THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290744
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: The Road Warrior
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
Last week, Road hit on a topic that's been an ongoing debate between school bus drivers and residents for years: Where should drivers park their buses when they're not in use?
Jeff called Road last week to ask whether there were any laws regarding school buses and where they should or should not park.
Road answered that there were no laws that addressed the topic and that's true. However, Maury Bailey, education chairman for the Council of Civic Organizations, called to tell Road about a commission that was formed to study this issue.
The commission comprised 17 folks from bus drivers to policemen to transportation officials with the school system.
After three lengthy meetings, the commission came up with a compromise that was presented to the school board this year, said Bailey.
Road doesn't have the exact wording of the commission's findings and school officials are off this week, but Mr. Bailey says that the commission decided that the best way to approach the situation was to take each parking situation, or complaint, on a case by case basis.
If someone has a problem with a bus parking in their immediate neighborhood, not more than one block from their residence, they can write the school's transportation division and the school system will try and make arrangements for the bus to be parked elsewhere.
All this information comes courtesy of Mr. Bailey, who was kind enough to call and let Road in on the commission's findings.
In turn, to do the commission and their findings justice, Road has a call in to the school's transportation department for more information and specifics on the commission's findings.
Hopefully, Road'll get some information in time for next week's column. Stay tuned.
SNARLS OF THE WEEK
The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.
Sandy Eisner, no address given.
I'm calling about the intersection of ROSEMONT ROAD and SILINA. Whether you're east or west on Silina, when you try to make a left turn, sometimes you have to wait a couple of light cycles or you have to run the yellow because, straight through, traffic on Silina is always heavy.
There's already left turn lanes. Why can't they put a left turn light at that intersection? Thank you.
RW: Sounds like maybe it's time to take another look at the traffic flow on Silina. Engineers say there could be an ``opportunity for modifications.'' That means they'll go check it out to see if the traffic is heavy enough to warrant such a change. Thanks for calling, Sandy.
Joe Hopkins, Green Run. Why are we going to spend a million bucks to improve SHORE DRIVE? Why not shut it down at the west gate of Fort Story and have all the motorists go through that way. It will cut down the speed and save a life or two.
RW: Hey, not a bad idea, Joe. Though, the folks at Fort Story probably wouldn't be too happy. Unless, of course, we offered them the $1 million in return.
Bob Dailey, Ocean Lakes. Regarding OCEANA BOULEVARD and SOUTHERN BOULEVARD. Have the engineers considered a ``no left turn'' sign for the high traffic periods that would prevent the backup that is currently happening until this new First Colonial extension is ever finished. I think it would be a dandy idea, that's if people would adhere to the signs. Thank you.
RW: Engineers will have to investigate just how bad the backups, heading northbound from the base, are and how often there's a backup. It'd have to be pretty bad to get a ``no left turn'' sign because there are people living there who would probably appreciate being able to drive to their homes.
Citizens Against Lightpoles Lying Around (CALA), no address given. On the northeastern corner of INDEPENDENCE and JEANNE streets is a light pole that's lying on the ground. It's been there about six weeks with glass all around it. Just wondering are they ever going to take it away? I'm calling for Citizens Against Lightpoles Lying Around. That's CALA. Thank you.
RW: All street lights and their poles are owned and maintained by Virginia Power. To report a fallen pole, call 858-4660. As for this particular pole, engineers said they'll take care of this one by alerting Virginia Power themselves.
Ron Hoover, no address given. Turning onto SOUTH PLAZA TRAIL from HOLLAND ROAD is a two lane street. After approximately 500 feet, those in the right lane must merge left. However, there's no sign to inform you of the merge and only two very faded, if not invisible, arrows painted on the street. The result is that vehicles unfamiliar with S. Plaza could side-swipe one another.
What can be done about this? Thank you.
RW: Well, Ron, it sounds like a sign and new pavement markings would improve the situation tremendously. It could be that the sign has been knocked down and no one ever noticed. Anyway, Road reported it to engineers.
Dave, no address given. I'm calling about your thing here on the barricade at INDEPENDENCE. The person who hit that the last time was cut off by a driver who was trying trying to exit 44 north on Independence. It wasn't her fault and, hopefully, she won't be the one who has to pay for that thing. I was directly behind her.
Why is there no sidewalk in the design of that? It's dangerous enough for cars to get through, but you can't walk or bike if you live in the Mount Trashmore area or over on Holland Road. Thank you.
RW: Maybe there's no sidewalk because it is ``dangerous enough'' for cars much less bicyclists and pedestrians.
That's only a guess, though, and not the official word. Road's not sure why sidewalks weren't designed into this area, other than maybe there just wasn't enough room to do so?
Road's going to try and get an official word on this one. 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