Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 31, 1993 TAG: 9308310110
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But relief may be on the way.
It appears the Civic Center Commission will press City Council and city administrators to solve the situation.
Vern Danielsen, commission chairman, said temporary fixes such as shuttle buses and scheduling events to avoid conflicts no longer are satisfactory.
"No amount of coordination, no amount of shuttle buses, no amount of communications, no checklist and no procedures will eliminate the recurrence of parking problems," Danielsen said.
"There needs to be a substantial change in the basic structure of the method for providing parking for the civic center," he said.
For some events, the center needs spaces to park 6,000 to 7,000 cars. But it has a maximum capacity for 2,000 vehicles.
"This is a fundamental problem" that must be addressed, Danielsen said in a report to council.
One solution that has been mentioned privately is construction of a parking garage, possibly on part of the parking lot.
The recent controversy over parking for two Roanoke County high schools' graduation ceremonies is the latest in a long series of incidents that have plagued the civic center since it opened two decades ago.
Besides the lack-of-space problem, people have criticized lengthy delays getting into the parking lot and the towing of vehicles parked in nearby private lots.
The parking problem has been intensified because the civic center is surrounded by Interstate 581, Orange Avenue and Williamson Road.
The center owns all of the land within the triangular area bordered by the streets. There is no vacant land nearby that can be bought for parking.
The civic center's parking needs could be coordinated with parking for the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, Danielsen said.
One official said privately that civic center officials likely will propose a study of parking needs for the civic center and the hotel project.
City Councilman James Harvey said he understands the parkingproblem and the need for a long-term solution.
"If there is any way we can work together on the parking issue, I think we ought to consider it," said Harvey, who is chairman of the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center.
Kit Kiser, director of utilities for the city, said he expects representatives from the civic center and conference center commissions to meet soon to discuss the issue.
The civic center commission has apologized to county school officials for the parking problems that marred the graduation ceremonies in June.
On the same day when the schools held graduation ceremonies in the auditorium, an estimated 6,000 Jehovah's Witnesses held a convention in the coliseum. They filled the parking lot, leaving no parking spaces for people attending the graduations. County school buses were used to transport parents and relatives from other parking lots to the civic center.
by CNB