Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 30, 1994 TAG: 9403300147
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER NOTE: above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CAROLYN and Ann are insurgents in the war for free parking.
But freedom has its price.
``Other people read magazines on their breaks,'' Ann said. ``We check tires.''
Their office in the Commonwealth Building employs an informal, staggered break system to ensure they're seldom caught off guard.
If the tires are clear of police chalk marks, the two women learn they have another hour of free parking.
If a chalk mark appears, they know it's time to move.
``The cops have a problem that our jobs are flexible enough that we can check,'' Carolyn said. ``We take turns up here. We know the cops' time frame for checking.''
It is a battle born of economics and fear, said the two women, who asked that their last names not be used.
The price of a prime paid parking space is too costly for their salaries. The dimly lit, glass-littered parking lot available to state employees is too unsafe for them to walk to after dark.
``There are a bunch of drunks and winos sitting up there,'' Carolyn said. ``There are men lying in the bushes.''
The choice the two women face is one they believe is shared by other working people in downtown Roanoke: They either beat the system or spend money they can't afford to pay for parking.
``Anything affordable is gone,'' Carolyn said. ``We can't afford $2 a day to park.''
She thinks that parking tickets are a hidden tax on people who work downtown.
``The city mops up on it,'' she said. ``It's just a revenue thing.''
A newspaper photographer who recently followed an officer around for a day lingered behind to catch the insurgents at the Commonwealth Building in action.
A few minutes after the officer left the area, the employees started pouring out and checking their tires.
``We're just of the opinion if the vehicle is moved, there is no violation,'' said Melody Hale, a secretary in the state probation and parole office. ``The police press so hard with the chalk, you can go downtown and shop, come back and still get a ticket.''
Kathy Kemp, another worker in the probation and parole office, said police often use other methods of marking the car, requiring workers to stand watch.
``How do you have time?'' she remembered one inquiring officer asking her.
``I have two 15-minute breaks,'' she answered.
Once when she moved her car, a police officer followed her around the block on the motorcycle to make sure she didn't park again in the same block.
``It's fun,'' she said. ``It's like a cat-and-mouse game.''
Lt. Ramey Bower, whose job it is to keep parking spaces cleared, finds little humor in the game.
``The parking spots are not intended for downtown employees,'' Bower said.
State employees question some of the tactics used by officers to mark vehicles.
Police have been known to use spitballs and flower petals instead of chalk to mark tires. Carolyn said the real problem is employers who haven't recognized their workers' need for safe, affordable parking.
``I think they are too far removed from what is going on,'' she said. ``To them, parking is not a priority.''
While that may be an overstatement, figures released by Downtown Roanoke Inc. - the chief advocate of downtown businesses - show the number of available public parking spaces in downtown falls well short of the number of people who work there.
Ashley Waldvogel, the group's marketing manager, said 13,695 people work downtown, where 8,555 public parking spaces are available in nine garages and 48 public parking lots.
Some businesses, like the Roanoke Times & World-News, try to accommodate their employees by providing privately owned parking spaces.
Tim Milliron, manager of Allright Parking Inc., says that any overflow is not coming his way.
``We've got vacancies on quite a few lots,'' he said.
Beth Carter, manager of rival Republic Parking, said she has about 600 spaces open daily out of the 2,600 she manages. Republic Parking took control of five parking garages and two parking lots on March 1.
Big downtown businesses, like First Union and Crestar banks and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia, have contracts with Republic for about 1,000 spaces for employees, Carter said.
The competition for downtown parking spaces is eased somewhat by a number of people carpooling to work, Carter said.
Waldvogel said a tour of downtown parking garages during the workday would show parking spots available.
``There's plenty of parking,'' she said, but added: ``You might have to walk a block.''
by CNB