DATE: Thursday, September 25, 1997          TAG: 9709250002

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

CAR AND VAN POOLING WORTH CHECKING OUT DOWNTOWN NORFOLK TO OFFER PREFERENTIAL PARKING FOR RIDE SHARERS

Reasons to car pool keep increasing. Transportation officials are sweetening the deal, hoping to take more cars off the roads and to lessen the need for parking.

Reason 1: Convenient parking. In the latest move, Norfolk is setting aside premium parking spaces downtown for car poolers. Many businesses already do that. The large Lilian Vernon facility in Virginia Beach, for example, has 65 prime parking spots reserved for car poolers. Downtown Norfolk, with 17,000 public parking spaces for 22,000 commuters, hopes to induce more commuters to share rides by saving some of the best parking spaces for them.

Reason 2: Car or van pools are simple to arrange. Traffix, a grant-supported regional agency, helps set up shared rides for people who call 1-800-700-RIDE between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Also, many businesses are working with Traffix to arrange shared rides for employees.

Reason 3: An emergency cab ride for a regular ride sharer costs only $1.50. If a regular car- or van-pooler has to leave for home early or late because of work or an emergency, Traffix will arrange the cheap cab ride to anywhere within Hampton Roads. That service is especially important to parents.

Reason 4: Car or van pooling saves money otherwise spent for gas, wear and tear on vehicles and parking. Many car-poolers get reductions on their insurance premiums. Some of the poolers have no cars and contribute gas money. Other poolers take turns driving.

Reason 5: One less car on the road means less air pollution.

Reason 6: Car- and van-poolers get to use HOV lanes, so they escape traffic snags in other lanes. A HOV access lane to the Midtown Tunnel on the Norfolk side often saves riders 20 mnutes of commute time. Interstate 264 will have a HOV lane into downtown Norfolk beginning next summer. A July survey of downtown Norfolk commuters indicated that 33 percent would ``likely use'' the high occupancy vehicle lane, which is under construction. If you've endured rush-hour traffic lately, Reason 6 is a big one.

Reason 7. Nondrivers can do a little work, read the paper or nap, and perhaps arrive more refreshed.

For people who work regular hours at a location that's common for commuters, a call to the Traffix number might be worthwhile. There probably are more ways for you to get to work than you realize.

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