Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1994 TAG: 9401150029
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Tickets are $10, covering the meal to be served during the meeting, and are available at the Renaissance.
The Pulaski Business Alliance, made up of downtown business people who have been involved in the Main Street program, announced the Main Street meeting Tuesday.
The Alliance also learned that 26 merchants so far have agreed to take part in a Valentine's Day Shopping Spree drawing. The shopper whose ticket is drawn at 2 p.m. Feb. 14 will be able to get $300 in merchandise from participating shops. Tickets are $1 from downtown businesses.
The Alliance discussed the continuing problem of finding enough customer parking on Main Street and in the general downtown area. The group considered formally asking the town to police the two-hour parking limit more strictly, but decided to seek a cooperative approach instead.
``We've had surveys on top of surveys for 15 years and they've all shown the same thing,'' said Alex Rygas. They show that employees at certain businesses tie up the parking space.
Better enforcement of the two-hour limit would not help, he said, because these people simply move their vehicles every two hours. Rygas said the only initiative that has proved effective is when the employer directs the workers to park elsewhere.
That is more easily done now than in past years, because the town and county have been making rental parking space available.
``Most people have already done that, secured rental spaces,'' Rygas said. ``The majority of businesses ... have taken steps to park elsewhere and that's eliminated three-fourths of the problem.''
``It's been a problem for 30 years or longer,'' said J.R. Schrader, a Pulaski Town Council member and Southwest Times reporter.
``It's a handful of people,'' Rygas said. ``I think the answer is the owners.''
by CNB