Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 26, 1995 TAG: 9508280153
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Ellenbogen, owner of Bogen's, at the corner of North Main Street and the 100 block of Giles Road, has sued the town of Blacksburg seeking to have the town's permit parking ordinance declared illegal. The case is set for a trial Friday in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Town Attorney Kathleen Dooley said that in the 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a similar ordinance in Arlington County was legal. She said the town is concerned with the outcome of this case because it also affects other neighborhoods with parking permits.
Ellenbogen said the town's ordinance "essentially creates private parking on public streets."
He owns 22 spots behind his restaurant, but said he sometimes has 22 employees on hand. If they parked in the Bogen's lot, his customers would have no place to park, he said.
His employees parked in the area for 12 years, he said, before residents petitioned the town to require parking permits for the block. Now, he says, some of his female employees have to park quite a distance from the restaurant and walk to their cars at night.
Town Manager Ron Secrist said the residents made the petition precisely because their parking spots were often taken by employees and patrons of nearby businesses. All the comings and goings became a nuisance for the residents, he said.
Jewell Snider, an 85-year-old retired post office worker, said parking is still a problem on his block, even with the permit requirement. He said employees from local businesses continue to park there. "I think the town should require him to have a place for his employees to park," Snider said.
He said friends have called him and said they wanted to visit him but couldn't find a spot to park. Snider said he bought two visitor's permits, but there's hardly ever an open space, and he doesn't have a driveway.
With the permit ordinance, the town tries to "maintain the integrity of residential areas," Secrist said. There are several such zones in the town, and most of them are in residential areas within a block of businesses or the Virginia Tech campus.
Ellenbogen says the parking dispute is a "typical conflict that occurs when neighborhoods change from residential to being in the heart of the business district."
He said the town has spent almost $1 million to create three metered parking areas in downtown Blacksburg, but has done nothing for businesses such as his on the fringe.
Secrist said the town recognizes the need for more parking in other parts of town, but downtown had the most severe parking shortage. Some downtown businesses have no on-site parking.
The town would be glad to work out an arrangement between Ellenbogen and Blacksburg Transit, Secrist said, so that employees could park in an outlying area and be bused to work.
The transit system already has spots within a mile of most Blacksburg residences. Though it might not be as convenient as driving, using mass transit could alleviate the parking crunch, he said.
by CNB