THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
You've been on the road for hours. Or is it days? You recall the trip as a series of rest stops where you downed overpriced cups of crummy instant coffee.
This is the real work of a vacation: getting there.
And now you're heading into unfamiliar territory. The map reflects a spaghetti-like maze of roads and numbers; a dizzying universe of unfamiliarity.
And then you see it: a huge sign announcing that, to reach your destination - the biggest attraction around - you can dispense with maps and numerology. Just follow the brightly colored, distinctive signs along ``Vacation Expressway'' and you'll be where you want to be.
That's the way it could be in Hampton Roads if the Virginia Department of Transportation - intent on finding ways to ease traffic at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel - considers more than renumbering area interstates.
The goal of moving tourist traffic - and all through traffic destined for Virginia Beach - to the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel and the I-664 corridor is a worthy one. Before expending more money on additional tunnel construction, everything possible should be done to utilize existing capacity in the most efficient way possible.
The trick is to convince people that the shortest distance between two points on a map doesn't necessarily mean that is the best or even quickest route.
So, instead of relying solely on changing interstate-highway numbers, VDOT should consider a more direct and colorful approach. Designate the stretch of highway from just east of Williamsburg to the Oceanfront (I-64, I-664, I-64 again, to Virginia Route 44) as the ``Ocean Highway'' or the ``Atlantic Expressway'' or the ``Oceanfront Thruway.'' Whatever. Just give it a name.
And - more important - a symbol.
The route should be designated with a colorful, circular or triangular logo, distinctive from other highway signage. Maybe a crab and a sandcastle; a beach umbrella or a wave. Whatever. The idea is a readily identifiable sign that would guide motorists like bread crumbs scattered on the forest floor.
Additionally, some number changing would help. But it should be minimized to ease costs, and the goal should be to provide clarity and ease of travel - something we lack now.
To discourage use of I-64 - The I-64 corridor from I-664 on the Peninsula to the interchange with I-264/Route 44 should have the word ``Business'' or ``Local'' added to it. I-664/64/44 could have the word ``Bypass'' added in addition to being part of the special tourist highway as previously suggested. This might further discourage through traffic headed to/from the beach from using I-64/HRBT and steer it to the I-664/MMBT route.
Get out the message - Several large highway routing signs should be placed along I-64 noting the split off of I-664 and making it clear that this is the route to the Oceanfront.
There also should be several large, changing-message signs that tell motorists the status of both bridge-tunnel complexes - not just flashing lights. These should include an estimated delay time.
Renaming interstates - The stretch of I-64 from Virginia Beach to Bowers Hill should be redesignated for the simple reason that the present system is difficult to explain: ``Head west toward Suffolk on I-64 eastbound. . . '' Huh?
Redesignate I-64 from the interchange with I-264/Rte. 44 to Bowers Hill as I-864 East/West. Or, make it part of I-664.
Redesignate Virginia Route 44 (the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway) as part of I-264, and extend the expressway designation, with signage, to downtown Norfolk.
Redesignate Virginia Route 164, the Western Freeway, as I-164 (Ironically, that's how it was listed for a year in the ADC map book of Tidewater).
Finally, help drivers going between the Eastern Shore and interstates 95 and 85.
Turn on a CB radio and almost any hour you will hear lost/confused truckers and other motorists coming down U.S. Route 13 from the Eastern Shore searching for the route west to 85 and 95.
It would be helpful if there were a checkerboard sign or some other symbol to guide traffic - and there is a lot of it - making that trek in either direction.
There also should be some mileage signs (``I-85, via US-58, 50 miles'') (``New Jersey/New York via US-13/Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, 50 miles'') to help drivers along and in making fuel/rest decisions.
Now, which way to Pungo? MEMO: Staff writer Stone covers night police and general assignment and has
covered hundreds of accidents and traffic snarls over 17 years.
by CNB