Nov/Dec 2006

Please Don't Tow

New signs explain the parking policy at the Oceanfront and help the city's image.

By Michael Jon Khandelwal

When I was a kid in Virginia Beach, my friends and I built trails and jumps in vacant lots along the Lynnhaven Inlet and rode our dirt bikes fast. We camped out in each others' backyards every summer night and cooked hot dogs over small fires in holes we dug with our fathers' shovels. We loved growing up there, and the city, we believed, loved us, too.

Virginia Beach didn't need to think about good public relations, because the city itself was its own good PR. Today, though, things have changed. Lately, it seems like Virginia Beach doesn't act very responsibly towards its citizens and guests. I use the word "seem" because I believe the city and its leaders have good intentions, but there is a perception of uncaring, a PR problem.

Perhaps the biggest failure in relating to the public comes from the city's perceived stance on towing and overnight parking in municipal lots at the Oceanfront. Every day, especially in the summer, thousands of people have a good time at the beach. Sometimes they drink a bit too much. Sometimes, if they are responsible, they call a cab and go home safely. Then, the city tows their cars away.

In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I must admit that I was stopped late at night in 1999 on I-264 after drinking too much. I had been visiting some friends in Hampton, and I thought I was OK to drive home. I was wrong. I was stupid. I was and am still ashamed.

I got lucky. I had a fantastic lawyer and a merciful officer and judge. I was never convicted of a DUI, but I still took part in alcohol safety classes, group meetings and a lot of soul searching. I know that today, there is no way I would have been shown the same kind of mercy. I also know I shouldn't have gotten off so lightly. I am grateful, though, because I learned how a bad decision could change one's life for the worse forever.

I know people should arrange ahead of time for a ride home-I know I should have back then. But sometimes mistakes happen. Sometimes people unintentionally drink too much, and, unlike a younger, idiotic me, are still responsible enough to try to avoid driving. The city should not make it hard for people to try to do the right thing-it's not the way a friendly city that cares for the safety of its citizens and guests should act.

For the rest of this story, see the Nov/Dec issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.