THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512080236
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
Streets are everyone's
Concerning the new traffic pattern at the east end of the Churchland Bridge, in a recent Currents article, city traffic engineer ``Red'' McDaniel indicated that the new traffic pattern was temporary and that a decision as to its permanence would be made later. I can't help but believe that the decision was made many months and untold thousands of dollars ago, when that portion of Willett Drive between High Street and Western Branch Boulevard was made one-way. Rodman Avenue was straightened and improved between Western Branch Boulevard and High Street and traffic signals were installed at High and Rodman.
It puzzles and troubles me that our mayor and council members are elected by Portsmouth citizenry but are unduly influenced by special interest groups - in this instance the residents of Waterview or more specifically the Waterview Civic League. I doubt that there are enough votes in Waterview to keep these public servants in office if the rest of Portsmouth's voters don't support them. . . So what is it?
Our officials are actively recruiting new residents to Portsmouth. With increased population comes increased traffic. Where will the city have us drive?
The citizens of Portsmouth should not be denied access to any of our public, tax-supported streets or be inconvenienced because of pressure put on City Council by the residents of any neighborhood solely because they don't want traffic in their neighborhood. It's also unfair and possibly unsafe to those residents who have to absorb the additional traffic on their streets and in their neighborhoods in order to implement this new traffic pattern.
Special interest groups have already prevailed in Olde Towne and in Port Norfolk among others. The establishment of areas of exclusivity within the city must stop.
Perhaps it was best said in Guy Fridell's Nov. 28 column when he quoted the late Judge Hitchings in a similar situation in Norfolk. Judge Hitchings told the city that he was not bound ``...one iota by any traffic law that turns a neighborhood into a walled garden. The streets belong to everyone.''
William D. Roberts
Cedar Lane
Nov. 29, 1995 by CNB