The Cavalier daily :: Thursday, May 17, 1973 :: University of Virginia Library

In a letter to city churches,
city Police Chief John DeK.
Bowen said passing vehicles
must frequently cross the
center line on narrow streets to
avoid illegally parked oars
which line the sides of streets
near churches on Sunday
mornings.

Church Ticketed

Although Mr. Bowen
announced a grace period until
June 10 to permit churches to
alert their members to the new
rules, one church has already
been affected. In early
February, after some weeks of
ignoring parking infractions,
police ticketed numerous
worshippers at St. Thomas
Hall.

Ticketing continued
afterwards at irregular
intervals.

Father William Stickle, St.
Thomas Hall pastor, upset with
the abrupt change in leniency
for Sunday parkers, took a
number of traffic tickets from
the offending vehicles and
brought his complaint to city
Mayor Francis Fife. The mayor
and the police chief agreed to
the change without warning so
action was taken to dismiss the
tickets.

Mr. Bowen said there was
no attempt to harass St.
Thomas worshippers. He
explained that the ticketing
began when a new officer was
placed on the beat. Apparently
unfamiliar with the leniency
policy, the officer ticketed the
violators. He said he agreed
that the reliance interest of the
churchgoers was upset, and
sought dismissal of the tickets.

Father Stickle stressed the
real question is why the no
parking signs are across from
St. Thomas in the first place.
He pointed out that the 1000
foot stretch of Alderman Road
across from the church is the
widest portion of Alderman
Road, yet parking is not
forbidden on the narrower
parts of the street. Chief
Bowen's letter had stressed the
dangers of illegal parking in
narrow streets.

Request Of University

Hugo Malanga, the city's
traffic engineer, said that the
signs were put up at the
request of the University. He
said the University was fearful
of hazards to pedestrians and
its buses, and had requested
that there be no parking on
both sides of Alderman road.
After study by the city it was
decided to put up "no parking
at any time" signs only on one
side of Alderman Road, that
1000 feet portion opposite St.
Thomas Hall.

Mr. Malanga agreed that the
Alderman parking situation
was full of inconsistencies and
said that public hearings would
probably be held later in the
year and an evaluation made of
the whole area's problems.

Interests Of Pedestrians

Although the University
asserted the interests of
pedestrians and buses in
seeking a total parking ban on
Alderman Road, there is a
sidewalk in front of St.
Thomas Hall, and the
University runs no buses in the
area on Sunday.

Kevin J. Adams, manager of
the University's bus system,
said he had requested the ban
on parking on both sides of the
street. "I feel there is a great
safety hazard from the buses,
cars, bikes and pedestrians.
There is the danger that
someone walking in the street
will be hit by a car," he said.

Mr. Adams said, "I
specifically noted in my letter
to Mr. Malanga that there was a
church on the street, and
recommended that the signs
read 'No parking except for
church activities.'

He explained that the
traffic problem in the area is
worst on weekdays during
school hours, and had written a
second letter again asking
removal of parking on both
sides, except for church
purposes.

The effect of his
suggestions would be a
restoration of the old policy of
permitting Sunday parking