THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9512290027
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Inaccuracies abound and facts frequently are ignored when an emotional issue stirs a community as has the Waterview traffic situation in Portsmouth. Here are some considerations for Susan D. Johnson (``One-way streets out of Portsmouth,'' letter, Dec. 4) and the many drivers like her who have been accustomed to using the Waterview neighborhood as a cut-through:
As a resident stepping to the curb in front of my home to unlock the driver's side door of my parked car, I observe two vehicles - one coming from either direction. Fortunately they both stop. They see me, of course, but they also see that only one car can pass.
These are the streets that have become major traffic arteries, carrying 9,000 vehicles a day. Not unlike Olde Towne Portsmouth or Ghent in Norfolk, with no front-access driveways and small single-car garages on alleyways behind our homes, most Waterview residents are forced to park on the streets. And yet we are being labeled selfish because we seek to reduce the traffic flow and provide more safety for our walkers and bikers.
Any homeowner might ask himself: How much traffic is too much? If there were 100 cars passing my home each day, would that be too many? How about 1,000? Or 9,000? Is that too many? How much litter thrown from passing cars is too much? How many high-speed chases in the early hours of dawn can be tolerated? How much noise is too much from car radios blasting music at all hours?
City emergency vehicles avoid the causeway. Fire trucks and ambulances take the newly widened King Street to Rodman to High route because it is more direct to points beyond Waterview, such as the Maryview Medical Center and Willett Hall.
Research speaks for itself. A 97-page Waterview Transportation Study conducted by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission in 1993 indicates that the concerns of residents are well-founded. Of the 9,000 vehicles that cut through Waterview daily, 89 percent are exceeding the speed limit.
Inconvenienced drivers are quick to point out that these are public streets, paid for and maintained by taxpayers who wish to use them - a reminder that we have public schools that get our tax support, but many do not need or make use of the facilities.
Numerous recreational ball fields are supported with tax money but used only by a few.
Virginia Beach has had to restrict ``cruising on the strip,'' a public street paid for by taxpayers.
Safety is the neighborhood's major concern; inconvenience seems to be the only point that opponents of restricting traffic are using. As citizens express their opinion on the issue, it is natural that the greatest numbers are the voices of those 9,000 who are inconvenienced.
I am grateful to Portsmouth City Council for having the courage to seek a solution for Waterview's growing traffic problem in spite of the opposition.
ALMA HALL
Portsmouth, Dec. 12, 1995 by CNB