It’s been said that “all politics are local” and that’s even more true when it comes to transportation. I get more e-mails from readers about their experiences getting in and out of their neighborhoods than about the so-called bigger picture issues. Case in point is the letter I ran last week from a reader complaining about the congestion he said was created by the addition of a three-way stop in the Montclair section of Prince William County.
That resulted in this letter from Alan: “Not so fast on negative comments on this stop sign! I can understand folk who only use the residential road of Waterway as an alternative commute route complaining, but those of us who actually live in Montclair have been waiting a long time for this sign to be put in place. The very short Country Club Drive that connects Waterway to 234 was always seriously backed up every night, while those going home waited in line to turn onto Waterway for a break in the cars careening through this turn. This stop sign was badly needed for safety reasons; accidents were frequent before the signs were put in. These signs are a great method of traffic calming, and give those commut[ing] drivers speeding downWaterway a great incentive to use a different route. Genuine and heartfelt kudos to VDOT on this one.”
I also heard from Ryan Hall at VDOT, who explained the rationale behind the installation of the signs. “VDOT installed a multiway stop at Waterway Drive and Country Club Drive on April 20 to reduce severe angle-type or T-bone accidents and to deal with speed and other safety issues as Waterway Drive is a residential road. The decision to install a multiway stop came after several studies requested by the Montclair Home Owners Association and Prince William County Board of Supervisors, Maureen Caddigan to install a traffic signal. In order for VDOT to install a traffic signal, it must meet basic state and federal criteria, and in this case it failed, however, a multiway stop did meet those requirements.
“Once the study was completed, VDOT presented the multiway stop proposal to the Montclair Home Owners Association on two occasions, in November 2005, and January 2006, gathering input from the residents of the community. Caddigan was present at both meetings, and supported VDOT’s proposal. Though there maybe additional delays at this location, VDOT’s primary concern is safety and the new multiway stop signs will help achieve that goal.”
Thanks to all. I hope that this space can be a place for reasonable discussion of the issues as well as some understanding for the concerns of those impacted.
BUCKLING DOWN
A number of you have written in wondering just what Montgomery County police have been doing at the top of the ramps to and from Washingtonian Boulevard and the Sam Eig Highway (Interstate 370). These officers have apparently been hiding behind the brick wall and then peeking out to catch motorists and it’s caught of lot of folks by surprise. The answer is that this was a stepped-up seat belt enforcement effort in the name of National Seat Belt Month. The surprising thingwas that these officers were apparently catching a lot of violators and that’s something that surprises me. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel comfortable anymore if I’m don’t have my seat belt fastened being taking off. Come on folks, buckle up!
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
