THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408180207
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Road Warrior
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
Just when Road hits the bottom of the barrel, someone tosses out another juicy tidbit to chew on and digest. This one's a biggie for those who work around Cleveland, Columbus and Kellam streets.
Soon, as in the next six weeks, the stop signs at Kellam Road and Columbus Street will be flip-flopped. Instead of stopping at Columbus, the direction the stop signs face now, drivers will be stopped at Kellam. Columbus Street motorists will no longer have to yield the right of way.
A 1990 traffic study showed that most traffic traveled Kellam. But a study done this year shows that most traffic, in the thousands no less, is now traveling Columbus.
The work order for the sign switch has been turned in, so it's just a matter of when the guys can schedule the switching.
There'll be lots of warning when the switch happens. But beware.
DID ANYONE NOTICE that someone finally got a clue and put up a small (very small) directional arrow sign on the overpass when you're heading north on Independence and the road splits right before Bonney Road and no one knows what lane to be in to get to the Oceanfront, Norfolk or go straight?
Let's hope folks who'll see the sign will have enough time to act appropriately. Gosh knows, Road's been cut off by folks on Independence trying to get to the toll road several times. SNARLS OF THE WEEK
The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.
Rick Barnes, No Address Given. The complaint is about people who drive in the rainstorms with no headlights on. The state law requires that when you're using your wipers that you're supposed to have your headlights on. Please remind everyone. Thank you.
RW: You just did, Rick. Let me mention, though, that the state law doesn't mention windshield wipers. It actually says ``inclement weather'' and I guess if your definition of inclement weather and an officer's definition differ, then there'd be a problem.
Anyway, if you're busted driving without lights on and it's raining, you can be ticketed with a Class 4 misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $100.
Rochelle VandenBurg, No Address Given. At the corner of Princess Anne Road and Kempsville Road there used to be a Chevron station. They have torn the station down and taken the tanks out of the ground. Has the city acquired this property? And if so, if and when are they going to make a right-hand turn out of it? Thanks so much.
RW: According to engineers, the city does not own this property and has no plans to add a right-turn lane. The land is privately owned. Plus, if it weren't privately owned the city likely would want to do more to that area than just add a little right-turn lane. It needs a face lift.
Martha Conner, Salem Lakes. When you turn onto Ferrell Parkway from Salem Road you don't have a yield sign, but the people that are turning off Princess Anne Road onto Salem, to turn onto Ferrell, have a yield sign but never stop.
Please have someone look into it. Thanks.
RW: Well, for those who don't stop at the yield sign, they don't have to as long as there's no one coming. But if they don't yield they're risking their lives and a ticket to boot.
Anyway, engineers say the reason for the one yield and not the other is that they want to clear that left turn onto Ferrell from Salem and it's safer to yield the right turners off Salem Road than the left turners.
The following wrote to Road:
The traffic signals along the streets running north-south at the Oceanfront (Mediterranean, Baltic, Arctic, etc.) are extremely long. It gets to be quite ridiculous when the cross streets are clear and people are waiting and waiting and . . . If timers are preferable to sensors (and to WHOM!), I sure would like to know the reasoning behind this setup. Is synchronization that big of a deal? Please shed some light, pardon the pun.
Linda Prosperie
Shadowlawn
RW: Linda, you'd see what a big deal coordination, through synchronization, is if we didn't have it. Cars would back up, side street traffic would be turned loose to fill the main streets, leaving no room for those stopped at the red lights to continue when they turned green. If there were no coordination with other signals, you'd find yourself stopped at red lights a lot more often than you are now, no doubt. The signals are synchronized according to traffic volume and direction. We're scheduled to have some major revamping done on our signal patterns this year, in fact, so things could improve.
Road Warrior,
Regarding Shore Drive - $600,000 to make Shore Drive safer? I drive this road daily and see nothing wrong with it. What I do see is excessive speed and little or no speed enforcement. Question: Of the 32,000 radar speeding tickets issued in 1992-93 in Virginia Beach, how many were issued on Shore Drive, between the west gate of Fort Story and Atlantic Avenue?
Solution: Redo the Virginia Beach Police Department signs, ``53 deaths etc.,'' only make them three times as large and illuminated.
Solution: Send a couple of good motorcycle cops up there to work the road on a repetitive basis, no warnings, etc.
Save the Shore Drive portion of the $600,000 for some other stupid project like a flag pole for police headquarters!!
Jim Atwell
Virginia Beach
RW: Sounds like you just solved the problems on Shore Drive, Jim, and for free no less! Seriously, though, Road's heard this argument before and it makes sense. We'll see what happens when it comes to public hearing time and see if the majority of the population has the same view.
As for those traffic tickets, Road called Lou Thurston at the police department and he's checking to see if tickets are categorized by streets. We're not sure if that information is available in that form or not. Anyway, when Road knows you'll know, Jim. Just keep readin' - we're bound to find an answer.
Road,
I wish to bring forth a situation which is prevalent and prominent with the automobile operators not only in Virginia Beach, but probably the state and nation:
Most drivers do not use the electric signals which are provided to indicate their intentions.
Also, it should be brought to the public's attention that when a vehicle indicates that it is going to turn right or left, this vehicle has the right of way over the approaching vehicles from the rear, or the front.
J.A. White
North Virginia Beach
RW: Can't argue with your first point. But Road's not sure about your second. It's Road's understanding that the person who is changing lanes, turning etc., is the one who yields to everyone else, rear, front or side. Am I reading you right? 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.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.
by CNB