THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407140162
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: The Road Warrior
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines
Road got a mess of scathing calls last week from a good many folks in the neighborhood of Elizabeth River Shores. If you'll remember, Road had written about residents there taking the city to task for a traffic light involved with the Military Highway project.
Road got comments ranging from, ``Why don't you get off your fat butt and come down here to see what's happening!'' to ``It sounds to me as if you and John Herzke (the city's engineer) should be married.''
First, Road does not have a fat rear end, thank you, and second, marriage to John is out of the question.
A few others who called Road on the subject were a bit more reasonable. One woman, Joyce Thomas, suggested that Road look into the ``real'' story and that is that the light that's in question was not even mentioned in the project's first and only public hearing.
Well, she's right. John Herzke says the light wasn't mentioned. Basically, he said, engineers assumed that since the neighborhood folks had been exiting and entering their neighborhood the same way for about 30 years with no known complaints, the light wouldn't be an issue. Boy, were they wrong.
A little background on the story: the Military Highway widening project originally called for a traffic light at the Wayside Inn to be left where it stands today. The neighborhood folks got together and decided that they wanted that light relocated to Brockman Avenue, meaning they would get direct access to their neighborhood to and from the busy eight-lane roadway.
A new public hearing of sorts was scheduled last week so that the issue could be resolved, or the options discussed and then sent to the City Council for a vote.
According to John Herzke, the meeting turnout was good - about 75 or so people showed up.
The options presented at the meeting were:
Option 1: The same plan that was presented (sans any mention of the light) at the first public hearing in 1992.
Option 2: The current plan, which is to leave the light where it is at the Wayside Inn.
Option 3: The residents' choice, which is to move the light to Brockman Avenue as well as create a median break at Dyer Place.
Option 4: A modified version of Option 3, which includes moving the light to Brockman, giving the neighborhood the median break at Dyer Place and then adding cul-de-sacs at Brockman and extending the service road on the eastern side of Brockman down to the signal.
The City Council voted on the issue Tuesday and chose a modified version of Option 4.
This option now includes leaving the Wayside Inn light where it is, but adding an additional signal at Brockman for residents to enter the neighborhood. There'll also be an entrance at Dyer Place and the service roads will be converted to cul-de-sacs. The option chosen will cost about $1 million more and will push the project's completion date back about a year.
In the end, both residents and businesses got what they wanted.
On the issue of Road taking sides two weeks ago (the residents vs. the city), that's bogus. Road merely presented the issue in the column. As for taking the city at its word, if the residents of Elizabeth River Shores were so concerned with voicing their opinions, Road's Infoline phone number is listed weekly and has been for the past seven or so years. Call Road when this stuff is happening, not when it's almost resolved. You guys are my eyes and ears out there.
P.S. If you have any questions or problems concerning any paving done in the city, call Road this week and leave your message. Road's riding with Dan Kiley from the city's paving department next week and it'd be an excellent time to pin him down on problems.
SNARLS OF THE WEEK
The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.
Rob, Chicks Beach. I was reading your article about the Virginia State Police not responding to accidents under $1,000 in property damage. If that's a waste of resources, why don't they get out of the toll booth? That's a big waste of manpower for a little nickel and dime ticket.
RW: True, it's not the biggest offense you can be cited for. But, consider that they not only catch toll runners, they catch folks with expired tags, plates, licenses and even drugs. So, it's not a total waste. Road does think that one officer should be able to handle the job, not the six or seven that you usually see at one location.
Jerry Cohen, Safety coordinator in driver training with Hoffman Beverage Co. On June 23/24 Snarls of the Week, Kenny Graham stated, ``I drive a real big truck and when I honk my horn and flash my lights at people they won't get out of my way. It is very frustrating.''
I personally think Kenny would make a great candidate for a National Safety Council defensive driving course or his company's driving school.
I instruct young new operators on safe and courteous rules of the road and they do not belong in the left lane, period.
Never mind honking the horn and blinking lights to move someone out of their way. It's not good for company image or the good of the trucking industry.
P.S. Always buckle up before starting up.
RW: A true gentleman, Jerry.
Tom Cain, Lake Placid. The person that wrote you about the left-hand turn light onto Dam Neck from London Bridge, you're wrong, fellow. They're right. That light doesn't even let the first car get through. It is ridiculous. It's not even three, four or five seconds before it goes to a red and then a regular green and by that time you can't even get through. It does need to be adjusted. It's one of the most ridiculous left-hand turn lights in the city.
Just thought I'd let you know that there's other people out there with that same complaint and nobody's said anything. Check it out, dude.
T. Sanders, Hunt Club Forest. I'm calling in regards to the letter about the turn on London Bridge Road onto Dam Neck going toward the Farmers Market. Going in the other direction, it is also only four to five seconds long and only one car can get through and by the time they're in the middle of the intersection the light turns yellow for the second car. It's very, very short and very hard to turn there. I think probably because the intersection is so large. If you could look into it we'd appreciate it!
RW: One way Road judges the seriousness of a complaint is to take note on the number of calls about the topic. In this case, there were two others in addition to Tom and T. Sanders who called saying that that left-turn lane is too short.
Road has passed this on to engineers who have decided to go out and see if the clock on the thing is out of whack. Let me know if you notice a change. MEMO: Tell the Road Warrior about your motoring problems. Get 'em off your
chest. Call Infoline at 640-5555. After a brief message, dial ROAD
(7623). When directed, press 1 to deliver your message, and 1 again to
sign off.
You folks on the information superhighway can dial Road's Infinet
address: ld(AT)infi.net.
Or, write: The Road Warrior, Virginia Beach Beacon, 4565 Virginia
Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va., 23462.
Don't forget to include your name, address and neighborhood.
by CNB