John Warren
Botetourt Street and Brambleton Avenue and The Warrior go waaaay back.
The intersection came onto The Warrior's radar about five years ago, with a letter from "Cousin" Janie Whitehurst, who pointed to the influx of condos in the Freemason area. They were adding to traffic on the south side of Brambleton that already competed with cars from Hague Towers Apartments.
We got a traffic signal at Botetourt and Brambleton recently. But alas, all is not well. So says W.H. Parker.
"Brambleton is a major artery into downtown and should not be delayed so long," Parker wrote. "On a recent Sunday morning, about 9:45, I waited there with about 15-20 cars on Brambleton while two cars come out of Botetourt."
Part of the problem, Public Works spokeswoman Pamela Marino said, is the signal wasn't communicating with other traffic signals. Also, Marino said, construction downtown has made traffic volumes hard to predict.
"As conditions are changing weekly with this construction," she said, "we are working to make adjustments and monitoring the signals to keep delays to a minimum throughout this corridor."
What do you think? Is the signal an improvement? Or is it slowing traffic too much on downtown's major east-west corridor?
By the way, the city is going to do an overhaul of its traffic signal timing - and downtown will be a focus. Much more on that later.
Fore what?
Reader Linda Sharpe's been seeing something lately that made her think she'd died and gone to Florida.
"In the past several days I've seen golf carts go past our house on the CITY STREET," the Beach resident wrote. "Three different ones. I understand the idea of saving gas, but when I saw kids driving one tonight, it really got my attention."
Sharpe lives on Stell Lane, off North Witchduck Road.
First Precinct Lt. Ken Dimitry says the only neighborhood where golf carts are allowed is Heron Ridge Estates. No one under 16 can operate a golf cart on a city street - even in that neighborhood.
Vista for a view?
Reader Tim Marshall asked about the trees and brush being cleared in the Interstate 464 median, near Military Highway. "Clearcutting," he called it.
"If there is a good reason for this, I can reluctantly accept it," he wrote. "But... I can't see how there can be any visibility issue at that location. I am at a loss as to understand why they would be un-beautifying the interstate."
Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Harry Kenyon said the brush is being cleared so the highway department's traffic cameras have a clear view of the interstate.
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Downtown Norfolk
That whole system DTN has going for it traffic wise is a hot mess. This is nothing new. I myself have been wondering what was the point of that light they put in at Botencourt (sp?)? It took me 40 minutes today to go from ODU to the onramp of 464, Chesapeake bound. The lights are totally out of sync and aren't set to accommodate the heavy traffic during the rush hour. It doesn't help when the Berkley bridge is open and further complicates traffic patterns. Not to mention people going to P-town via the DT Tunnel who hog 3 lanes trying to get ahead of everyone in the DT Tunnel line. To add to this frustration, many commuters don't have a good sense of how to merge; and gods forbid some out-of-towners (and locals) be driving around, lost. When ODU and the bases release for the day, it's not a good idea to have big trucks driving around downtown. The roads are cramped enough as it is, but when you add those big boys in, it doubles the trouble and increases the risk of more serious accidents.
get em in sync
this is true!
I travel Brambleton Ave
I travel Brambleton Ave twice daily(am & pm)..What really annoys me is the fact that I usually get stopped by the light at Duke St, then the light at Botetourt and then the light at Colley. On several occasions,I've seen traffic backed up to the Hague from Botetourt St. and usually it is because of only one or two cars. Will this light go away???--I doubt it. But it sure would be nice to get in sinck(?) with the other lights on Brambleton so that you don't have to stop at every intersection for a red light.
My…what pessimism?
Just to play the devil’s advocate on that one…Ok so if the light is in preparation for the new Light rail, then good job for the city on its foresight for the need of this light. I’m sure for now Freemason residents are enjoying the convenience it offers them in making a left off Botetourt. I also find it funny how you are convinced that jobs are leaving the downtown area… this flies in the face of current developments like Wachovia tower, the new Westin hotel and convention center, and the record levels of downtown residences. Last I checked there were FOUR high rise cranes involved in downtown construction. Check your pessimism at the door next time.
That signal
I think the light is annoying. How many accidents were there before? Was there really an issue? My theory is that the signal is to be used to handle the bLight rail line in the future. For a while the detector for one of the turn lanes (Lidar based I think) was pointed off into space, likely blown by a huge gust of wind. At that point everyone was running the red turn signal. All of the time the ambulances going to Norfolk General are forced to fire sirens and honk more to clear the intersection, disrupting nearby neighborhoods. I wonder how much time lost, and pollution the intersection has added? I doubt the population of the Freemason area has really changed that much, and when the new apartments are built there is a decent likelyhood that high asking prices and young people/jobs leaving the region will leave them empty.