John Warren
WE ALL LOVE learning a little shortcut in life, a little something for nothing. Like that soda machine you once discovered that would surrender its bounty with only the sharp rap of your fist, no coinage involved.
But someone pays for our shortcuts.
In Exhibit A, it's the vendor who doesn't get his $1.25 for an 18-cent soda.
Now consider Exhibit B, the plight of folks who live in the East Larchmont section of Norfolk.
Every morning and afternoon, the residents of Monroe Place and Lexan Crescent watch a convoy of commuters pass down their streets. The commuters work at a Navy annex off Lexan, and they make the maneuver to avoid Hampton Boulevard.
I've seen these commuters. They look just like you and me. They probably pay their taxes and love their children, too. It likely has not entered their minds that they're causing a problem by taking a detour.
"Monroe Place is not only an entirely residential street in an entirely residential neighborhood, but it is a street full of kids walking to and from Larchmont Elementary School," wrote Jack Howell.
Residents wish the commuters would turn right on Lexan when they exit the annex, to Hampton Boulevard.
Lexan resident Mimi Owens goes as far as suggesting the city or Navy close the Lexan access from the facility.
"I don't understand - if there is an entrance and exit via Hampton Boulevard - why they come here," she said.
The Warrior forwarded Howell's letter to John Stevenson, a city traffic engineer, who visited with the residents. The city has set up a traffic count for Monroe Place. After the count is completed, the city will determine how to proceed.
I'll let you know what happens.
Watch out!
Overhead signs: Through Friday, watch for lane closures throughout the area as overhead signs are installed. Closures will be daily through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on I-664 North near I-64, and in both directions of I-64 between the Greenbrier Parkway and Bowers Hill interchanges.
Watch list
Banking on the kindness of strangers is a nice notion, but it wasn't a sure-fire way of getting through the swinging doors at Norfolk City Hall.
Now, there are push-button, "power-assist" doors, courtesy of Janmar Door Controls and Glass.
The Virginia Beach company made the offer to install the controls free of charge after a November article in which The Warrior wrote about the lack of handicapped-accessible doors at City Hall.
The dual door controls have been in place since Dec. 17, according to Mark Chambers of Janmar, "and working just great."
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Country Living
There is always country living for these folks. They would not have to worry about any traffic on the street in front of their home. Wow they have a few extra cars on their road and it's the end of the world. It's the responsiblity of the parent to ensure a childs safety. It appears nobody is speeding down this road, so what is the problem? If they don't like it, they should move. The street I live on is a short cut for many folks and there is all kinds of traffic down my street. It was like that before we moved here, so there isn't much to complain about. If people would look before backing out of their driveway and actually WATCH their kids, then there shouldn't be a problem. With nearly 7 billion people on this planet, we have to learn to share and respect eachother. It's a public road for public use. Get over it!
datpt - check with websters
Either spelling is acceptable. But your position isn't.
speed bumps?
Are you serious? The article didn't mention that the Navy drivers were blazing through the neighborhood. If speed is a factor, call the police to run radar in the neighborhood for a day. Using speed bumps, that's a little ridiculous. Why don't you ban parking cars on the street first? I would do that before I started making the street in front of my house look like a McDonald's drive through.
girlscounts
I didn't think girl scouts had driver's licenses? Regardless, it wouldn't change the argument.
Would all of you who think this is simply an elitist request be ok if the city installed some speed bumps along Monroe? Since you seem to suggest that it's much safer for cars to take short-cuts through narrow streets lined with residential parking, wouldn't we enhance that safe shortcut with some carefully placed speed bumps? Or perhaps a lower speed limit? What's the speed limit inside the LRA compound? 15MPH for safety, right? So perhaps a 15MPH speed limit on Monroe and/or some carefully placed speed bumps would be something we could all agree on?
And Elizabeth, by 90 minutes, I was referring to a morning commute window that generally goes from 7AM-8:30AM. No one suggested your personal commute was 90 minutes long. Good grief. And big-talk Bens, it's "naivete", not "naivety".
CPD hypo
What if those riding in the cars were girlscouts instead of Navy? Would that change your opinion of the situation?
This is a public road
I agree with some of the comments that suggest it would be nice if no one drove on our neighborhood streets, but last time I checked the were PUBLIC ROADS, funded by us, the taxpayers. Using the excuse of kids walking to school is just a tactic to make us feel sympathetic. If you do not like living on a road that has cars driving on it, move to the country. The only reason that these people are getting heard is that the drivers are coming out a navy base. It just burns me up that these people think they are special and that no one should drive on "their road." It reminds me of the whiners who live in the Lakeshores neighborhood outside of Little Creek. Somehow these people with nothing better to do complained enough that the commanding officer told the people working on Little Creek that they were not allowed to drive through this neighborhood. I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Be careful what you wish for...
I think "safety of the children" is just an excuse. Of the cars at Lafayette River Annex, 95% of them are there before 7:30AM. Unless you kick your elementary schoolers out the door at 7:00AM, the commuters from LRA and kids never meet. If "public safety" is truly your concern, then the Hampton Blvd, not the Lexan Gate, should be closed. The Hampton Blvd. gate is unsignaled, has no surge capacity, and has more joggers than kids walking to school at or around the lexan gate. People leaving the hampton gate are starting from a stop and merging into 45mph traffic even though the posted speed limit is 35mph. Lexan is far more safe. LRA is not and is not planned to be at it's former capacity (when it was a hospital). There are less than 400 cars there daily and less that 1/4 even go through the lexan gate. Closing the lexan gate will not solve your problem. However, if you keep pushing the issue, the navy will end up doing a gate study and larchmont will get a shiny new, large entrance gate on Lexan with full anti-terrorism force protection barriers and lights. So be careful what you wish for, you might find out what you have isn't so bad.
Point, Counterpoint....
Wow! Seems I've touched a nerve. Mission accomplished.
For datpt: "Unnecessary commuter traffic"??? Nice choice of words. Who are "those people", and why are they driving on "our streets"? I have lived in Norfolk all of my adult life. I know the landscape and socio-economic boundaries very well. If you dispute that there is a "holier than thou" sense with the Larchmont/Ghent/West Ghent neighborhoods, I truly pity you for your naivety.
Using your logic, I guess we should all park our cars and not drive. Every street is a residential street. You reduce risk on side streets with lower speed limits, more traffic signs, and enforcement. Do people not live on Hampton Blvd.? Just because it is 6 lanes and a 35 MPH speed limit, people still live in the houses which line Hampton Blvd. Are their children less deserving of traffic considerations which you espouse? The bottom line is that a child's safety is primarily the responsibility of parents.
No shoulder chip here, just tired of whiners. Deal with it.
Talk About Logic
Where in the world do you get 90 minutes commute? We are talking about 5 or 6 blocks. I have never seen that much traffic on those streets to cause you to take 90 minutes to travel those streets.
I still don't understand why your streets should be any different than other residential areas. I am a Norfolk citizen and pay taxes (and yes I own a home in Norfolk). I think this should allow me to travel on any street that gets me to work so that I can pay those taxes.
public safety isn't "elitism"
Elizabeth should consider her own logic. If she sees 4-5 cars following her to the base every morning, and the morning commute is 90 minutes long.... 5 commuter cars taking the "shortcut" every minute X 90 minutes = 450 extra cars every morning and every afternoon traveling down a narrow residential street that was never designed for so much traffic. Nobody is worried about YOUR car, Elizabeth. It's your car times 450 that starts to present safety issues for the hundreds of Larchmont Elementary kids who walk to school every morning and afternoon. And as for that ridiculous argument about how high gas prices prevent you from driving an extra 300 yards each day, there's good news for you. Triple-A just announced today that gas prices will fall steadily over the next 6 months by 50 cents a gallon. With all those savings, I'm sure you won't mind the additional 2 cents per month your "longer" commute will cost you in exchange for the added safety it brings so many kids.
So Unreal
With gas the price that it is and the economy also as bad, we are now told to go way out of our way just because a neighborhood think they are better than others. What about the neighborhoods outside Gate 4 and Gate 10 at the Naval Base. What makes Monroe and Lexan residents so special? I use that route because I live in Norfolk and coming up Colley is the closest way to work. At the time I am going to work and going home (7:00-4:30), I might see 4 or 5 cars following me and that is not everyday. I guess if we can't go down Hampton because those neighbors complain about the trucks and we can't go down Colley, then I guess we will either have to fly or buy a boat to get to work.
With the gas situation the way it is now and with no improvement in site, I would feel so guilty about complaining about a few extra cars down my street. Don't we all live in residential areas? I for one think this complaint is like someone suing because they spilled hot coffee on their selves. When are the frivolous complaints going to stop?
Give me a break
I applaud the people of Monroe Place. Use Lexan Ave to Hampton Blvd! I used to live in West Ghent (off of Redgate Ave) and took the bus up Hampton to the Popeyes at Hampton and Little Creek; always passing by Lexan Ave and the naval complex. That part if Hampton is never backed up (unlike where I used to live, right outside of the Midtown Tunnel).
lighten up
This "Larchmont Babies" guy needs to lighten up. As the father of 3 young kids, I can empathize with the effort of concerned parents and residents in ANY neighborhood to reduce unnecessary commuter traffic on streets that were designed for light residential traffic. Typically residential neighborhood streets have more blind spots, are considerably narrower, and have far more kids in the vicinity than the major thoroughfares that run through Norfolk, Virginia Beach and the rest of Tidewater.
Further, I didn't see anything in the article suggesting these folks are "self-annointed Larchmont elites". They seem much more like responsible parents attempting to create a safer environment for their kids as they walk to and from school every day. I want more neighbors like that! If commuters can contribute to the safety of a neighborhood without incurring a MAJOR inconvenience, I'm all for it - whether it's in a rich, middle class, or poor neighborhood. It shouldn't matter. It's common decency we should afford each other without much personal sacrifice. Why should this effort so incense anyone?
Clearly Bens21221 has a big chip on his shoulder towards Norfolk residents that e
Larchmont Babies!
OK, am I the only one outraged by this crap???? So, the self-anointed Larchmont elite don't want "commoners" trespassing on their streets? Well, that's too bad. I used to work at the Lafayette Complex, and used the Lexan gate/Monroe Place route quite often. I can only hope and pray that I was one of the Navy riff-raff that caused so much angst amongst these Norfolk blue bloods.
For the record, I did not use it as a shortcut, or to avoid Hampton Blvd traffic. It is simply the most direct route if you intend to travel south on Jamestown Crescent towards Colley Ave. Why travel the extra distance out to Hampton Blvd. when there are city streets which offer a more direct, legal, and safe path?
Although I no longer work at the Annex, I will now go out of my way when traveling in that neighborhood to take the Lexan Crescent/Monroe Place route, and I encourage everyone else to do the same! As for Mr. Stevenson, I think the city's traffic engineering department is seriously overstaffed if you have the resources to spend even five minutes looking into this frivolous complaint! I'll be sure to recommend a staffing review for your office the next time I lunch with the Mayor.