Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 27, 1994                   TAG: 9408130002
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI                                LENGTH: Medium

SEVERAL PULASKI ALLEYS MAY BE CLOSED|

Last year, the town's Engineering Department used two student interns from Wytheville Community College to study alley rights-of-way and pinpoint alleys that were never developed or for which there was no projected use.

The study came up with 26 alleys falling into those categories. Town Council's Public Operations Committee will recommend closing nine of them at the Aug. 19 council meeting, when a public hearing will be scheduled to make sure there are no public objections.

The remaining 17 will be presented for committee consideration later. Registered letters on the proposed closings will be mailed to all property owners along the alleys, giving the time of the public hearing.

The alleys to be considered Aug. 19 are on Bertha Street from Paca to Martin streets; an alley from Stuart Avenue to Fourth Street between Miller and Slaughter streets; a two-part alley from Bertha to Chestnut and Bertha to State streets; on Laurel Street, from First Street Southeast to Stuart Avenue; Second Street from Floyd Avenue to Pierce Avenue; an alley from Fourth to Fifth Street between Baskerville and Miller Streets; Fourth Street, from Miller to Herron Streets; an alley from Stuart Avenue to Fourth Street between Baskerville and Miller Streets; and Elm Street, from Jackson Avenue to Dora Highway.

Public Works Director Mike Jenkins characterized all those alleys as unmaintained, with steep slopes that make them a hazard for town workers to mow.

Citizens have asked the Public Works Committee to consider closing another four alleys: between 15th and 16th streets from Prospect Avenue to Jefferson Avenue; within Cliff Street; the east-west alley between 12th and 13th streets; and unused parts of Frederick Avenue from Mathews Court north to the end of the street.

The committee will recommend closing the first three, and take a look at the last one before making a recommendation to council.

Residents in the Frederick Avenue and Mathews Court area petitioned for the closing because trespassers crossing their properties use the gravel pathway as a shortcut between the Washington Square and Meadowview Apartments. Town officials are not sure the closing will solve that problem, even after they post no-trespassing signs, because it would be difficult to police.

The request to close the alley between 12th and 13th streets, which was never actually constructed as an alley, came from R.I. Brown, 97 and a retired judge, who contacted all the property owners to secure the necessary petition. Brown is known for his extensive knowledge of properties throughout the town.

The Public Operations Committee also learned Monday that three bids for work on reopening a section of Dora Highway came in higher than anticipated. The town administrative staff is working with the low bidder on ways to get the price down. Part of the highway has been closed since last winter's ice storms.