By Ray Gronberg

gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648

DURHAM -- City Council members agree that curbside parking problems in the neighborhoods around N.C. Central University have gotten bad enough to require more attention from city and campus leaders.

But they stopped short Thursday of going along with an NCCU student and entrepreneur who contends the solution lies in giving his company an exclusive deal to tow improperly parked vehicles for $175 a pop.

"Let me follow up with Chancellor Nelms," City Manager Tom Bonfield, promising council members that he'd instead have a word with NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms to see how the city and campus police departments can deal with the situation.

Council members made it clear they want to see improvements. "It's a serious problem," Councilman Mike Woodard said.

Thursday's discussion came in response to a request from would-be tower Eric Warsaw, who's in the process of getting his company, Roadside Towing and Recovery, certified to receive a share of Durham's towing business.

Warsaw argued that curbside parking on close-to-campus roads like Concord Street and Formosa Avenue has "become a significant hazard" to residents of the area.

Parked cars often block access to driveways and fire hydrants, and on some streets make it nearly impossible for emergency vehicles to pass through, Warsaw said.

He added that the problem has gotten worse in recent years because "the infrastructure at the university has not grown along with" its enrollment.

Warsaw said officials can solve the problem by "simply allow[ing] towing enforcement to begin," and added that they can blunt the financial impact on transgressors by allowing them to work off the fees with community service.

Durham police, however, aren't keen on Warsaw's proposal.

Perhaps mindful of how tow companies in cities like neighboring Chapel Hill have sparked allegations of "predatory" business practices, police say they want to keep a tight rein on what the companies here do.

Authorities keep a list of approved towers and call the next one in line in when an officer finds a car on a public street that needs moving.

Police Chief Jose Lopez also contends that the problem tends to even out as the school year progresses, "as students get acclimated to restricted parking areas and realize enforcement action will be taken if vehicles are parked illegally."

District 4 Capt. Rick Pendergrass told council members Thursday he's instructed his officers not to wait for a citizen to call 911 with a complaint if they see cars blocking driveways, hydrants or otherwise causing a problem.

He added that just in the past few days, they've ordered three or four tows at a clip to clear up potential clogs.

But Lopez's claim that Durham and N.C. Central police have "a collaborative effort that is working" on the parking front drew a rebuttal from Woodard.

The councilman said he's been on campus several times recently, among other occasions for a candidate's forum and for a neighborhood "Make A Difference Day," and seen cars parked wall-to-wall.

"I guess I'd challenge the chief's comment that the collaborative effort is working," Woodard said. "I don't see that it's working."

Councilwoman Cora Cole-McFadden said the problem isn't showing up just in the neighborhoods on the west side of campus. She visits people in the Cecil Street area several times a week and finds she can hardly squeeze into their driveway for the cars parked around it.

"I don't know if Mr. Warsaw's company is the solution, but we have to have a solution," Woodard said.