THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603160160
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
A group of Laskin Road business operators told resort planners Thursday that suggested changes in traffic circulation and parking outlined in the Pacific Avenue Corridor study would put them out of business.
The contingent, representing more than a dozen small businesses at the Oceanfront end of Laskin Road, contend that 80 percent or more of their business comes from North End residents and changes in existing parking or two-way traffic patterns would have dire consequences on commerce.
The Pacific Avenue Corridor study, released in early February, recommended that Laskin Road and 30th or 32nd Street be paired in a one-way traffic pattern as a way of easing summer congestion at the Oceanfront. It also recommended that all storefront parking be eliminated.
Gary C. Kimnach, owner of Beach Amoco, asked the Resort Area Advisory Commission, the planning body overseeing resort improvements and events, to drop that recommendation. The study eventually will find its way to the City Council for approval and possible funding.
``The plan would change the face of Laskin Road,'' Kimnach told advisory commissioners. ``They've got the plan set up like 21st and 22nd streets. It would be a speed trap.''
Eric Cohen, owner of North End Cyclery, a bicycle shop at Laskin Road and Arctic Avenue, said he and other Laskin Road merchants met recently to discuss the plan and were alarmed by some of its provisions.
``We employ over 700 people and do $50 million in taxable business and we saw our livelihoods at stake here,'' he said.
Neither Kimnach nor Cohen were swayed by commission chairman Roger Newill, who argued the study was part of long-range strategy to change the character of resort retail businesses to an ``upscale'' level.
Newill said recent Atlantic Avenue improvements have steadied the annual tourism market and have attracted visitors with higher incomes than in previous years. But, he said, the resort still lacks an upscale retail core - such as a Merchants Square in Williamsburg, thereby missing out on a vital tourist attraction.
``The primary activity of women on vacation is shopping,'' said Newill. ``And we are fairly desperate for tourist access to quality shopping.''
Michael LaGiglia, president of the Resort Retail Association, took exception to Newill's assertion. ``Those are as upscale shops as we want to have at the Beach,'' he said. ``They're as upscale as any in the city.''
In the end Newill and the rest of the advisory commission agreed to send the Pacific Avenue Corridor study on to the City Council without the traffic circulation and parking provisions. by CNB