Beach intersection is where metal meets metal most often

The intersection of Holland and South Rosemont roads in Virginia Beach tops the list of crash-prone crossings in South Hampton Roads.

Forty-eight crashes occurred at the intersection in 2007, according to traffic statistics compiled by Beach police.

That's more than at any other crossing in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth or Suffolk.

In all, more than 27,500 crashes occurred in the five South Hampton Roads cities last year, according to police. Many of the collisions reported to police were at or near intersections, with hundreds being blamed on a variety of bad driving behaviors such as red-light running.

In Chesapeake, two intersections tied for the top spot with 26 each last year: Cedar Road at Dominion Boulevard, and Greenbrier Parkway and Jarman Road.

Portsmouth also had a tie for most crashes: 23 each at Frederick Boulevard at Deep Creek Boulevard, and Victory Boulevard at George Washington Highway.

In Suffolk, the intersection of Constance Road and Main Street was the worst with 18, police in that city said.

Norfolk police said they had 81 calls about crashes at Hampton and Terminal boulevards, but they did not supply numbers of actual accident reports at any intersection.

It was no surprise to Virginia Beach traffic engineer Robert Gey that Holland and South Rosemont was the worst intersection in the Beach, the largest of the five cities.

"It appears that because of the congestion, drivers are taking more and more chances as they're going through this intersection," Gey said. "They're just taking more risk into their hands and they're making more mistakes."

The troubled crossing has a history as one of the city's worst. It was the first of four in the city to have red-light cameras installed in 2004 after crash data showed the need, police said.

The cameras were installed for nine months as part of a pilot program. During that time, the city issued more than 17,300 tickets based on the pictures taken at those four intersections, the city said. While the cameras were in operation at Holland and South Rosemont, the number of red-light violations dropped 70 percent, the city reported.

Since the General Assembly approved use of the devices statewide last year, the city has been planning to reinstall cameras at the intersection and at several others, Gey said.

Until then, he said, the Beach will look for other ways to make crossing Holland and South Rosemont safer. The city could restrict U-turns and left turns on green lights, he said.

"When you have a high level of congestion, you want to get through the intersection quickly, but sometimes the best thing to do is just wait until the next light."

Cindy Clayton, (757) 446-2377, cindy.clayton@pilotonline.com