NORFOLK
City leaders want to reduce the speed limit on Hampton Boulevard, one of the city's most heavily traveled and congested commuter routes, from 30 mph to 25 near Old Dominion University.
Mayor Paul Fraim suggested the change this week, citing the safety of the growing number of university students now crossing the busy road. His proposal was endorsed by other City Council members, including Theresa Whibley, who along with Fraim lives in nearby Larchmont.
"It needs to drop to at least 25," Whibley said.
City traffic engineers will study the issue for several more months before reaching a decision, but rarely are the wishes of the council not followed.
Students have come to two council meetings in the past year to share stories of close calls with trucks and cars.
Hampton Boulevard is a six-lane highway as it stretches from Norfolk Naval Station to port facilities and ODU, and narrows to four lanes as it approaches the Midtown Tunnel. The speed limit is 35 mph prior to entering the university area.
Traffic backups along Hampton Boulevard prompted the council to ban trucks from the road at certain hours a year ago. Council members acknowledge that dropping the speed limit won't help the congestion.
Fraim, however, said ODU's growth has made a drop in the speed limit necessary.
Old Dominion was largely confined to the west side of Hampton Boulevard until 2000, when it began developing the University Village on the east side.
The University Village contains hundreds of student apartments, a hotel, a bookstore, shops, restaurants, a research-oriented office building and the Ted Constant Convocation Center, where ODU basketball games, concerts and shows are held.
The Planning Commission recently endorsed a plan from a private group to build a dormitory for 1,000 students in the University Village. ODU eventually plans to build another shopping center and more student housing there as well.
"I think all of us knew this was going to happen when they expanded across Hampton Boulevard," Fraim said. "We knew there would be conflicts with pedestrians."
Adam Samson, a member of the ODU student government who spoke before the council, said he sees those conflicts every day. He lives in the village and walks across Hampton Boulevard to get to class.
Cars are often stopped in the crosswalks and drivers sometimes run red lights, he said. Especially at rush hour, students "feel like they're fighting traffic even when they have the right of way," he said.
The senior political science major from Woodbine, Ga., said he is surprised and pleased to hear about Fraim's proposal.
"It's not going to solve all of the problems," he said. "People don't obey the speed limit now.
"But it will help reduce the risk of something terrible happening."
Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
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ODU/Hampton Blvd
I like Norm's idea.
IT WOULD BE SAFER...
...if you made it a NO CELL PHONE ZONE!!!...there are pleanty of cross walks and adults SHOULD be able to PAY ATTENTION!!!...why make MY commute longer by reducing the speed limit...jus yesterday a young lady walked directly in front of me...completely disregarding the cross walk signal...guess what...she was on a cell phone...so.....if I go 35...or 25...it doesnt not matter...it does not fix the problem!!!
JChester
I like your idea, as well. They might as well, with all the construction they're doing over there...
rosenthil
Don't be so silly as to lump all ODU students into one basket. Not all ODU students are as stupid as you suggest. I am a full time student at ODU and I respect the traffic signals like my parents and crossing guards of the past have taught me. I do partially agree with your sentiments, however.
I don't think lowering the speed limit would do anything practical, other than back traffic up even more (especially on Fridays!). I think the more sensible solution is to readjust the crossing signals from 30 seconds to somewhere between 40 to 60 seconds. They may also reevaluate the signal evolutions from the cross streets, like 43rd and 45th streets, since most ODU's foot traffic crosses Hampton at those two streets from either side of Hampton (this I know from experience...). There is always a more sensible solution, and the speed limit isn't it...
Entitlement-
I can't tell you how many times I've been driving down Hampton Blvd in front of ODU and some not-so-bright college student has stepped OFF THE CURB AND INTO THE STREET - right in front of my rolling car! Somewhere, these kids got the idea that the world revolves around them and that a 3,400-pound four-door sedan should defy physics and slam to an immediate halt because they've put their foot onto the roadway.
It is truly insane. I avoid Hampton Blvd in front of ODU at all costs, because I can't take the stress. Trying to anticipate some of these very foolish children's behavior is nerve-wracking.
Our public colleges seem to be going the way of the public school system if they can't produce a student with enough common sense to cross the road safely - and I can state with authority - these ODU students do NOT have the sense to cross the road safely.
Don't reduce the speed limit. Instead, introduce a class on "pedestrian safety at busy intersections."
There may be a day when these students need to cross an intersection at a place where there aren't big white lines and bright red arrows and lots of other visual clues.
Yeesh.
This problem wouldnt even
This problem wouldnt even exist if the third crossing had been approved by the General Assembly. That will take all of the trucks directly from the interstate to the terminal, and therefore the congestion caused by these trucks will disappear too. Of course there will always be some traffic, and a slower speed limit is probably needed there, but if the third crossing ever happens, the lower speed limit will not affect nearly as many people.
Wow! what a waste of time and effort
First of all...I drive and work over at ODU every day and I see no reason to waste the time and effort on lowering the speed limit...if these students take those cell phone from their ears and pay attention to traffic then we won't be having this discussion...not to mention...pick up some speed when they are crossing they act as if they have all the time in the world...the traffic lights are timed and if they are not across in a timely manner someone is going to get hurt be it the driver or the students...do we need to add to their curriculum a class on how to cross with traffic lights?...if anything, they are causing some of the near miss accidents out there....I'm sure they can identify colors....their in college...they should know this.
I pass by ODU twice a day.
In the morning about 5:30, there is light traffic and few to no pedestrians. Why not lower the speed limit from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Most of the time coming home (3:00pm) traffic is backed up and you are lucky if you can go 20mph. The problem I do see is that students don't seem to know what the "DO NOT WALK" lights mean. It amazes me that they actually made it to college but don't know how to cross a street. I haven't heard of any students being hit but it wouldn't surprise me if it happens everyday. It wouldn't matter if you lowered the speed limit down to 15mph, if the students do not obey the "DO NOT WALK" lights. Maybe have a mandatory course on how to cross the road at ODU?
Cars verus Students
Yes I can see lowering the speed limit BUT the Students and Staff need to follow the RED HAND DONT WALK. I travel it everyday at 3 30 and turn at 45th Street and have on numerous occasions watched them ignore and walk right in front of you as if nothing is going on in their Pea Brain other then getting to class or home. It is called personnel responsibility even though Pedistrians have the right of way in cross walks. They do it everyday daring you to move towards them when You have the green right of way. Even if you built a bridge they would not use it. They can not follow a simple do not walk sign what makes you think they would walk the extra distance to go over a bridge. Give them tickets for walking a red light. Fair is Fair.
Why not...
Why not build a couple of pedestrian walkways OVER Hampton Blvd?
One near 49th St. & another near the Ted.
They'd only be a fraction of what they're spending on everything being built, on the East side, & safer for everyone.
student and driver responsibility
This is definitely a dangerous place to cross the street. Students indeed jay walk all the time, and oblivious text-messaging idiot drivers blast through the red lights. This will only be an effective measure if the police will actually enforce the law. They could make their quotas and fill the treasury in a hour at this intersection.
another city council idiotic idea
The first problem with the traffic is that the school encourages all the students to drive to the campus, rather than be bused in from satellite parking as do most large Universities. The second problem is that the ODU police NEVER stand out there and enforce the crosswalking; they need to get out of the Dunkin Doughnut store and do something for a change. Perhaps we should RAISE the speed limit so the kids can get across faster!
Scarecrow needs a brain
Are you kidding? Does anyone honestly believe changing a sign here and there from 30 to 25 makes any difference to drivers. Of course not. How incredibly silly and what a waste of time. Sometimes there are problems with obvious solutions. The ODU/Hampton Blvd. problem has been around for years. It certainly didn't just start with the ODU development across the street. And for the years the problem has been in existence the solution has been obvious. BUILD THE OVERPASS WALKWAY! Duh!!!!
Maybe...
If the students are too stupid to figure out how to understand the crosswalk lights, then maybe ODU should offer a class on how to cross the road or at least a refresher course on natural selection. Cars have traffic lights to obey and so do pedestrians and if everyone does this, it really does not matter what the speed limit is. If someone is not using the lights correctly, whether they be cars or pedestrians, that is illegal and the law breaker should be ticketed.
Don't run over the little students who don't pay attention
ODU kids in college fell to understand that they must also stop and cross when the sign indicate they can walk. Of course there are close calls when the students are walking and talking on cell phones or their little minds are in la-la land when they should be looking out for traffic. Why don't ODU and the city put up a cross over bridge in two different locations until they can decide what in the heck they plan to do with that abandon light rail system ODU has.
drivers not only ones to blame
While I'm not opposed to reducing the speed limit there, pedestrians also need to accept some of the blame for some of these close calls. I have had a couple of near incidents over the years when students jay walked or tried to cross against the light.
a different idea
Remove the crosswalks. Keep the speed at 35 and traffic will flow more smoothly. Convert that joke MAGLEV "overpass" into a pedestrian overpass. Add escalators at each end and REQUIRE the students to use the overpass. Remove the MAGLEV track and replace it with "people movers" (moving sidewalks).
Just a thought, but then both pedestrians and drivers would have less to worry about in that area.
How about some enforcement
How about some enforcement of the laws already on the books? Like the jaywalking laws.
You can drop the speed limit to 5 MPH but until people stop darting out in front of traffic it won't be safe.
But then, speeding tickets create more revenue, now don't they.
Hmmm!
While they study the traffic are they also going to study the blatant disregard for pedestrian laws by the students and staff? There isn't a light there that doesn't have pedestrians crossing against it. They even do it with police right there. Maybe students wouldn't have close calls if they wait for the light.