THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606190132
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 69 lines
`Nightmare' truck route is imposing hardships
Regarding the Suffolk City Council's decision to make County Street, Dill Road and Turlington Road parts of the designated truck route to bypass downtown:
I have had to take these routes for a while, and they are becoming a nightmare. These are the reasons:
1) County Street was not built or designed to accommodate the amount of traffic that it is now being asked to handle.
2) When there is a funeral at either of the churches and cars are parked everywhere, you cannot get through safely. Traffic usually is down to one lane and gets backed up badly.
3) The police department will not enforce the no-parking signs on County Street, thus making travel very difficult.
4) The corner at Washington and County streets is not wide enough to get long trailers through the intersection without getting up on the curb, which could tear or damage a tire or bend a rim.
5) This designated route runs large trucks and a lot of traffic through a heavy residential area with many children.
6) When the city works on this street or the railroad works on the crossings, the detours are not adequate for the large trucks to get through.
A question about Turlington Road: If it is a designated truck route, then how can the city police enforce the weight limit on the bridge on this road?
It seems to this citizen that the council did not check these routes out carefully or did not care about the hardships or inconveniences these routes would cause the traffic that has to pass through Suffolk to make a living, which is getting harder to do with loss of time and rising costs.
I guess the new courthouse is far more important than waiting for a more proper big truck bypass.
J. Marvin McFatter
Tuckers Drive
Boykins
Abusing turn lane endangers other drivers
I want to alert everyone in Southampton County and surrounding areas that there is now a turn lane at the intersection of U.S. Route 58 and Va. Route 653 (Main Street), Capron.
Its purpose is to give traffic a chance to slow down as drivers try to turn into Capron without getting hit in the back by traffic continuing on Route 58. The state did not spend money on this lane to make it convenient for semi-truck drivers to stop and get themselves a snack.
Big arrows on the pavement indicate that it is a turn lane. There are no-parking signs every few feet. I do not know what else can be done to stop this deliberate, unlawful stupidity.
I approached this intersection last Friday at about 4:40 p.m. and sat until 4:45 p.m., just because I could not see any traffic that might be coming toward me. I confronted the driver and was given a nonchalant shrug. He even admitted to knowing that it was a turn lane.
How many persons will have to die to wake up these truck drivers as to the dangers of this practice? I guarantee, when this inevitable accident occurs, the driver of the offending truck will simply drive away, and lives will be shattered because he wanted a snack.
I urge all citizens of Capron and the surrounding areas to notify the sheriff's office or state police when they see a truck parked in this turn lane. If necessary, take down the license number and owner's name from the truck.
This practice has got to be stopped before a life is taken. We in Southampton County worked long and hard to get Route 58 widened and even longer to get this lane so turning would be safer.
Safety is imperative in this too-fast society, and this stupidity should be punished.
Deborah Starke
Capron by CNB