Click here for the meeting agenda and to read the latest BAC Newsletter
I think many would agree that motor vehicle regulations have been put in place to address safety issues and to keep us safe. To be effective, these laws must be understood and applied fairly, not arbitrarily or capriciously. Given that broad statement, how should we drivers respond to pedestrians in crosswalks?
If you condense the VDOT Crosswalk statutes to their understandable part, what are we required to do when we come across a pedestrian and a crosswalk? VDOT laws can be found at http://www.virginiadot.org, specifically for crosswalks; 46.2-924 Drivers to stop for pedestrians.
If the speed limit on the road is 35 MPH or less, you are required to “yield the right of way to any pedestrian crossing…” Drivers entering, crossing, or turning at intersections shall change course, yield, slow down, or stop if necessary to permit pedestrians cross such intersections safely and expeditiously.
So, there you are driving down Pacific Ave down at the oceanfront and somebody steps into the crosswalk. You now slow down and some horn-happy driver behind you lets you know that apparently he is late for some important occasion. Or, even worse, that driver whips around you and then almost nails the pedestrian in the crosswalk. It is getting almost as dangerous for you to stop (getting rear-ended) as it is for the pedestrian if you don’t stop.
It seems like driver-pedestrian encounters are too commonplace and a lose-lose situation with mostly deadly consequences. People from other parts of the world where pedestrian crosswalk laws are rigidly enforced don’t know what applies. Some pedestrians become trapped in the no-man’s land, the center median as they seek temporary refuge. What gives?
How does the city and state (Dillon rules; state makes the laws, not the cities) solve this continuously dangerous situation? ENACT UNDERSTANDABLE LAWS, EDUCATE EVERYONE, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENFORCE. As for Frogger, it was a great video game in the mid-70’s where you, as a frog, tried to cross a busy road. This game should never be attempted in real life by us or our fellow drivers and pedestrians.
Learn more about the Bikeways & Trails Advisory Committee at VBGov.com.
Strava Labs is where Strava engineering occasionally releases side projects independent of our product.
Projects may be added, removed, or break at any time, so use them at your own risk.
View 88 page PDF online at VBGov.com.
This management plan was developed to comply with the conditions of the recorded conservation easement. The recommendations that are contained within the management plan are the result of a year long study of the property. This plan has a horizon of five years. It will be important to measure the progress made annually on the stated goals in the plan and to update the plan every five years.
The Pleasure House Point Natural Area represents a unique opportunity to showcase the beauty and function of a coastal eco-system in the midst of the highly developed waterfront community in the Bayfront area of Virginia Beach. The property has been manipulated time and time again over the past 50 years. Even with all of this intrusion, the environment has survived and flourished as a prime example of the resilience of a natural eco-system. There are many lessons to be learned from this property, as well as many actions we can take to restore and enhance the property. This document was developed with this charge in mind and outlines specific steps and priority projects to ensure that the property is properly managed and maintained for the benefit of both man and nature.
The conservation easement is held by the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). This management plan is being developed to comply with the conditions of the recorded conservation easement and the management plan has been coordinated with VDGIF. The management plan will govern operations and maintenance as well as future improvements and restoration projects on the 84.658 acre parcel known as the Conservation Easement Parcel. The site must be managed consistent with conservation goals used to rank and fund the project as listed below.
• Maintain habitat values
• Maintain Coastal Maritime Forests
• Maintain water quality
• Maintain/educational and recreational values not detrimental to other aspects
There will be many different opportunities to provide environmental education in partnership with Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Lynnhaven River Now. In addition, the City will be providing outdoor programming in the park. We will continue to keep the neighbors engaged by coordinating regularly with the Bayfront Advisory Committee, the Shore Drive Community Coalition and the Ocean Park Civic League. The Bayfront Advisory Committee is appointed by City Council and provides a forum for residents and businesses in the area to discuss land use, transportation and social issues. The Shore Drive Community Coalition is a volunteer organization that coordinates among various civic groups. The Ocean Park Civic League represents the neighborhood directly adjacent to the site and the members have officially adopted the Pleasure House Point Natural Area and are responsible for conducting at least one trash clean up quarterly on the property. They are also diligent in reporting violations of the pet waste and leash laws.
I encourage you to read and digest the entire document.
It’s fascinating.
The City had a briefing recently …
Here’s the PDF of what to expect. (15 pages)
July 16, 2013 Meeting Summary – Rich Sobota, FEMA Region III Insurance Specialist
On Tuesday, July 16, 2013, Rich Sobota, insurance specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III, briefed City staff on changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as a result of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Biggert-Waters extends the NFIP until 2017 and encourages financial stability of the program by increasing flood insurance premium rates to actual risk rates for some subsidized properties.
The two classes of properties that will be affected by these rate increases are 1) Pre-FIRM properties and 2) Grandfathered properties. Pre-FIRM properties are those properties in an area with a 1% annual chance of flooding (100-year floodplain) that were built before the first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). In Virginia Beach, these are properties built before October 1, 1970. Grandfathered properties are properties that previously had flood insurance, but as the result of a FIRM change are now mapped into a higher risk flood area. In the past, they were allowed to keep paying their old, lower rate.
Woo hoo!
Read entire article at Pilotonline.com:
“It’s a major walkway for a lot of people,” Williams said. “It’s good that the people of the city listened to the citizens. Before, they said they couldn’t do it. It’s good that they have found a way.”
Be safe people!
Following the National Weather Servic 5pm update the tract of the storm has moved slightly to the west such that the eye of the storm could cross the Currituck Bay west of Hatteras. The expected turn to the NE this evening will still carry the soon to be CAT 2 Hurricane Arthur away from VB. Additional changes from our noon update is a slight increase in the wind gusts possibly reaching 50mph. Winds will increase commencing at 3 am in the morning and are expected to remain thru 6 pm tomorrow. Most of the wind will be from the north. Atlantic wave height could reach 12 feet at day break subsiding during daylight. Beach and dune protection are expected to hold. Bay wave height will increase through the morning reaching 6 feet at 2 pm and falling off rapidly after that. Some bay front waterfront bulkheads will be tested. Rain fall total projection remains under 2 inches. Street flooding is expected to be scattered based on downpours and the high tide reducing the runoff flow. Home inundation will be an anomaly. Tidal flooding impacts will be short lived with only a few habitually low spots subjected. Some roads will have high water signs posted in advance. 311 service will operate under normal operating conditions this evening – shutting down at 11:30 pm and resuming at 7 am on Friday morning. As cell service and our communications and data systems are not expected to be compromised the City leadership will be monitoring the storm system and conducting decentralized management of the event.
From an email, unedited:
Friends:
Below is the latest update on the Lesner Bridge replacement project from Chris Wojtowicz, project manager. If you have any questions or need additional information, please let either Chris or me know and we will be glad to help you.
Enjoy your holiday weekend.
Drew Lankford
Media and Communications
Department of Public Works
City of Virginia Beachdlankfor@vbgov.com
(O) 757.385.8062
(C) 757.409.4353Summer has officially begun, and – as you have noticed – so has the construction of the replacement Lesner Bridge project. I have spoken or corresponded with many of you over the past few weeks regarding your concerns with the start of this construction work. Based on these discussions, our project team felt that a brief update on the work and our response to the top three concerns might help folks better understand what work is taking place right now.
Below are the top three questions – and answers – that we have been discussing with so many of you:
Q: “Why wasn’t my property included in Pre-Construction Damage Assessment Survey?”
A: Generally, all properties (10) within 200 feet from a source of vibration that could exceed a threshold particle velocity value of 0.5 in/sec between a frequency of 2 and 10 Hz have been included in the contract documents. We refer to the AASHTO Standard Recommended Practice for Evaluation of Transportation-Related Earthborne Vibrations for selecting this threshold particle velocity – which is the level at which a plaster wall MIGHT begin to crack.
If your property was not included in the contract documents as one of those requiring a survey, then your property fell outside of this zone of influence and has an extremely low risk of structural damage from construction related earth related vibrations. That being said, if the City felt that there was any risk of structural damage to a particular property, that property would have been included in the contract documents as requiring both a Pre- and Post-Construction Damage Assessment Survey.
Beyond the expected areas of influence, seismographs – along with horizontal and vertical control points – have been placed so that the project team can monitor these vibrations in real time and make adjustments to the construction methods if necessary. [As a side note, people “sense” or respond to a much broader range of vibration frequencies and intensities than structures. Intrusive vibration levels might concern some folks at much lower intensities than levels considered critical for structures (0.5 inches/sec between 2 and 10 Hz)].
So even though extremely low levels of vibration may be a nuisance to some people and cause one to become concerned about structural damage, there really is very little risk of this damage. All Pre-Construction Damage Assessment Surveys have been completed at this time.
Q: “Why does the Contractor have to work at night? There is so much noise!”
A: The contractor is only performing work at night that requires temporary lane closures on Shore Drive. Since we are in the summer months, daytime lane closures on Shore Drive are not permitted until after September 30th unless an exemption is granted by the Public Works Traffic Engineering Dept. Both stationary and non-stationary noise at night is now being monitored by the City using an Extech Digital Sound Level Meter to assure the Contractor’s compliance with the contract documents.
Q: “Why did the bridge contractor placed a fence at East Stratford Street and Shore Drive? This impedes pedestrians who want to cross Shore Drive from East Stratford Street to get to the beach since the beach access at the boat ramps has been closed.”
A: New storm drainage and a large stormwater management device need to be installed at this corner. This fence and other barriers are required to “safe-up” the work area and the deep excavation that will be performed. The project team has reviewed the pedestrian access concern and will make some minor design changes (such as moving the stormwater management structure further to the east) to better accommodate these pedestrians. The proposed changes are that the pedestrian signals will be un-bagged and a gate will be added to the temporary fence to allow pedestrians access to the existing crosswalk. These changes will be implemented before July 4th.
The work taking place right now on the project involves modifying the approach lanes at both existing bridges in preparation for shifting the lanes of traffic slightly to the south. This lane shift is required in order to make room for the equipment and utilities needed to construct the new westbound bridge. The crane that is out there now on the west side of the bridges will be used in the construction of the first bridge footing and abutment for the new westbound bridge.
Bridge footing construction will likely begin in August 2014 and will progress from west to east. During this time the concrete casting yard, Atlantic Metrocast Inc., in Portsmouth VA will be prepared for production of the pre-cast concrete bridge sections. Placement of the first bridge segments on the new bridge piers/foundations will likely begin in mid-March 2015.
Thank you again for all of your valuable input that helps us move this project along in a safe and responsible manner. Still to come – Lesner Bridge Construction Webpage with live/time lapse construction video.
Enjoy your summer.
-Chris
Christopher J. Wojtowicz, P.E.
Project Manager
City of Virginia Beach
Department of Public Works
Municipal Center-Bldg 2
2405 Court House Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-9031
Phone: (757) 385-5785
Fax: (757) 385-5668
email: cwojtowi@vbgov.com
Sidewalk at beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility is now closed.
PLEASE keep in mind IF you choose to park there to go to beach it will be challenging to say the least
Note: Photo was not in email but added by the Editor to ensure everyone knows of the challenges using the beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility this coming Holiday Weekend. Be safe people.
For years, Virginia Beach has had the most DUI arrests in Virginia, with more than 2,300 DUI arrests passing through General District Court in 2013. This is roughly 10 percent of the total amount of DUI arrests in the entire state.
From a News Release:
Public Works Schedules Sand Replenishment for Cape Henry Beach
Virginia Beach Public Works has announced a sand haul of 60,000 cubic yards of sand for replenishment of Cape Henry Beach in time for the summer season.
The sand stockpile area south of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach Use Facility has been the repository for sand dredged from the Lynnhaven Inlet in recent years. With the beginning of the Lesner Bridge Replacement Project, McLean Contracting Company, contractors for the bridge project, will need part of this stockpile area for use as a staging and laydown area for materials.
Currently there are about 80,000 cubic yards of sand stockpiled here, and moving 60,000 cubic yards to Cape Henry Beach – which was last replenished in 2010 – will allow the contractors to set up for the bridge project.
Trucks will begin hauling sand as early as the second week of May, and are expected to be finished in 6 to 8 weeks. The total cost for the replenishment is estimated at $700,000, and will be funded from the Lesner Bridge Replacement Project contingency fund.
For additional information, contact Chris Wojtowicz at (757) 385-5785 or at CWojtowi@vbgov.com.
Note: I apologize for not posting this back on May 2nd when it was released.
From 2 emails:
Folks:
Below is a message from Chris Wojtowicz concerning the pre-construction damage assessment surveys of homes and businesses that is being conducted prior to the beginning of construction on the new Lesner Bridge. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact Chris or me and we will be happy to assist you.
Thanks.
Drew Lankford
Media and Communications
Department of Public Works
City of Virginia Beachdlankfor@vbgov.com
(O) 757.385.8062
(C) 757.409.4353Dear Residents of the Shore Drive Community:
With the Notice to Proceed issued to McLean Construction on June 2nd, 2014, construction of the new Lesner Bridge is about to begin.
One of the first things that is going to be performed by McLean is pre-construction damage assessment surveys of homes and businesses located adjacent to the construction limits of the new bridges. Seismic Surveys, Inc. (SSI) is an independent, third party consulting firm that has been retained by McLean Contracting (bridge construction contractor) to conduct these damage assessment surveys between June 9th 2014 and June 20th 2014.
These pre-construction damage assessment surveys are conducted to document the existing condition of properties prior to the start of the bridge construction.
THIS SURVEY IS A VOLUNTARY AND PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE USED TO PROTECT ALL PARTIES INVOLVED. CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO HAVE ANY IMPACT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
The pre-construction damage assessment survey will consist of both an interior and exterior assessment of selected properties and will include photographic and written documentation of the various building materials and pre-existing cracks that are visible during the survey. If your property is one selected and you authorize SSI to conduct a survey, please bring specific items of concern related to your property to the attention of the SSI employee conducting the survey. We encourage and request that you accompany the SSI representative so that you may receive the best possible survey in the time available.
During the construction operations, seismic monitoring equipment will be used to measure ground vibration. Normally these monitors are installed at the closest structures to the work. The vibration intensity (particle velocity) threshold set for this project is based on research by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO Designation R 8-96) and private consultants.
Particle velocities are not expected to reach this threshold value during any portion of bridge construction; however, some vibration may be noticeable during certain times as this work progresses.
Coordination of these surveys will be done by a representative of SSI.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Patrick Hastings with SSI at 888-250-6566.
For any other questions regarding the bridge construction, please contact me at (757) 385-5785 or at cwojtowi@vbgov.com
Thank You,
-Chris
Christopher J. Wojtowicz, P.E.
Project Manager
City of Virginia Beach
Department of Public Works
Municipal Center-Bldg 2
2405 Court House Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-9031
Phone: (757) 385-5785
Fax: (757) 385-5668
email: cwojtowi@vbgov.com
Learn more about all dog parks in VB.
Thanks for your feedback last year on the design of a dog park at Bayville Farms Park (located at 4132 First Court Road). With your input, the park was designed to accommodate seperate areas for both large and small dogs. We are happy to report that construction of the new dog park has been completed and it is now open to the public.
Woo hoo!
Check out the 3 page PDF with more info.
From Tour de Virginia Beach July 2009 advocating for more bike lanes.
Link to Virginia Beach CIP search page.
The city’s health department has issued a swimming and wading advisory for the Chesapeake Bay between Wake Forest and Kendall streets because of bacteria levels in the water.
The advisory includes the First Landing State Park coastline along the bay. It does not affect the Oceanfront.
Recent tests by the health department found bacteria levels exceeded State Water Quality Standards, according to a news release.
Signs will be posted on the beach.
Click here for a printable version of the agenda SDCC Agenda April 2014
Shore Drive Community Coalition General Meeting
Monday April 28, 2014
7:30-8:30 pm
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Station
(Intersection of Shore Drive and East Stratford Rd.)
Call to order:
Officers’ Reports: President’s Report David Williams
Vice President’s Report Rick Mercadante
Secretary’s Report Todd Solomon –March Minutes
Treasurer’s Report Paulette Hruska
Old Business: See meeting topics
New Business: Open floor
Adjourn
At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council will hear budget presentations from several city departments. The Public Works Department also will brief the council on proposed solutions to chronic flooding in the eastern Shore Drive area.
GO!
Read & comment at Pilotonline.com.
Graphic from Virginian-Pilot
#WeLoveShoreDrive 