Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 11, 1993 TAG: 9306110158
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LARRY W. BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A Crossroads Mall DMV office will replace two existing branches - one at Peters Creek Road, the other at Tanglewood Mall. The new office, at Crossroads Mall, is scheduled to open Aug. 16. The Peters Creek Road branch will close Aug. 13, and the Tanglewood office will follow Aug. 20.
According to District Manager Jim Collins, the new location will allow the DMV to combine the resources of the two current branches while increasing service.
"I don't think the service will suffer," Collins said. "We're also going to apply some modern technology [for] speedier processing."
DMV Commissioner Donald Williams, who was at a Thursday news conference to discuss the new center, said the idea for the consolidation was initiated by Gov. Douglas Wilder to streamline agency operations and more efficiently use tax dollars.
The consolidation is expected to save taxpayers $155,000 annually.
The new location at Crossroads Mall, on the lower level formerly occupied by Heironimus, will be more than 16,000 square feet. Larger than the two branches combined, the new Roanoke Customer Service Center will have 18 service windows. There are now 18 service windows at the Peters Creek and Tanglewood offices combined.
According to Collins, the Crossroads Mall location will be convenient for motorists. Signs will be placed on Williamson Road, Airport Road and Interstate 581 alerting motorists to the new location.
"We feel it's a positive thing for Crossroads in that we will have an audience," said Jim Patterson, manager of Crossroads Mall. "This will give the mall an identity [that says] Crossroads Mall has returned."
"People know where Crossroads is," said state Del. Victor Thomas. "It's our first mall. All of us hate to see the close [of the branches] in the neighborhoods, but the government calls for efficiency."
"We're all trying to save money," Thomas said. This is "expansion without spending more money."
"The building of this facility didn't cost us anything," said Collins. "We're getting more space, but we're spending less."
No jobs will be lost in the merger, according to Collins, though five managerial positions were eliminated through attrition. The new center will employ 25 full-time workers and a varying number of part-timers.
To better accommodate customers, the DMV plans to offer:
A computer-based written driver test replacing pencil and paper tests.
Outdoor space for motorcycle testing.
A discount for customers who mail in their vehicle registration rather than paying in person at the DMV office. Motorists will save $3 on a two-year registration and $1.50 on a one-year registration by using the mail, Williams said. The mail discount will begin July 1.
Registration and titling of vehicles through dealerships, through new electronic dealer service.
The DMV hopes that the mailing and computerized registration systems will entice fewer motorists to visit the service center in person.
The Roanoke Customer Service Center is expected to be the busiest DMV office in the state, handling more than 400,000 driver and vehicle transactions yearly.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.