Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 28, 1994 TAG: 9403290149
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER NOTE: Above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RONNIE Cassell hears the curbside catcalls as he patrols downtown in his covered, three-wheeled police motorcycle.
``I need a Nutty Buddy,'' someone yells, sarcastically comparing Cassell's vehicle with that of an ice cream vendor.
``Some people aren't very friendly,'' Cassell acknowledges. ``Some think it's a game.''
In the cat-and-mouse confrontation between the king of Roanoke's parking ticket cops and outlaw parkers, Cassell knows his job is to be fair.
``We don't have a quota,'' Cassell said. ``They let us write all the tickets you want.''
With 8,331 tickets carrying his name in 1993 alone, Cassell wrote more than twice as many parking tickets as any other officer on the force.
His boss, Lt. Ramey Bower, said that total is a tribute to Cassell's tenacity and his competence as a police officer.
``There are no meter maids, anymore,'' Bower said. ``You have to be a well-rounded police officer.''
While life on the parking ticket beat would hardly qualify for a prime-time television show, Bower said it is a critical part of the department's overall traffic-control plan.
A study by Downtown Roanoke Inc. in 1991 found that each available parking space is worth about $428 a day in business.
If anyone, including downtown employees, takes that space for more than a hour, business is hurt.
``It definitely suffers,'' said Ashley Waldvogel, marketing manager for Downtown Roanoke. ``If a customer comes down and can't find a space, the businesses lose money.''
Cassell has no such grandiose financial objectives. He said he operates on the idea that if someone hogs a parking space all day, someone else may not have a place to park.
High purpose gets little respect in the high-stakes battle fought daily over the 30 feet between free parking and a paid spot in a municipal parking lot.
``There are some people we charge three and four times a week,'' Cassell said. ``There's not room for everybody.''
The offenders range from common criminals to courthouse employees to newspaper reporters and lawyers themselves.
``What's five dollars to them?'' Cassell asks.
The Police Department's strategy in the parking war is to keep the intruders on the run.
They place the tickets on the car in a certain way and mark the car with chalk in several spots to lessen the likelihood that rogue parkers escape detection.
Still, that does not keep some from trying.
On Luck Avenue Southwest, employees of the Commonwealth Building - the bastion of state workers - shuffle their cars almost on an hourly basis.
``How can they get that much time?'' Cassell wonders. ``I know that they couldn't be getting that many breaks.''
In other parts of downtown, workers have made a calculated decision that it's cheaper to pay the tickets than it is to pay for a permanent parking spot.
Bower, who heads the traffic bureau, said he thinks the $5 price tag for overtime parking in Roanoke may be too cheap.
Aside from the fines for unmetered parking violations, curbside outlaws are nickel-and-diming the police.
They leave money in parking meters, thinking that the police will believe they forgot to turn the crank. That way they can get a little more precious parking time.
The police have countered by placing ``police will not turn the handle'' signs on the meters.
Through it all, Cassell has gained respect for the willingness of his adversaries to take a gamble.
``They're tough,'' he said. ``They do a pretty good job of shuffling around.''
by CNB