THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 1, 1996 TAG: 9604010062
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Parking meters are sprouting like daffodils along the resort strip, and they're ready for showers of nickels, dimes and quarters from Oceanfront visitors today.
Several other beachfront parking operations also kick in today, including the opening of four municipal lots and the beginning of a residential parking permit program that covers roughly 80 blocks from Rudee Inlet to 40th Street.
Parking enforcement also begins today, says Henry Ruiz, head of the city's Parking Management System, but for the first week, parking violators in metered and residential-permit zones will get only ``warning tickets.''
That concession - a first for the Oceanfront - ``is to let everybody get acclimated in the permit and metered areas,'' Ruiz said.
After the first week, all bets are off. Meter attendants and permit-area patrol officers will begin issuing real tickets that require payment of real fines.
For instance, parking for too long at a metered space will cost motorists $12 per violation, if the fine is paid at any city treasurer's office within 14 days. After that, they'll have to ante up $24 per violation.
For parking overnight in a restricted residential area without a permit, violators will have to pay a $25 fine, Ruiz said.
``We average a 70 percent collection rate (for fines), and we pay a contractor about $70,000 a year to do the job,'' he said. ``We more than make our expenses.''
Last year, the program collected $142,000 in penalties.
Towing will be done only with the authorization of police.
Police also benefit because they have fewer service calls to make related to parking problems. Most calls now are handled by the contracted security force.
In 1994, police recorded 5,377 violations, while 2,564 were counted by the city's contracted service. Last year, the private service recorded 7,226 violations; the police, 1,214.
Fewer metered parking spaces will be available along the three-mile strip this year. An ongoing street improvement project aimed at realigning Atlantic and Pacific avenues near the entrance to the Cavalier Hotel has removed about 50 metered street spaces, Ruiz explained.
Last year, 800 metered spaces were available at the Oceanfront. This year, only 750 exist.
The cost will be 75 cents per hour.
This will be the third year for the residential parking-permit program, which restricts curbside parking in residential areas bordering the resort strip from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Parking during the restricted hours requires a parking decal.
The decals are free to residents. Short-term visitors' passes also are available and are good for up to 72 hours. Twelve-month visitors' passes are available for $2 each. For more information about the parking permit program, call 427-4670.
The metered and restricted parking zones will be monitored from April 1 through Sept. 30.
For visitors who prefer off-street parking, the city has four municipal lots available at the Oceanfront. Those lots contain a total of 884 spaces. Hours and rates vary. Free trolley tickets - for Oceanfront service only - are available to passengers of each car parked in any municipal lot.
City lots are at 4th Street, under the Rudee Inlet bridge; 19th Street and Pacific Avenue (two lots); and at 25th Street and Pacific Avenue. A city-owned lot at 31st Street and Atlantic Avenue will be occupied this summer by a portable ice-skating rink.
There are 25 private lots along the Oceanfront, offering parking for 20 to 175 cars each at varying rates.
Municipal parking has become big business: A report Ruiz recently compiled indicates that revenues generated from meters, parking lots and the residential permit program grossed $1.6 million in the last fiscal year.
The bulk of that sum, $600,000, came from municipal parking lots; $535,000 came from parking meters; $500,000 came from parking fines and penalties; and $7,000 came from the sale of parking decals and passes. ILLUSTRATION: Residential Permit Parking: No parking is allowed in this
area between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily, between April 1 and Sept. 30,
unless you have a parking decal. Decals are free to residents, who
can secure a number of short-term (72-hour) passes for guests.
Long-term guest passes and business passes also are available at
varying rates. For more information, call 427-4670.
Municipal lots: Four lots are available. Rates and hours vary by
lot. The city offers free Oceanfront trolley tickets to passengers
of each car parked in these lots.
Also available: Metered curbside parking at the Oceanfront. 750
spaces are available; the rate is 75 cents per hour.
Private lots: 25 private lots are located along the resort strip.
Rates vary.
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