Just now
East bound Shore Drive open
Just now
Category Archives: Safety
More info about Beach Haven fire
Thanks to Bob for photos.
Pilotonline.com coverage.
WAVY.com coverage.
WAVY.com photo gallery.
WVEC.com coverage.
WTKR.com coverage.
2 confirmed dead.
Shore Drive closed at 845a.
“VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Two people have been killed following a two-alarm fire at the Lynnhaven Beach Condos on Beach Haven Drive early Friday morning.”
Fire crews on scene said the call went out at 5:20 a.m. at 2305 Beach Haven Dr. Firefighters battled the flames for about an hour before it was under control.
More love for new Shore Drive bike lane from WAVY
The Virginia Bicycling Federation presented Mayor Sessoms a check for $10-thousand to support the safety education and awareness program.
Visit, and join the Virginia Bicycling Federation. They do awesome work for “Advocacy, Safety, & Education” to make cycling safer in the Commonwealth.
You’re already a member of the Tidewater Bicycling Association right?
Pic swiped from Tidewater Bicycle Association Facebook Group
Shore Drive becomes a little bit safer.
Cyclists celebrate new bike lane
Busy stretch of Shore Drive not so perilous a ride after Beach adds some elbow room
Click here to read Pilot reporter Susan Hutchins’ article on the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Come out to the dedication to the super awesome bike lane on Shore Drive thru First Landing!
RSVP to:
-
Drew Lankford
Media and Communications
Department of Public Works
City of Virginia Beach
dlankfor@vbgov.com
(O) 757.385.8062
The city is tentatively planning a ribbon cutting with Mayor Sessoms on Saturday, March 24th at 10:00 am celebrating the new bike lane on Shore Drive in First Landing.
From Tidewater Bicycle Association:
The transformation of this stretch of highway into a more bike friendly one can be summed up in one word- Wow! Given all of the interest from the cycling community and Shore Drive/Bayfront area residents over the past decade this is a day that has been a long time coming. It can truly be said that Virginia Beach’s planners and engineers hit the ball out of the park with this project.
Photo from Tidewater Bicycle Association
The New Lesner Bridge. The Official Presentation.
You’ve heard we’re getting a new bridge.
Check out the Official Presentation from the City. [ 24pg PDF]
Links to, and screen shots of archived Official Western Branch Lynnhaven River Maintenance Dredging (CIP 8-005) Public Works page at VBGov.com.
Partial screen shot of Official Page at VBGov.com.
Link to Official Page at VBGov.com thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine:
Western Branch Lynnhaven River Maintenance Dredging (CIP 8-005) October 12, 2008
Note: Links to Official Documents like PDFs, Photos etc in right column of above page do not work.
Partial screen shot of Official Page at VBGov.com.
“Public Involvement
A public information workshop was held on June 5, 2007. A second Public Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. Based upon feedback received at the Public Meeting, alternate sites for a dredged material transfer station were evaluated. The proposed transfer facility has been moved from the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Facility to a site located near the crossing of Thalia Creek and Virginia Beach Blvd. Concept plans have been developed for a multi-use facility that will incorporate the dredged material transfer facility, public access to the Lynnhaven River, a canoe/kayak launch and a crew facility.”
Link to Official Page at VBGov.com thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine:
Western Branch Lynnhaven River Maintenance Dredging (CIP 8-005) March 27, 2009
Note difference in Official Page from October 2008 vs March 2009 in Official Files that were included vs not include in later page.
Note: What happened to this Official Page? It can no longer be found in the current http://www.VBGov.com. Can someone provide the hot link in the new VBGov.com website?
WAVY’s Andy Fox’s Comments on NDP
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – For over a year, Broad Bay Island residents have worked to stop barges full of mud from coming up a creek and crossing in front of their waterfront property.
Tuesday night, they won that battle.
Virginia Beach City Council agreed with the residents and backed down.
“Stop the sludge means we don’t want other people’s sludge on our waterways,” said Broad Bay Island resident Lynn Hume last March.
The city wanted to use hopper barges to dump sludge, dredged from inlets across Virginia Beach, onto a piece of privately owned land. That property, which is zoned as residential, is a 100 yards across the creek from Hume’s home.
Fifteen months after the fight began, it ended with city council pulling the site on Long Creek from consideration.
“With what we’ve gone through, nothing surprises me. When it comes to the City, we have been deceived so many times and misled by city staff so many times, that is why it got out of hand and that’s what upset us,’ said resident Ed Cunningham.
It took Tom Fraim and the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Commission to finally convince Virginia Beach that the Long Creek site isn’t the right location. The Zoning Administration also told the city that, but the city pushed ahead anyway.
“It gets on our plate because it is controversial, and yes, the people of Long Creek were very well organized” Fraim said.
“Stand up and be heard, and the system can work if you get people involved,” exclaimed Broad Bay Island Resident Mike Megge. “We worked that system. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of organization and a lot of dedicated people.”
Getting a little media attention doesn’t hurt.
“A lot of time, you don’t know what happens with a story, but it give people closure to a story when you exposed it. You followed it through to the end, and I think that helped the whole process,” Megge added.
The alternative site for neighborhood dredging is up the creek at a city-owned property, between the Lynnhaven Marine Boatel and the Marina Shores Shoppes.
The land is owned by Gale Levine Higgs who did not want to do an interview, but told 10 On Your Side on the phone, “So much has to happen for this to happen…I gave the strip of land to the City for drainage purposes only…not for a sludge transfer station.”
Higgs made it clear legal action could follow if the city plans on using the site for anything other than drainage.
Crab Creek Lesner Bridge Transfer Site
Admin at Save the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach Facility Facebook Page needs pictures of anything to do with this subject including announcements, pictures, etc. The web address is below for that page. Please like that page to receive updates. Looks like several alternate sites have been found already in just 3 days!!! PAGE LINK BELOW!!
—
Andrew R. Broyles
3604 East Stratford Rd.
Va. Beach, Va. 23455
cell 757 621 2082
office 757 460 5678
https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheLynnhavenBoatRampAndBeachFacility
Bikeways & Trails Advisory Committee report is out and talks up the terrific new bike lanes being built on Shore Drive in First Landing State Park
From Bikeways & Trails Advisory Committee:
Shore Drive bike lanes
We are very excited to see progress on one of the Top Priority Infrastructure
Projects in the Bikeways and Trails Plan: bike lanes along Shore Drive, from
the Bayside area to the Oceanfront — generally, the four-mile section
between Fort Story and First Landing State Park. Through the Mayor’s
leadership in meeting with cyclists around the City and working with City
staff, funding was found in the current budgets to make this happen.
Construction is occurring right now, with completion of the eastbound side
expected in March 2012.
“The Assistant City Manager and City Staff were there to present plans for the Lesner Bridge replacement AND Building a Permanent Industrial Site at Crab Creek.”
From an email posted unedited with permission:
Dear Neighbors,
Sid and I attended Thursday’s Bayfront Advisory Committee meeting. The Assistant
City Manager and City Staff were there to present plans for the Lesner Bridge
replacement AND Building a Permanent Industrial Site at Crab Creek.There are several distinct issues that you should know about:
1. The Lesner Bridge replacement is vital – the City plans to use the Crab Creek
“spoils” site for construction staging for the bridge over the two or so years
it will take for the project. I feel that we as homeowners should accept that.
The Bridge’s condition is currently rated lower than the one in the Midwest that
fell a few years ago. During the construction there will be up to 100 truck
trips daily through the boat ramp and out to Shore Drive via Piedmont Circle and
E. Stratford Rd. There will be a “temporary” barge docking station built for
barging materials to the site.There will be noise and other usual construction
site impact. Beach access via the boat ramp facility will be curtailed during
the construction. Boat launching will remain open. While this is unpleasant, it
seems to be a necessary , but temporary, inconvenience.2.Currently, CLEAN sand from dredging of the Crab Creek Channel occurs once
every year or two, or when weather causes sand movement that requires it to keep
the channel open for boaters. Again, I feel that since we, especially homeowners
with boats on the creek, benefit from this, it is a necessary nuisance. The
city stockpiles this sand on the site for future use for sand replenishment
along the bay or elsewhere in the city.We certainly also benefit when sand is
replenished on our nearby beach.3. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON: The City has renewed its interest (that wefought in 2008) in putting a permanent dredge transfer site with Barge off-loading station at Crab Creek to receive and truck out the MUCK dredged fromneighborhoods such as Witchduck Point, Thoroughgood Manor, Church Point, and Saw Pen Point, who want their channels dug for their boating pleasure, but do notwant the inconvenience of the dredge transfer station in their own backyard.
If this is built, we will experience: barges offloading 40-50 truckloads of
dredge spoils a day, and those 40-50 trucks, averaging THIRTY-FIVE TONS
traveling across the cross-walk between the boat ramp bath house and the
boardwalk to the beach, and out to Shore Drive via Piedmont Circle and E.
Stratford Road. Barges may impede boat traffic in the boat channel. The dredged
muck in this process is thick and foul-smelling, not the clean sand that is
dredged from the Crab Creek channel. Beaches and Waterways Commission has
recommended limiting to 30 trucks per day for no more than two 90-day cycles per
year. It is unclear what the time-of-day restrictions may be for dredge transfer
work. The City said, regarding the Lesner Bridge construction, that time-of-day
work would depend on the contractor proposal…
If the engine noise and beeping you heard during the Crab Creek sand dredging
was troublesome to you, imagine adding the 30 or 50 large trucks per day I
personally found the noise alone to detract from my enjoyment of my porch. I
wonder if those along the creek will be able to use their back decks.4. THIS ALSO DESERVES OUR ATTENTION:
The City Staff of VIrginia Beach now say they will use the future Permanent Dredge Transfer Station for other uses: possible staging for other construction, docking of working barges that currently moor in the Lynnhaven River for oyster reef work, dredges,etc.The City, at Thursday’s meeting expressed assurances that they are sensitive to boaters and fishermen. They expressed no concern for homeowners.
I hope you all will join us in opposing a Permanent Dredge Transfer Station at
Crab Creek. Please email City Council and the Beaches and Waterways Commission and the Bayfront Advisory Committee members with your opposition to the proposed Dredge Transfer Station at Crab Creek.
Use my letter (posted below) if you like.Here are all the email addresses to copy.
Cut and paste these email addresses for sending your letter:
tfraim@masacorp.com,
CMOffice@vbgov.com,
ctycncl@vbgov.com,
David@sdcc.info,
wsessoms@VBgov.com,
lrjones@VBgov.com,
gdavis@vbgov.com,
bdesteph@VBgov.com,
bdyer@VBgov.com,
bhenley@VBgov.com,
juhrin@VBgov.com,
rwilson31@cox.net,
jlwood@VBgov.com,
abarnes@vbgov.com,
kkassir@aol.com,
yiayia223@aol.com,
tanklines@aol.com,
jjma6@aol.com,
joeb@HBAonline.com,
normcarrick@cox.net,
dsparks@wcbeach.comThank you,
Wendy Vaughn
Previously at BoatRampClosing.com in 2008/09 when the plan to allow personal and public unknown dredge spoils and other material be barged to, and trucked from our beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility. That plan was officially killed in April 2009.
An example letter to send to City Council, Bayfront Advisory Committee and Beaches & Waterways Commission and click-able email link:
### BEGINNING OF SAMPLE LETTER ###
-
Mr. Mayor and Honorable Council Members, Members of Beaches and Waterways Commission, Members of the Bayfront Advisory Committee:
[CHANGE TO APPROPRIATE INFO]> As homeowners in Ocean Park Virginia Beach, adjacent to Crab Creek, we want to express our strong opposition to using Crab Creek for a Permanent Dredge Spoils Transfer Site for the following reasons:
* Operating barges in close proximity to the recreational boating channel at Crab Creek poses dangers to boaters, kayakers, and paddle-boarders. The channel is narrow. The City Boat Ramp at Crab Creek encourages the use of the channel for these recreational activities. This is a conflict.
* Use of dump trucks through the boat ramp parking lot, over the pedestrian crosswalk from the bath houses to the beach, and through the residential neighborhood poses dangers to adults and children, bicyclists, fishermen, and motorists.
* Use of barges in the Lynnhaven Basin creates a danger to the Lesner bridge. Over a year ago a barge did hit the Lesner Bridge.
* Quality of water at the beaches surrounding the Crab Creek sand berm is jeopardized by unloading of spoils. Quality of the sand the City currently reclaims from the channel for use elsewhere is also jeopardized.
* Noise pollution from engines, trucks, and beeping disrupts the quiet in the neighborhood. We currently experience this up to three months a year from the Crab Creek channel dredging. And the noise pollution is late at night and early in the morning. It is not equitable for us to be subject to it for many more months because those who will benefit from the dredging in their neighborhoods do not want the spoils transfer to take place in their neighborhoods.
* Quality of air is jeopardized by diesel equipment and odors from dredge spoils.
* Potential loss of equity in our home is unfair in order to benefit other neighborhoods.
Our position has not changed since we voiced our opposition in 2008 along with the Ocean Park Civic League and many other Ocean Park homeowners.
We ask that you complete the Thalia transfer station before determining the need for additional stations, and that studies be done by an independent third party to evaluate the concerns listed above. We also ask that you review the Ocean Park Civic League objections and citizen response to the 2008 proposal for a spoils transfer station at the Crab Creek site.
The Lynnhaven Boat Ramp at Crab Creek is a clean, safe, quality recreational facility – a Virginia Beach success. Please consider the risk of damaging the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. And please consider the risk of damage to the quality of life in our neighborhood.
Respectfully,
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
### END OF SAMPLE LETTER ###
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: 1. That the City Council hereby directs the City Manager to remove the Maple Street site from consideration as a potential dredge spoils transfer site for the Neighborhood Dredging Program.”
Read the entire resolution in this PDF [1pg].
The resolution is being scheduled for vote at City Council on Tuesday February 28th.
Great Neck Ramps for 264 will open on Feb 8th 2012
Hooray!
VMRC Joint Permit Application for Long Creek Dredging
On 30 January, the VMRC sent a letter to notify the residents along Long Creek of a Joint Permit Application #11-1830 concerning maintenance dredging. The commission requests protests to their application to be submitted within 15 days of the date of the memorandum (done by 14 February) if you wish to express your concerns with this project. The Permit letter and project drawings should be available on the VMRC website (www.mrc.virginia.gov) and will soon be made available on the http://www.SDCC.info site. I have attached my reply to this posting.
February 2, 2012
Mr. Justin D. Worrell, Environmental Engineer
Virginia Marine Resource Commission
2600 Washington Avenue
Newport News, VA 23607Re: Joint Permit Application #11-1830, Long Creek Maintenance Dredging
Dear Mr. Worrell:
I thank you for giving our residents the opportunity to comment on the proposed maintenance dredging permit for Long Creek. One of our residents asked me the purpose of this notification as she has never received one before in the 37 years of living here. As she was not able to decipher the attached drawings, she asked how she could make an informed decision on this permit without sufficient information. I acknowledged her concerns. Is your letter of 30 January to serve as sufficient information or will public hearings be held?
On my review of the permit, I too have strong concerns. Many of the residents and boaters using Long Creek acknowledge that periodic maintenance dredging is needed every 4-5 years, but we question the scope of this project. As I have attended the majority of the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Committee meeting related to the Neighborhood Dredge (Spoils) Program for the Lynnhaven basin, I am very aware of the strong mistrust that many have of the city’s true motives concerning the proposed dredging of the Lynnhaven Basin, and Long Creek, and in particular, the use of Maple Street and Crab Creek areas as permanent mechanical transfer sites.
Concerning Long Creek and this permit, we are concerned with lack of thoroughness related to the city’s planning, the lack of sufficient studies related to traffic, safety, and the impact on the neighborhoods mainly involved. We have strong concerns about the quality of the dredged material, whether beach grade or unusable spoils, and the stated need for the permit’s mechanical dredging. We vehemently oppose any use of the Maple Street containment area for anything other than hydraulically transferred beach grade sand as non-beach grade sand would have detrimental environmental impact on both the adjacent preservation area and the water quality of Long Creek, one of our prime fishing areas.
We are requesting that the Joint Permit #11-1830 be sent back to the city of Virginia Beach to more adequately address our citizens’ concerns. Until such time as these concerns can be substantially met, we cannot support this permit.Sincerely,
David M. Williams
President, Shore Drive Community Coalition
2104 West Admiral Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 234521(757) 481-1668
New multi-use path bridge at Lake Joyce in the Beacon
Read the entire article at Pilotonline.com:
Kal Kassir, Bayfront Advisory Committee president, said that while safety was group members’ No. 1 concern, the resulting view also helps advance their goals.
“This is a gateway corridor to our city,” he said, “and the new footbridge and view of Bayville Farms Park enhances the natural beauty of the area.”
Previous post on this new awesome bridge at SDCC.info.
Pedestrian bridge was one of the recommendations that came out of the Shore Drive Safety Task Force [SDSTF] that you first heard about here.
You can view the PDF of the SDSTF recommendations[PDF] unanimously accepted by City Council in 2006.
Learn more about Shore Drive Topics at VBGov.com.
Thank you for this new awesome bridge! Shore Drive is a little safer because of it.
Maintenance Dredging Permit Request Joint Permit Application #11-1830 from City of VB
This is the City’s Joint Permit Application(JPA) that could impact Maple Street and/or Lynnhaven Inlet Placement site.
Mayor response to Prez of Cape Story by The Sea Civic League re: proposed dredge transfer station on Maple Street
The Mayor’s email response:
Dear Empsy:
Thank you for your recent email, on behalf of the Cape Story Civic League, regarding the dredged transfer facility site.
City Council just received the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Commission’s report in response to the tasking we gave them on specific areas of the Neighborhood SSD Dredging Program. We are in the process of reviewing that report, along with staff.
The City’s application to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) for the construction of the mechanically dredged material transfer site has been returned to staff, and until we on City Council make a decision, the application is not active. Public Works Water Resources staff has submitted a renewal permit application to VMRC for maintenance dredging of Long Creek due to shoaling in the channel. This renewal permit application is in the public review stage. On January 20th, City staff provided additional information to VMRC for the application. VMRC requested this information prior to forwarding notification letters to the adjacent property owners about the renewal permit application. We hope residents are not opposed to our keeping the navigation channel open. I believe you may have also been in communication with Mr. Justin Worrell at VMRC and should have been advised this work could be performed by either hydraulic or mechanical dredging.
As to your request that we withdraw our appeal, we believe that the Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision has other ramifications which we need to consider as part of our appeal process. Our City Attorney has kept our options open by filing for an appeal. Our final actions have not yet been determined.
The adjacent parcel to the dredged material holding area is zoned R-7.5. I can ask staff to look at your request that the property to the east of the dredged material holding area be rezoned P-1 and am supportive of this request. A subdivision may be required so that we can continue to use the dredged material holding site for operations referenced above.
I hope this information is helpful. Your input is appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may provide any additional assistance.
William D. Sessoms, Jr.
Mayor
City of Virginia Beach
Office of the Mayor
2401 Courthouse Drive, Building 1, Room 234
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
757-385-4581 (MAIN)
757-385-5699 (FAX)
wsessoms@vbgov.com
Empsy Munden is the President of the Cape Story by the Sea Civic League.
More at VBGov.com Neighborhood Channel Dredging.
Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
Peeping tom in Vista Pointe Condos WAVY coverage
Read and watch story at WAVY.com:
Police say a woman in Vista Pointe Condos reported that early Wednesday morning she saw a stranger peaking through her window. The woman, who lives on the first floor, had just gotten out of the shower when she saw the man.
#WeLoveShoreDrive 