Parking still a problem near Oceanfront hotel

Cavalier Shores area residents want permit program extended

VIRGINIA BEACH — With construction continuing on the grounds of the Cavalier hotel campus at the Oceanfront, nearby residents are asking for the city’s help to deal with parking problems in an adjacent North End neighborhood.

People living in the Cavalier Shores neighborhood want the city to extend a temporary parking permit program that was created when residents’ frustration over parking issues boiled over in 2019.

The program allows motorists to park on the street for up to three hours in the 200 blocks of 43rd, 44th and 45th streets, but requires a permit for any longer.

The City Council already extended the program for a year, and the Cavalier Shores Civic League is asking for another one-year extension. The council is scheduled to vote on it today.

“It really has worked out well for everybody,” said Bernice Pope, the civic league’s president. “The residents have been able to come home and park.”

Dozens of construction workers arrive early in the morning to find parking spots on the surrounding residential streets. Though the original Cavalier hotel and the Marriott are open for business, there’s still much work to be done.

The workers are building condominiums, creating a valet driveway for the Marriott hotel and constructing another hotel, an Embassy Suites.

“There’s a lot of stuff happening in this particular corner of the world,” Pope said.

Both hotels have parking garages, but construction workers are not provided spots, said Mike Dubose of W.M. Jordan Co., the general contractor.

“They’re instructed to find parking on their own,” Dubose said.

Virginia Beach has issued more than 200 parking permits in Cavalier Shores each year since the program launched, according to Rob Fries, the city’s parking manager.

Enforcement staff issued 374 parking tickets in 2019, and 340 in 2020. Citations are $20, Fries said.

Beachgoers, hotel employees and restaurant patrons park on the streets of Cavalier Shores, too, Pope said.

Last year, demand was lower than normal due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope said, but she’s expecting a busy summer.

“Once the weather gets nicer and more people get vaccinated, there’s going to be more people feeling comfortable with going out,” she said.

L TODD SPENCER/STAFF Residents of Cavalier Shores want to extend on-street parking limits to deter hotel and construction workers from taking up parking spaces.