Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 16, 1990 TAG: 9006160284
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a traffic pattern change that became effective this week, motorists traveling west on Orange Avenue at night are now allowed to turn left onto 10th Street.
William Clark, director of public works, said the change was made so those motorists will not have to drive down 11th Street - a route necessitated by a left-turn restriction at 10th and Orange.
Clark said police, concerned about the rock-and-bottle throwing incidents, contacted his department this week about the change.
"It was looked at as a result of the current problems going on on 11th Street," he said.
Some of the people who have had their cars pelted have unknowingly wound up on 11th Street as they tried to get back on 10th from Orange.
Clark said many people unfamiliar with the area use the route to travel through Northwest Roanoke to other destinations.
"There's a limited number of places you can cross the tracks" to get into Southwest Roanoke, he said.
Left turns from Orange onto 10th still will be prohibited from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. But, Clark said, "traffic is light enough at night that we don't think it's going to be a problem."
Meanwhile, police still are experiencing problems with crowds that gather on the 500 block of 11th Street.
Officers were called to the area about 12:20 a.m. Friday after a report that shots were fired. As they arrived on the scene, officers saw a man push a 17-year-old girl and then throw a wine bottle at her.
The bottle missed the girl by inches and smashed into a nearby parked car, police said. The woman then was struck in the face, police said.
William A. Dungee, 18, of the 500 block of Louden Avenue, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
In the past week, police have said that at least a dozen cars have been hit by rocks and bottles as they passed crowds in the area.
by CNB