THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603130148
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: The Road Warrior
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
Let's skip the usual updates and get right to the reader calls. (Stay tuned next week, however, for an update on the proposed expansion of International Parkway.)
SNARLS OF THE WEEK
The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.
Randy Bristow, Virginia Beach. I'm calling about INDIAN RIVER ROAD and HAWKS BILL DRIVE. When you come out of Hawks Bill you can't see the traffic on Indian River.
RW: You don't even have to say what the problem is Randy; Road and engineers already know. It's the fence on the corner and the accompanying shrubbery planted directly in front of it.
Engineers are aware of this view obstruction and are trying to determine the legal boundaries concerning private property so that they can remedy the situation.
L.A. Williams, no address given. At SOUTH PLAZA TRAIL and SILINA DRIVE, on the east side of South Plaza there's a school bus parked on the side of the road in the late afternoon and usually all night and early in the morning.
Directly across from the school bus another resident parks a pickup truck. If you turn onto Silina off South Plaza, no matter which direction you're traveling it's very difficult to make the turn if a car's approaching westbound on Silina.
Isn't there something that can be done about the school bus being parked there creating a traffic and safety hazard? Thank you.
RW: Well, in cases where there's a potential safety or traffic hazard, engineering will go out and make a determination and recommendation to pass on to David Pace, the director of school transportation.
If it's just a matter of getting an unsightly bus removed from in front of your house, the bus must be within one block of your residence and a formal, written request to have the bus moved must be sent to Pace at transportation headquarters.
A ``request'' to have a bus moved must include the bus number and the reason the bus should be moved. A request to move a bus is only going to be met for nights and weekends and does not apply to the course of a workday.
As for this case, engineers have agreed to have a look to determine if there's a hazard. If there's no hazard and you don't live within a block of the bus, you're out of luck.
Juliet Ryan, Alexandria. I'm calling in support of someone who had written in earlier about the need for a stoplight coming out of our subdivision on DUNN LORING DRIVE onto KEMPSVILLE ROAD. There are certain times of the day where it's impossible to make a left-hand turn onto Kempsville Road.
I realize they'll probably put a light in there once they widen Kempsville to four lanes but I believe we need to have a light put in there before that.
I would like to find out if there was someone I could call or write to have a traffic count done again at this intersection. Thank you.
RW: Road understands your urgency, Juliet, but Road doesn't think you're going to find many engineers willing to install a signal when major construction is on the horizon. It just isn't wise.
However, there's always someone willing to listen to a phone call or read a letter and in this case, it's Bob Gey. You can reach him by calling 427-4722 or write him at: City Engineer, Public Works/Traffic Engineering, Operations Building, Municipal Center, Virginia Beach, Va. 23456.
Ben Zorn, Laurel Cove. Once again the subject is the GREAT NECK and FIRST COLONIAL intersection. I know you're saying the traffic engineers are studying it, but how much study do they need? There's an accident every other week. They have to stop studying and implement some changes because the accidents continue. Thank you.
RW: You'll be glad to know, Ben, that the planning is over and design work is starting within the next two months. After that, it could be merely a matter of a few months with an expected change around July.
This is the plan: engineers are going to put dual left turns southbound on Great Neck onto First Colonial; they'll add a protected turn signal, or arrow, in both directions of Great Neck; and, on First Colonial, they're adding a protected and permissive (arrow and circular green) light as well as a sign that says to ``yield to circular green'' sign.
Margaret, Glenwood. Just curious why there are two SOUTH LYNNHAVEN ROADS in Virginia Beach? Thank you.
RW: Actually, Margaret, there aren't two South Lynnhaven Roads. There's one South Lynnhaven Road that wraps around the west side of Lynnhaven Mall. And, then there's Lynnhaven Parkway South, which is the portion of Lynnhaven Parkway that extends south of Holland Road. It's essential in this area to invest in a good map.
Nathan Hall, Pembroke. At the intersection of CLEVELAND, KELLAM and COLUMBUS where they changed the direction of the stop sign a lot of people are still not paying attention to the new pattern.
Also, at the other end of COLUMBUS where it intersects with CONSTITUTION, when the movie theater lets out you can't take a left turn there off of Columbus onto Constitution because there's too many people coming out of the theater. Can they make a command decision on getting the road straightened out so people can make left turns without getting hit?
RW: First, as for Cleveland, Kellam and Columbus, there's a traffic signal going in there that should straighten everyone out. Construction should start sometime around late August or early September, that's assuming that there will be no easement problems or right of way problems.
As for the movie theater traffic, engineers can't route traffic around the schedule of a movie theater. That's not to say that traffic isn't heavy when the movies let out. It's just that it's not a day-long problem and clears itself relatively fast.
Sherlene Mitchell, Alexandria. I'm complaining about a view obstruction right off of MONUMENT DRIVE onto GETTYSBURG ROAD. They have trees planted and you've got to pull all the way out in the street to see. Can Road see about taking something out there to chop those trees down or get the neighbors to do it?
RW: Actually, Sherlene, Road's not in the tree business but engineers will be more than happy to take a ride out to the area to see if there's a problem with seeing around those trees. Stay tuned. . . 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