THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411220229
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Road Warrior
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
Here's an idea Road should have thought of. It's from Mark Snyder of Charlestowne Lakes South. He writes:
``As the year ends, I am putting together a David Letterman style list titled, `The 10 Stupidest Things Done By Traffic Engineering in 1994.' Residents can send their nominations to me at: M. Snyder, P.O. Box 61341, Virginia Beach, Va. 23466. I will tally the results and announce the top 10 stupid list shortly after the beginning of 1995.''
Now, that's mighty enterprising of Mark, isn't it? Hey, if Mark wants to count the votes, that's fine by Road. It'll be interesting to find out what he comes up with. All it'll cost to cast your vote is the price of a postage stamp. Road's drafting a letter as we speak.
Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month begins Dec. 1. Police department vehicles in seven cities, including Virginia Beach, will have red ribbons on their cars to kick-off the month.
Of course, with the kick-off comes a month of increased sobriety checkpoints, promotions to encourage designated drivers, and ``mocktail'' (non-alcoholic drink) demonstrations in grocery stores and coffee shops.
From Thanksgiving to Christmas, several area folks have volunteered to provide free rides or a tow home to folks who have had one too many.
Also, Dec. 9 has been designated ``Safe Driving Night'' at the Hampton Roads Admirals game at Scope. Jeff Bostic, a former Washington Redskin, will be on hand to discourage folks from drinking and driving.
Dec. 16 has been designated ``Lights on for Life,'' where folks are being asked to drive with their headlights on to ``take a stand to eliminate drunk driving.''
Mark your calendar, Tidewater Regional Transit is holding a public hearing at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Norfolk office, 1500 Monticello Ave. They're hoping to gather public comments on the 1994 Americans With Disabilities Act PARATRANSIT Plan Update.
Basically, the update has to do with service that TRT has established for those with disabilities.
Written comments can be sent to: Executive Director, Tidewater Transportation District Commission, P.O. Box 2096, Norfolk, Va. 23501. Comments must be received by Dec. 16. Folks who require assistance attending the meeting can call Alice Mapp of TRT at 640-6211. TDD or the hearing impaired can call 622-5513. SNARLS OF THE WEEK
The following people called Road's INFOLINE number with their complaints.
Jean Skipper, Lago Mar. I have a problem. When you're going north on Birdneck there's no sign that says Virginia Beach Boulevard, and I'm wondering why.
Also when you're on London Bridge and you're heading southeast, the speed limit is really high where its narrow and very populated but when it gets unpopulated and four lanes, it drops down to 45 mph. I don't know why? Tell me. Thanks, bye.
RW: Engineers say they'll be happy to check on that missing sign. As for London Bridge Road, engineers say it's 55 mph in the least populated areas - where Oceana is on one side and Ocean West Industrial Park is on the other. The speed drops to 45 mph once it nears Potters Road, a more heavily populated area.
Virginia, No Address Given. . My comment is about this $7 million project to add to the Communities Environmental Value to the Transportation Network.
I really don't have enough information to get involved in this except I do hope that in one of these categories someone will definitely include the addition of street numbers on all the buildings on major highways. It makes for really dangerous driving when you're trying to find a number on the building.
I think this is a very important oversight that has been neglected for some time now and I think it would help transportation difficulties and it would also help prevent accidents. Thanks a lot, Road Warrior.
RW: Darn good point, Virginia. It would be nice if our city signs had block numbers listed, too. But then, we'd have to have some really big signs in some places.
You'd think that the businesses on Virginia Beach Boulevard would make some move to advertise their addresses. Heck, Road would. Certainly couldn't hurt business.
Grace, Birchwood South. Since it appears that we haven't had a solution on the intersection of Virginia Beach Boulevard and South Kentucky Avenue things have only gotten worse. We'll probably have to have a major accident before the traffic geniuses move on a solution.
Thanks a lot, Road, and keep up the good work.
RW: Got a surprise for you, Grace. Engineers have every intention of adding a traffic signal to this area. It's been a mess since Loehmann's and Collins Square traffic began trying to negotiate onto the Boulevard. It's not unusual to see more than a dozen cars waiting in the center turn lanes of the Boulevard. This'll be a great relief on one hand, yet on the down side, it'll be another signal to stop at on Virginia Beach Boulevard. Road doesn't have a date, but the bid for the job should be going out pretty soon.
Tom Peacock, No Address Given. The problem concerns the recent repaving and relining of Shore Drive. The problem is they took away the right hand turn lane turning from Shore Drive onto Diamond Springs Road, however, cars are still using this especially during peak traffic times during the morning. I think the city of Virginia Beach needs to open that turn lane before someone gets hurt.
RW: Yep, Tom, there's a little problem there since that lane was blocked off. For the short term and to encourage people to stay in the combination straight and right turn lane, engineers are going to have those flexible yellow poles installed in that area where the turn lane used to be.
For the long term, engineers do want to put that right turn lane back in. The problem is there are utilities that have to be moved, specifically a telephone pole that interferes with turning right. That'll be done sometime, but until then, the yellow poles will encourage people to obey the lane law.
Pete Salant, Golden Maple Drive. My question for you is with everybody worrying about who's going to pay for road work on 44 with the tolls going away why aren't we looking to have the federal government annex it as part of I-264 all the way up to the beach and have it become eligible for federal funds? Just change the name from 44 to I-264. What do you know?
RW: Sounds like you have a link to the future, Pete. Road's sure they'll come up with some bright idea for Route 44. 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