ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601080009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MIDDLEBURG
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
This chic, horsy town has a love-hate relationship with its own main drag because the road - U.S. 50 - brings both vital tourism and unwelcome traffic.
Heavy trucks and commuters' cars rattle the windows of 200-year-old buildings and create traffic jams in the eight-block historic downtown area. Shunting through traffic to a bypass is one idea town officials are considering.
But residents who say a highway bypass would rob the quaint downtown of tourist traffic are pushing an alternative. Instead of diverting the already slow-moving traffic, they want to slow it down even more.
The changes would include narrowing sections of the highway, adding a few curves and installing speed humps, which are longer than traditional speed bumps.
``It's really cool,'' said Susan Van Wagoner, a Middleburg artist and member of an ad hoc group pushing the idea. ``It's a way to deal with traffic without destroying the historic community we have here.''
But others are far from calm about the proposal.
``Heavens no, it won't work,'' said Middleburg resident Richard Kirk, who is the Loudoun County Circuit Court clerk and commutes to Leesburg every day. ``It will only create more problems, and it will only make me later getting to work. I don't want any bumps to slow me down anymore.''
Fairfax County and other residential communities have tried calming traffic to discourage speeding and drivers seeking shortcuts. But state and local transportation officials are skeptical of applying the concept to a major highway.
``It can be a very good solution for neighborhood streets that want to reduce speeding,'' said Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Joan Morris. ``But Route 50 is a different animal. It's a major east-west traffic corridor.''
Morris also warned that the traffic-slowing measures could increase response times for emergency vehicles.
Town officials are enthusiastic about the proposal, which is still taking shape. A town committee last year had recommended the construction of a bypass, but the Town Council has decided to wait until the traffic-calming plan is completed before making a recommendation to state transportation officials, who will make the final decision.
``It sounds absolutely marvelous,'' said Mayor Carol Bowersock. ``If people want to go faster, they have other options.''
The idea of traffic calming was developed in Denmark in the 1970s. Those who want to bring it to Middleburg acknowledge that it runs counter to conventional highway planning, which calls for roads to be as straight and as wide as possible.
But they argue that it's the only way to preserve Middleburg's elegant ambiance.
``We feel this area is too special to just use a cookie-cutter approach of building new and bigger roads,'' Van Wagoner said.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Heavy trucks and commuters' cars create traffic jamsby CNBin the eight-block historic downtown area of Middleburg.