DATE: Friday, June 27, 1997                 TAG: 9706260169

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 08   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: OVER EASY 

SOURCE: Jo-Ann Clegg 

                                            LENGTH:   65 lines

GET OUT OF YOUR CAR AND ONTO A TROLLEY

Show me someone who says there's no place to park at the Oceanfront, and I'll show you someone who's looking for free space a half block from the Boardwalk. I'll also show you a cheapskate with no sense of adventure and the humor of a brontosaurus with a 100-foot-tall cactus stuck in his paw.

There is plenty of parking out there: at 31st, 25th, 19th, 9th and 4th Streets. So what's the problem? First of all, they're not free.

The 4th Street lot is metered, so clean out your piggy bank before you go. It costs $7 to park all day at the fancy multilevel garage at 9th Street (hourly rates are available there), and $6 on weekdays and $7 on the weekend at 31st Street. The other lots are $4 a day during the week, $5 on weekends. Locals get a break on evening parking. A city sticker nets you a space for $1 after five.

The second problem is that, with the exception of the temporary lot at 31st Street, you can't exactly tumble out of your car and into the ocean.

But then you came to the beach to catch some rays and get some exercise, right?

The farthest that any lot is from the sand is two blocks. Go for it, the walk will do you good.

Next problem. What is there to do down at 9th Street? Well, there are a couple of pretty good restaurants down that way and even a nice little museum, the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage place at 11th Street. Even so, I'll have to admit that end of the strip isn't exactly the heart of what's happening at the Oceanfront. I don't think I've ever seen a guy with a snake draped around his neck or a skunk on a leash anywhere south of 17th Street.

So what are you supposed to do after you commit yourself to several bucks worth of parking, unload the kids, cooler and umbrella and want to hit the beach where the real action is?

You do what Bill and I did the weekend of the Boardwalk Art Show. We parked at 9th Street, then marched right up to the lot attendant and got a handful of free trolley passes. The parking fee at any of the city's parking lots includes two free passes for each passenger in your car.

Anyway, we flagged down a trolley headed south (we opted for the scenic route) and got a free ride up to the end of the show at 31st Street. Bill thought the scenery was particularly good this year, especially the bikinis.

The show on the trolley was pretty good, too. The driver was friendly, the tourists happy with the price (50 cents is the going price if you don't have a free token, 25 cents if you're a senior or have a disability).

It's amazing what goes on these summer trolleys. Kids got on with fish poles and crab nets, moms boarded carrying strollers, a couple of teens had surfboards and more than a few dads struggled under the weight of coolers the size of Pungo.

Bill and I got off, spent a couple of hours viewing the art (and more bikinis) from 31st to 17th, then got on the trolley again. We decided to really get our money's worth this time. We rode it north to 40th Street before heading back south. Did I mention that, unlike the trolleys of old, you don't have to pay another fare when you come to the end of the line?

Funny thing, as we rode we kept seeing drivers going around and round, looking for parking spaces. By this time it was after five. For a $1 (if they were local), they could have parked in a lot, picked up their free passes and enjoyed a hassle-free evening.

Instead, they probably went back to Kempsville complaining that there's no parking at the Oceanfront. Oh well, that's their loss, it just means more room on the trolley for us.

For trolley information call TRT at 640-6300. For parking information call 437-5750 or 437-4733.

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