THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 14, 1995 TAG: 9504140431
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
The city will begin its summertime crackdown on cruising at Northside Park this weekend by charging motorists a one-dollar entrance fee, a practice that's been called racist and has prompted a Justice Department investigation.
The entrance charge affects all cars entering Northside from 2 p.m. until closing on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The toll was first set in May 1992 when cruisers would tie up traffic along Tidewater Drive.
``We ended up getting the roads system inside and outside the park totally clogged,'' said Stanley Stein, parks and recreation director. ``We couldn't get ambulances in there if someone hurt themselves.''
The charge has been criticized as being racially motivated because none of the other major city parks - Lakewood, Tarrallton, Barraud and Lafayette - has a fee.
The toll, Stein said, was not initiated to keep blacks away from Northside; he said it is strictly for public safety. If the other parks warranted a toll, it would be implemented, he said.
``We don't put the fee on than for any other reason'' than to ease traffic, he said.
Cruising usually picks up as warm weather approaches. Cruisers ride back and forth to show off their cars, listen to music and to see and be seen.
The city first began to target Northside cruisers after police noticed some cars entering and leaving the park up to 50 times a day, Stein said.
Since the toll was implemented, cruising in the park has slowed considerably, Stein said. Last year, the entrance fee netted $10,000 for the city.
``I think it's been for the most part very positive for the standpoint from what has been accomplished,'' Stein said.
However, some argue that the fee singles out blacks, who frequent Northside mostly on Sunday afternoons.
Following such a complaint, the Justice Department last month launched an inquiry into the park's practices, citing a possible pattern of racial discrimination there.
In a letter to City Attorney Philip R. Trapani, the Justice Department stated an inquiry was under way concerning allegations of ``police harassment or ill treatment of users of Northside Park. . . ''
It asked Trapani to forward several documents by Feb. 21, including ``all memoranda, correspondence or other documents related to incidents of racial and/or ethnic harassments or violence occurring in or emanating from Northside Park from Jan. 1991 until the present.''
Tensions between blacks and police grew in the mid-1980s when roads in Lafayette Park near the zoo were closed to cars because of heavy cruising and drug dealing. Young people then moved to Northside, Stein said.
The 64-acre Northside complex is a popular weekend spot, Stein said. It's the city's most heavily used park with several 100,000 visitors a year.
Ray Steffens, president of the Northside Civic League, said nearby residents support the fee. Constant cruising creates a public nuisance in the neighborhood, he said.
``We don't look at this as racial at all,'' Steffens said. ``Any citizen would be upset if they had people coming and parking in front of their house playing loud music. . . If you're urinating in my bushes I'm going to be upset no matter who you are.''
The charge is not stopping anyone from using the park's facilities, Steffens said.
``The whole point of the fee is to discourage people from going in and out of the park,'' Steffens said. ``A dollar isn't going to break anyone.''
Melissa Crowder, a Norfolk resident, said she takes her 3-year-old son, Freddie, to the park every weekend. But she said she's going to stay away because the dollar is unfair.
``It's a public place,'' said Crowder, who does not cruise. ``You can't charge at one place and not charge others. There is no need for the fee if they're not charging for Waterside. . . ''
The entrance policy and what she considers excess police officers in the park are a slam against blacks, she said.
``I think they're being very racist. There's no need for 10 police cars at one park,'' she said.
Crowder, who's been visiting the park for two years, added she understands the traffic concern. But some people have legitimate reasons - like looking for a parking space - for driving back and forth.
``A lot of people feel the same way I do,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Color map
KEYWORDS: ENTRANCE FEE CITY PARK by CNB