. I think the record is maybe in the low 60s,” Barna said. “We’re proposing 79 spaces, which will accommodate what they have now and give room for the next couple of years so that we’re not back here next year.”
Barna said the expansion will not displace any of the trees surrounding the church property, and will only expand over the grass space next to the current parking lot.
“We're excited for the growth in the church, and also to be able to finally accommodate that,” Barna said. “If you're pulling in a minute before the service starts, you're not searching for a parking spot or turning around to go home.”
