Received an email updating the armed robbery that happened recently in Cape Story on the bike path.

You’ve no doubt at some point made the mistake of trying to cross the Lesner Bridge on the south side and have encountered the almost impassable sand dune on the south east corner.

This $500,000 already funded project has not been considered to be scheduled to be started as it was moved off the list of priority projects to complete.

Last night, yet again, there was illegal and unsafe parking on Shore Drive.

This time, just a block away from another accident at the base of the Lesner Bridge.

So far, Don Julio’s, Yellow Fins,Croakers, Starbucks, Krogers and Shell Additions are on board either This Holiday, Drive 35 Campaign or their own version of raising awareness about how deadly Shore Drive has been for years.

The city of Virginia Beach can?t bring back Burley Thomas Day III, the 44-year-old triathlete killed last week while jogging along Shore Drive.

Nor can it return to life Kristin Highfill, Charles Henderson or James and Dawn Hale, four other pedestrians who met untimely ends along a single stretch of the busy artery this year.

With that many fatalities in a single year, Shore Drive deserves to be rechristened Death Drive.

Continue reading at Pilotonline.com.

No doubt you’ve seen that Jim Smith’s used car lot closed on December 1.
He passed away in October.

I apologize for not posting the news of his death when it was emailed to me in October.

According to WAVY, Virginia Beach Police need your help in solving two armed robberies that occurred within the past week at the Arbys Restaurant, 5197 Shore Drive.

Crime Solvers at 1-888-Lock-U-Up.

Story at WAVY.

?We have to stop thinking of pedestrians as an afterthought,? she said. ?If you look at Shore Drive on the whole, it?s very unforgiving . ? It?s our responsibility to make it as safe as possible.? Quoted by June Barret-McDaniels, a member of the SDAC.

That’s correct.

When Virginia Power was working on moving the wiring etc in the median in the last couple weeks, across from 7-11 at Marlin Bay and Shady Oaks, one of the workman was in fact hit.

Still, if we truly cared about education and safety, we?d demand that high schools start later in the morning.

?We?re letting transportation drive education,? Nancy Guy said.

Embarrassing. And dangerous.

Read commentary at the Pilotonline.com.

At least 150 people have already signed up for the rally scheduled for January 16th in Richmond.

While Congress recently approved just more than $1 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to pursue oyster restoration work in 2006, it is the smallest allocation since 2003. It will pay mostly for the corps to complete a long-term master plan of future oyster projects, officials said.

Todd’s letter to the planning committee for the 2007 Commemorations.

This was received from a neighbor on Maple St.:

  There was an armed robbery on the bike trail between Sandalwood and Maple Saturday night Dec. 3.  Four black men, robbed a man, out walking his dog at 8:50pm, between Maple and Sandalwood.

In it, they ask for immediate improvements, like traffic signals, new signage, reducing the speed limit in some places and improving sidewalk access.

Bill Johnson, an attorney, has been on a quest to get the city to have crosswalks painted.

He’s been constantly talking about it everywhere to convince the city…before someone gets killed.

Interestingly, the city will.

?I think it?s a clear success,? said Greg Gohn of the USGS, one of four principal investigators.

Read the entire article.

…the website for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation?s campaign for clean water in Virginia. Nearly 7,000 miles of Virginia rivers and streams are polluted, including the entire Chesapeake Bay, yet Virginia spends only about 1 cent of every tax dollar on protecting the environment. We need to change that.

In response to the recent increase in unfortunate safety related deaths along Shore Drive, the Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC) requests that the SDAC take the lead in organizing a Shore Drive Safety Task Force to create the necessary focus that this issue demands.

Bike/Peds friendly.