The Roanoke Times: RoundTable

Comments

# 1

[May 15, 2008 1:30 PM]

Other John

There should be a 1-2 hour maximum on downtown parking...metered or not, for on-street spaces. Blacksburg has tons of meters, which are a pain in the neck if you don't keep a bag of loose change handy...so I'd prefer timed spaces. But then you need enforcement, which would require some parking folks to chalk-mark cars that sit around so they can ticket them...which probably isn't very cost effective, but it would help. Signs aren't pretty though, but rows of parking meters clogging up the new sidewalks are probably uglier.

# 2

[May 15, 2008 6:01 PM]

C Ramsey

When the Town did have meters, the citizens and merchants did nothing but complain about how the local government was destroying their business and deterring shoppers. They said it just wasn't needed because there wasn't enough traffic downtown to need parking limitations. The Town raised concerns about parking congestion around the Courthouse at that time, but the citizens and merchants persisted with the argument that the meters were a bad thing and that "aggressive enforcement" wasn't necessary.

What's more, when officers did enforce parking violations, they were accused of corruption, wasting taxpayer money, letting real criminals elude detection... you know, the whole gamut of things people say when they get caught breaking traffic laws.

Well, the Town gave in to the constant complaints and removed the meters as part of its Downtown Revitalization. Now people are upset that there wasn't and isn't enough parking enforcement. Ironic in that the previous complaints were that parking enforcement was too aggressive and unnecessary. One can't help but wonder if this isn't demonstrative of the fact that some people will complain about local government no matter what it does.

On a side note, it seems to me that Ms. Lucas-Gardner should be direct her ire at the area attorneys in that they are the ones who park in the spaces next to the Courthouse all day, every day.

# 3

[May 16, 2008 9:45 AM]

Carol Lindstrom

C. Ramsey, I think it is the right of any citizen to complain if they feel that there are problems that are not being addressed.
As I recall it was somewhere around the 10:30 pm mark in the last Town Council meeting that the problem of parking in downtown was addressed. A brief discussion was held about setting either a 1 or 2 hour parking limit and further discussion was suggested.
Freedom of Speech and the right of all citizens to have a participative 'say' in government is one of the great things about the United States.
We all have differing needs and perceptions. If you do not have a business that is being negatively affected by the parking problem, you may not feel the issue is important. Those merchants who depend upon that parking as a way for their customers to have access to their businesses are likely to have a far different view from you. The role of the government and law enforcement is to enact and enforce codes that meet the needs of citizens, preserve safety of citizens, and to fairly apply those codes/laws to all.
If you look at the Town's population at the time the meters were removed and the population now (somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 increase depending upon whose numbers you believe)and the recent focus on downtown revitalization by the Town, it only stands to reason that the demands placed upon limited parking would become an issue. I hope the Town Council does act quickly to help with the parking problem.

# 4

[May 16, 2008 9:45 AM]

Other John

C...I think that Burg-itis has spread from Blacksburg to Christiansburg. I think you hit it right on the head by saying that no matter what the local gov't does, the same folks are going to complain about it because they have nothing better to do. It's like the environmentalist crowd...they complain about using coal and oil for energy production and how dirty and polluting it is, so they tell us to use clean and renewable sources. But then they complain that wind farms ruins scenery and might kills birds, so they block them. They also gripe that ethanol doesn't work (after they helped create the mandates to use it). They just cannot be pleased at all, and everyone needs to start ignoring them.

# 5

[May 16, 2008 3:05 PM]

Melissa "Lisa" Lucas (no hyphen) Gardner : →http://www.cakewalkblog.com/speakoutChristiansburg

Great responses...thank you.

FYI, I did write letters to the Circuit Court judges, District Court judges, and the town manager pointing out that it was the attorneys, defendants, courthouse employees, and even an occasional police car that were taking up all the spaces. I asked the judges to request courthouse visitors to park on the lower lot behind the jail on First Street. I didnt get a call or letter back about it from any of them. Its apparently not as important to them as it is to me and the other town residents who want a parking space to shop.

"Burg-itis" come on???
I call it a democracy that has some stimulated, intellectual, and perhaps educated people who are willing to question the actions of local government officials who are spending our tax dollars.

Intellectual dialog is stimulating and helpful to our community. I am happy to see that we are finally becoming a community filled with residents that can debate and have the ability to find others who are able to do so.

For many years I lived and was a police officer in a little 2.2 square mile town in Maryland named Takoma Park. I invite you to look it up. You will find that this little town can be described as an activist town that is known as "the little town that could."

I hope to see Christiansburg be a "little town that could" someday.

# 6

[May 16, 2008 5:06 PM]

C Ramsey

Well, I guess I should say thanks for the civics lesson, but instead I will express my dismay at the fact that the Town of Christiansburg's population has increased by 10,000 in the 18 months that have passed since the meters were removed. Really?

Given that the 2000 Census put the population at 16,947 and 2004 estimates put it at 17,495, that's quite a jump. If that's true then the population would be somewhere between 24,000 and 28,000. Is Christiansburg bigger than Blacksburg now?

# 7

[May 17, 2008 11:02 AM]

Carol Lindstrom

C. Ramsey: As to population increase, I was referring to the time from which the meters were upgraded from 1 cent and became something of a nuisance because they stayed broken most of the time.
Bottom line is that the Town Council has identified this parking issue as a problem on several occasions.
Most recently at the last Town Council meeting.
What I'd really like to know though C.Ramsey is what it is that you have against downtown merchants trying to make a living. Or, is it just that you are against anything C. Trejbal writes?
I applaud your exercising free speech but for an effective dialog to ensue it would be nice to understand not only what you are against, but why you are against it. It is not clear to me why you oppose having a parking limit for downtown and I would really like to hear your perspective.