NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Last year’s cruise season had several break-ins, but with changes from the Norfolk Parking Division, it said cruisegoers’ belongings will be safe.
“We also had some issues here with security here that we had to resolve,” said Norfolk Parking Division Director Ray Stoner.
He said a handful of necessary changes have been made, like the fencing, with a brand-new black fence lining the Cedar Grove parking lot.
“We had an old chain link fence here,” Stoner said. “This fence is harder to get over. It offers a better perimeter security.”
At night, the lot will be lit with LED lights.
“The overall brightness of the helps with security and also allows the folks that are providing security to see better,” Stoner said.
The lighting will also help the Live View cameras monitor the lot.
“The camera has almost 360 capabilities,” Stoner said, “so there are roughly four cameras in this lot. Those cameras have intrusion alerts. They have perimeter alarm alerts.”
A loud alarm will blare if someone intrudes the perimeter and will instruct them to exit immediately.
The city traded in its contract with a private security company. Instead, the lot will have Norfolk Sheriff’s deputies who will patrol the lot 24/7 during the cruise season.
“They have arrest powers,” Stoner said. “We are able to tie them directly to our infrastructure system with computer. We can’t do that with a private contractor. There is a higher quality security presence here.”
It’s all part of what Stoner said are improvements to make sure people can park safely in the city.
“We are not perfect,” Stoner said. “(If) we make a mistake if something isn’t up to par, we fix it. That’s what we do. I think this is an example of making it a better experience.”
Stoner said they would make any other necessary improvements, as Carnival Magic continues to set sail from the Norfolk port.