THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 10, 1995 TAG: 9511090122
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: The Road Warrior
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
The Love Sign mystery has been solved.
Last week, Road mentioned a few signs that folks had seen popping up around the area with the message, ``Leslie. I love you. Calixto.''
Well, it turns out there were more than just one or two signs.
According to Leslie Gunn, for whom the signs were meant, a total of 54 signs were erected along a route starting near her home in downtown Norfolk and continuing to the Barry Robinson Center off Kempsville Road, where Gunn works.
The signs were erected by Calixto Perez Jr., an old flame with whom Gunn had recently been reunited after eight years of silence.
Theirs is a story of true commuting love.
Perez lives in Northern Virginia while Gunn lives in Norfolk.
He had mentioned to her that the next time he came down ``everyone in Norfolk'' was going to know that he loved her.
She had no idea what he meant until the night of Oct. 18 when she noticed the first sign on Colonial Avenue.
``I thought it was the sweetest thing,'' said Gunn. ``The next day, on my way to work, I realized they were everywhere!''
Gunn says her man is ``definitely a road warrior,'' because every weekend he travels to see his Southside love. And, he had to pull out the map and figure out her route to work so that his signs would be seen by the one for whom they were intended.
The two are planning to be married in May 1997.
Now, isn't that 'tweet?
SNARLS OF THE WEEK
The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.
Howard Campbell, Westview Village. Help, bud! Last year we were blessed with a new resurfacing job on INDIAN RIVER ROAD, from Military Highway eastward. Well, guess what? Almost before the tar was cool a large trench was dug across the westbound lanes at SUNNYSIDE DRIVE so a pipeline could be installed. I assume this was necessary but appears to be poor planning on someone's part.
My gripe is the patch - and I emphasize patch. We now have a shock-busting ditch across the street that will jar the fillings out of your teeth and bounce your coffee mug out in the floor. Where were the inspectors on this project? What about a compaction test? Please, Road, how can the thousands of motorists that must travel this abomination every day get some relief?
P.S. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Poor ol' Joe Citizen needs someone to prod our state and city officials into doing the jobs they should be doing anyway.
RW: Unfortunately, Road can't make anyone do his job. But, Road isn't too bad at getting answers to some of these questions. Which is a feat in itself sometimes.
Anyway, in reference to this trench, it does sound like the area had a bona fide public utilities project going on. Road called public utilities and they're in the process of trying to find out who was in charge of the job and what exactly was done. Once Road gets a hold of a project engineer, we'll see if we can't get some answers about that patch job! Stay tuned.
Dennis Atkins, no address given. I want to report a blind corner at FIR AVENUE and SOUTHERN BOULEVARD. I've had several close calls there and it's just an accident waiting to happen.
There are three large fir trees right on the corner that block your view from the oncoming traffic in either direction. It's not a through intersection, it's just one street terminates at another at that point. Cars go around that corner fast and cut the corner short so if they could at least trim the bottom of the trees back it wouldn't be so dangerous. Thanks for listening to my gripe.
RW: Engineers say they'll ride out and check out the offending trees to see if they're in need of a trim. Thanks for the heads-up.
Theresa, no address given. You provide a tremendous service to drivers in this area, Road. I read your article about the corner of OVERLAND and KEMPSVILLE ROAD. Unfortunately the people that really need to see that probably never will.
I've always taught my children to drive very defensively at that corner. Is there anything that the city can put up reminding these drivers that they do have to stop and yield to the other traffic?
Anyway, that was a great paragraph and I didn't know that myself until I read it. Thank you.
RW: Unfortunately, or fortunately, Theresa, there are no signs to indicate how folks should drive or to whom they should yield, etc. It's like having a sign that says, ``Thou shalt not murder,'' when we all know we're not supposed to be killing people. Every respectable driver should take it upon himself to study each year's Department of Motor Vehicles Driver's Manual. It's amazing how much we think we know until we crack open the handy driver's manual.
Donna Webb, no address given. The intersection of ROUNDHILL and S. INDEPENDENCE is a very dangerous intersection. It looks like a wolf in sheep's clothing. It seems when you're on Roundhill, because Independence does not have a stop sign and there's no light, it's difficult to get across because of the way the road was made and the way you sit way back in the intersection.
Looks like it needs a light or at least a four-way stop.
RW: Good news for you, Donna. A traffic light is being installed at Roundhill. Only thing is, Road has no idea just when that's going to happen, other than it'll be sometime in the ``future.''
M.G. Bayside. I'm calling in reference to your response to Cathy about KEMPSVILLE ROAD and OVERLAND.
Specifically, your advice to her that when two cars meet at an intersection, that it's first-come, first-served.
I'm not sure if you were talking about the specific situation she described, but I was always taught something different. I have always been taught if two drivers are approaching each other and both have stop signs, that if the driver is turning left he has to yield to the driver across the intersection.
Were you answering her specific question or is that Virginia law? Please make that clear. Thanks.
RW: Actually, it's only first-come, first-served if you get to the intersection way ahead of the other guy!
The DMV manual says that no one has the right of way. It says, ``When two vehicles approach an intersection at the same time, who has the right of way? No one. That's right. The law states that when two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways at the same time, the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right. The law doesn't give right of way to anyone, it only states who must yield it.''
Make any sense to you? MEMO: Tell the Road Warrior about your motoring problems. Get 'em off your
chest. Call on 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.
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