THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512060169
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Barricades are up across the Waterview Causeway - sending hundreds of people on an alternate route every day and prompting dozens of people to complain to the city.
For the next six weeks, the City Council will be listening to those complaints and working on a solution to the heavy traffic problem through the residential area.
After Waterview residents complained for months about the traffic running through their neighborhood, the council decided to erect the barriers for a 60-day trial period.
While the barriers have cut down on the traffic through the neighborhood, they helped to increase it at City Hall, where some Portsmouth residents have complained that it's unfair to block off one community if it hurts others.
City workers will be monitoring the traffic this month to see where the patterns have moved and how best to control the flow of traffic. Traffic engineer R.D. ``Red'' McDaniel said there have been a dozen options for controlling vehicles in the area.
``Without knowing where the traffic is being diverted, we really don't know our (real) options yet,'' McDaniel said.
The 12 options that were listed before the 60-day trial period began include: a traffic signal at High and Orange streets; traffic circles; four-way stop signs; reduced speed limits; no-left-hand-turn and no-right-hand-turn signs; diagonal diverters, which would force people to go left or right rather than straight through the neighborhood.
Others are: permanent barriers in the road that would effectively channel traffic the same way the temporary barriers have; one-way streets; alternate traffic flow signaling; temporary closure of the Clifford Street bridge; temporary closure of the causeway; permanent closure of the causeway, and road improvements.
Those who have voiced opposition to closing the causeway have said they wouldn't mind other alternatives, such as the one-way streets or the traffic signal, but they don't want all access through the neighborhood cut off.
``It's dividing the city,'' said Carrie J. Byrum, who lives in Waterview and is opposed to closing the causeway. ``I knew the traffic was here when I bought my home 10 years ago. I was well aware of it, and so was everyone else who bought in this neighborhood.''
Byrum said she has gotten dozens of calls on the new barricades.
``First of all, I do not believe that any taxpaying citizens should be denied the right to public streets,'' Byrum said.
She also cited Anne Brown's grocery store on the causeway, and said this action was hurting her business.
Those who want the causeway closed have said the traffic is dangerous and that it's a small thing to ask people to go two minutes out of their way.
``I know everyone thinks we're real selfish not wanting 9,000 cars through the neighborhood,'' said Donna Forehand, a Waterview resident. ``We just want a nice quiet neighborhood without all the cars. I don't think we're being selfish. These were not designed for 9,000 cars a day. It really does hurt me that they think we're selfish. I really don't want to cause trouble for everybody else, I just want what they already have.''
Since the barricades went up, several folks in Waterview said they can ride their bikes and walk down the streets without fear from the traffic. They finally have a serene neighborhood, Forehand said.
``I've been here 21 years, and we've tried for all these years to get some help with traffic,'' said Janie Seigler. ``We have 7,000 to 9,000 going through the neighborhood, and 89 percent of those are speeders.''
She said the neighbors have asked for speed bumps through the years, but city officials told them speed bumps would be too expensive. The barricades are better, she said.
``We did not cook this up, the city put them up,'' Seigler said. ``It's wonderful. We love it. I have talked to more neighbors and met people I didn't know. It's a neighborhood again. We're not trying to make everyone in the city of Portsmouth mad. We just want peace and quiet like every other neighborhood has.''
The city is to decide by the end of January on its permanent solution to the causeway traffic problems. by CNB