New restaurant packs them in, much to neighbors' dismay

ASK BOB HUFF about his '67 Ford Galaxie, the cream-colored one with the accent flames and the 390 engine, and pull up a chair. Huff loves cars; turning them into hot rods is both his profession and his hobby.

But there are some cars he doesn't care for a bit. Friday and Saturday nights, they line both sides of his narrow residential street in Norfolk. They park from past his house to Dunning Road's intersection with Shore Drive.

The problem started a few weeks ago, when a restaurant opened where a laundromat used to operate.

The good news for Capt. Groovy's is, business is good. The cars fill up the parking lot and spill over into the street.

But it's bad news for Huff and his neighbors.

There isn't enough room for two cars to pass each other on Dunning. And it's hard to turn off or onto the street.

"We're forced to stop in the middle of Shore Drive because Dunning is blocked with cars," Huff said. "We have a very serious traffic problem here now that needs to be dealt with immediately."

The Warrior forwarded Huff's concern to Norfolk on April 7. Eleven days later, traffic engineer Guzin Akan said a remedy is afoot.

The city will post "No Parking Here to Corner" signs on Dunning at Shore Drive.

The "No Parking" zone will extend 125 feet from the corner.

The fix should be in place by mid-May, Akan said.

That solves at least part of the problem. Huff would like the prohibition extended an additional few hundred feet.

After the signs are in place, I'll check back with Huff and see whether more help is needed.

Watch list

Reader Elizabeth Masten could be Norfolk’s poster child for “Aren’t I Some Kind of Pleased About the New Church Street Underpass.”

“A beautiful sight it is,” Masten said.

But now, she said, Brambleton Avenue needs attention before and after the underpass. “The potholes are terrible from all the traffic, especially in the right-hand lanes,” she wrote.

Norfolk said it will replace water lines on Brambleton first. When that is done, the right-hand, concrete travel lanes will be replaced with asphalt. Then all the lanes will be resurfaced.

FYI, April is Pothole Repair Month in Norfolk. To report a pothole in the city, call (757) 823-4050.

Watch out!

Downtown Tunnel: A lane will be closed in both directions, daily through Friday morning, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for maintenance.

Midtown Tunnel: A lane will be closed, daily through Thursday morning, from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. for maintenance.