Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 16, 1993 TAG: 9310160274
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Unless steps are taken now, the Civic Center Commission believes traffic and parking problems will become even more intolerable.
The civic center will lose one of its overflow-parking lots when the hotel reopens.
Commissioner John Edwards said Friday the civic center can't solve the problem alone, because there is no readily available vacant land nearby.
"This is an intractable problem. We are already losing some events, because promoters won't book them because of parking," he said. "Before the conference center goes further, we need to resolve the parking issue."
Edwards wants the Civic Center Commission to work with the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission to resolve the traffic and parking issue.
At his request, the two commissions met jointly Friday to consider traffic and parking and other items.
Because of the civic center officials' concern, consultants may be hired to study the problem and make recommendations.
The commissions asked City Manager Bob Herbert to make a recommendation within a month on hiring traffic and parking consultants.
Herbert raised the possibility that Virginia Tech, which owns the hotel, might want to do the study.
"I agree we need someone to study the parking problem. That needs to be resolved," said Councilman James Harvey, chairman of the conference center commission.
Vern Danielsen, chairman of the Civic Center Commission, said a comprehensive study should look at parking and traffic - both vehicular and pedestrian - for the civic center and conference center.
Because of the proximity of the civic center and hotel, Edwards said, "each needs to know where its overflow parking is going."
Herbert said the plans for the conference center and hotel include parking. The hotel will have 550 spaces, and the conference center will have 725 spaces in the First Union Tower.
Parking is a much bigger problem for the civic center, Herbert said, calling it a black eye for the center.
If the city has a bond referendum next year, the city manager said, funds for more parking for the civic center might be included.
Danielsen raised the possibility that some streets near the civic center might be made one-way on nights when events are held. He said this could speed the flow of traffic.
Traffic experts should be able to make recommendations to ease the congestion when there are large crowds at the civic center, Danielsen said. Without adequate parking, neither the civic center nor the conference can reach its potential, he said.
by CNB