THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702150237
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI GUAGENTI
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 56 lines
Commuters will be able to brave the elements with a roof over their heads when a $1.4 million park-and-ride lot opens at the end of the year south of Mount Trashmore Park.
The 300-space lot will be ready for business Dec. 1, and will come complete with an enclosed waiting area equipped with restrooms.
The lot, at the intersection of Holland Road, South Independence Boulevard and Silver Leaf Drive, is the state Department of Transportation and Tidewater Regional Transit's second park and ride in South Hampton Roads that is wholly dedicated to commuters.
The other lot is located at Indian River Road and Reon Drive near Interstate 64 in Virginia Beach, and has a partially enclosed area where riders can wait to catch the bus.
The new lot already will have commuters because TRT has leased for several years parking spaces at two area shopping centers - Timberlake and Chimney Hill - near the new park and ride.
Those lots were opened as ``a stopgap measure while the design for this commuter parking lot was on the drawing board,'' said Denis Gribok, a transportation department resident engineer. ``We're now ready to build a commuter lot.''
Park and ride lots serve both as a place for commuters to catch a bus to work or meet carpoolers.
Commuters in the Holland Road area embraced the idea Friday of having a park and ride of their own, particularly one with an enclosed building.
``I think it's a great idea,'' said Jim Larry, 39, of Virginia Beach, as he hopped into his car after completing his day as a cook at the Norfolk Naval Base.
Larry and Karen Bradby said they looked forward to using the lot.
Karen, 43, of Virginia Beach has been using park-and-ride lots since 1985. She works at the Public Works Center at the Norfolk Naval Base.
``I've gone to the Indian River lot and checked theirs out,'' she said. ``I like that.''
Bradby and Larry pointed to the kiosk set up across the busy street on Rosemont Road at the Chimney Hill shopping center to emphasize its small size.
Gribok said many commuters use the shopping centers to access Route 44 to get to I-64 and Interstate 264.
``We're trying to capture those people and give them the option of HOV (High-Occupancy-Vehicle) lanes and commuter buses,'' Gribok said.
Gribok did not predict how full the new lot will be once it opens, but said the 250 spaces at the Indian River Road lot are usually 85 percent filled.
A brief look at the park and ride Friday showed about 100 cars in the parking spaces at 2 p.m. The lot opened in October 1993 when the area's HOV lanes debuted.
The new lot on Holland Road could be expanded by another 150 spaces, Gribok said, and landscaping is scheduled for completion in April 1998. ILLUSTRATION: VP MAP