THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 1, 1995 TAG: 9512010220
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Bright lights are drawing visitors to the Oceanfront in unexpected droves and the opening of a new surfside ice skating rink Thursday is expected to add to the crush.
The success of the city's Holiday Lights at the Beach has ``exceeded expectations,'' said Bill Reid, head of Cellar Door Productions, which oversees the Boardwalk display.
But the resulting traffic backups on Atlantic Avenue - at a time of year when the resort strip is normally dormant - hindered rather than helped Oceanfront businesses last weekend.
Reid estimates that 10,000 cars have passed along the 2.1-mile Boardwalk route of the light show since it opened Nov. 22. More than 2,100 showed up at the Eighth Street entrance Saturday night, creating a gigantic traffic snarl along Atlantic Avenue.
Motorists were blocked from entering Atlantic Avenue businesses from Rudee Loop to 14th Street and restaurant operators like Verne Burlage, owner of Laverne's Seafood Restaurant at Atlantic Avenue and Seventh Street, said they lost business because of it.
Burlage wasn't happy with the situation, but he says meetings with city officials and police have helped ease concerns about future snarls.
``I think we'll see some benefits from it, but there were some glitches this past weekend,'' he said.
Neighbor Bruce Thompson, who owns Clarion Beach Quarters and the attached Mahi Mah's restaurant, was dubious about any future improvement.
``We had, literally, hundreds of (Thanksgiving) dinner reservations turned away because people couldn't get in here,'' he said. ``It's been pretty bad for everybody on the south end of Atlantic Avenue. It's as though nobody thought about what they would do if this was a success.''
Traffic engineers have since reconfigured the flow of motorists along Atlantic Avenue to allow easy access to resort businesses.
Holiday Lights at the Beach was the brainchild of the Virginia Beach Hotel and Motel Association, which has viewed the 25-block animated light display as a boon to resort businesses during a traditionally slow time.
While south-end restaurant owners wrestled with traffic problems, the owner of Starship Ice - a portable ice rink that was to make its debut Thanksgiving weekend on the Oceanfront and add to the festivities - became entangled in municipal red tape.
The rink opened its doors to customers at 5 p.m. Thursday, a week later than anticipated, resulting in substantial loss in revenue, said owner Allan B. Harvie Jr.
A city electrical inspector's insistence that the rink did not meet code requirements prompted the delay, said Harvie. Some City Council-level nudging as well as tweaking of the rink's electrical system earlier this week finally brought the operation up to code, Harvie said.
The rink - located in a one-time municipal parking lot at Atlantic Avenue at 31st Street - is open seven days a week. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, although the rink is reserved during certain hours. Admission is $5.50 per person; skate rentals are $2.50. Rates for skating lessons and groups also are available, said Harvie, who is the former owner of the Richmond Renegades ice hockey team.
Starship Ice is to stay open until early or mid-March, but Harvie is negotiating with the city to continue the operation into the summer.
The giant, loaf-shaped building is inflatable and covers an ice rink that can accommodate up to 350 skaters. by CNB