Title above is about the Shore Drive Pedestrian Improvements Project in Ocean Park.
From Hank:
Please see the attached packet for next week’s BAC meeting. Just as a reminder, we will be starting at 1:00pm on Thursday to go over goals and objectives for FY2027. The regular meeting will begin at 3:30pm. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out any time. Have a great weekend!
Ocean Park Fire and Rescue Squad(OPVRS) Building
3769 E. Stratford Road. Enter door opposite Shore Drive.
The mission of the Bayfront Advisory Commission(BAC) is to review and make recommendations to the City Council regarding public and private projects and issues associated with the Bayfront area.
Public comment has apparently changed: expect no public comment discussion with city staff or an ability to ask city staff any questions. Public comment is available at the end of the meeting and may or may not be included in any minutes.
Here’s a few select items from update.
Here’s all the latest plans.
The Shore Drive Phase 3 Improvement Project(SDP3), first identified as a City Capital Improvement Project (CIP) in 2007, is finally getting ready to happen. This 3 year long construction project will improve the section of Shore Drive between the Lesner Bridge and North Great Neck Road, making the road safer for pedestrians and vehicles. Construction will take place over the next 3 years and will definitely have an impact on our Bayfront area in the process.
In an effort to help provide as much information to the residents as possible, we have been working with the City and Councilman Cummings to gather as many details as possible to help answer questions regarding this project. Thanks to the City’s Public Works and Councilman Cummings, we are able to provide the following detailed drawings for construction, traffic management and storm water plans. Please see below for a link to our project page for the SDP3 project.
https://weloveshoredrive.com/phase3/
The detailed project drawing documents should be able to help answer some of the following questions we have heard from the residents.
Additional information regarding this CIP can be found at the City’s website link https://vbgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/11ca2d264a6c45aeaf6e6b4723297341
The City’s CIP data sheet can be seen below
We understand that this data is a lot to digest and we plan to help by posting drawing analysis reviews and City provided updates as best possible. Similar to the Lesner Bridge 3 year project, we can make it through the pain to get to the well deserved benefits and information will be a critical factor.
On Thursday May 1st, there will also be an opportunity to learn more about the upcoming construction project at the District 8 Councilman Cummings Community Meeting. More information on this meeting can be found below.
START HERE TO TAKE THE NEW SURVEY. (opens in new tab)
Some press at 13NewNow story:
Virginia Beach officials outline plans to improve road safety
After many accidents involving pedestrians, the city is working to improve pedestrian safety.
BAC, the Bayfront Advisory Commission meets at OPVRS, the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Thursday February 15th at 330pm. Join us!
OPVRS is located at 3769 E Stratford Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.
Enter door opposite Shore Drive.
Public Works’ Jeremy Kline updates regarding Shore Drive Phase 3 and Cape Henry dredging/beach replenishment:
View CIP in new tool here. Sorry can’t link directly to individual CIPs. Phase 3 is CIP #100381.
Thanks Hank!
I’ve attached the 1997 ULI Study and the text from Zoning Ordinance pertaining to the Shore Drive Corridor Overlay District. Below are links to the following:
Comprehensive Plan (Section 1.3 – Suburban Area; Page 1-69 – Suburban Focus Area 1:
Shore Drive Corridor: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/virginia-beach-departments-docs/planning/Comprehensive-Plan/Adopted/Comp-Plan-2016_policy-doc.pdf
Shore Drive Corridor Plan:
Click to access Shore_Drive_Corridor_Plan_2000.pdf
Shore Drive Design Guidelines:
Click to access Shore_Drive_Corridor_Design_Guidelines_2002.pdf
Commercial Area Pattern Book:
Click to access Commercial-Area-Pattern-Book.pdf
Active Transportation Plan:
Click to access Active-Transportation-Plan.pdf
I believe this covers the current applicable documents with guidance on the Shore Drive Corridor, but if there are other documents that I may have missed in regards to the Shore Drive/Bayfront area, please let me know and I will be happy to pass them along as well.
Thanks,
Hank
2024 srsly 🙄
BAC, the Bayfront Advisory Commission meets at OPVRS, the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Thursday February 15th at 330pm. Join us!
OPVRS is located at 3769 E Stratford Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.
Enter door opposite Shore Drive.
Sincerely hope this never happens again in the entire city!!
Depending on a miracle that no pedestrians or cyclists would get killed by blocking their only safe access is completely unacceptable & unconscionable.
Learn about Complete Streets adopted by City at their website.
But Complete Streets adoption are for:
“This policy will ensure that all users are considered during the design and construction of new roadways” you say.
The point?
How is it possible, again, safety for residents & users of Bayfront infrastructure for pedestrian & cycling safety is ignored by the City?!
Hopefully there’ll be an update soon as to:
1. How this could possibly happen?!
1. How will this never happen again?
1. What time is this getting fixed yesterday to improve the safety for pedestrians and cyclists?
This completely unacceptable pedestrian & cyclist “infrastructure” has been blocked for months. Many many human beings depend on a safe area right here every day.
[T]he City is set to realize about $20MM in proceeds from the sale of easements to Dominion Energy for their Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, and Staff is recommending that nearly half of those proceeds be appropriated to Shore Drive Phase IV ($6.98MM) and to Pleasure House Road Phase II ($1.36MM) & Shore Drive Phase III ($ 2.24MM).
Please email Mayor & City Council to support this vital funding: citycouncil@vbgov.com
City Council vote is on November 21st 2023.
Pleasure House Road Phase II
View coverage at 13NewsNow.com.
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles data shows just this year, there were three pedestrian-involved crashes on Shore Drive, one of which ended with a fatality.
“I hope that we actually see some action on these throughout the city… because safety is the biggest priority, I think within all of our communities,” Murphy said.
Please take the Local Road Safety Action Plan SURVEY now!
That blockade to pedestrians & cyclists to safely navigate is at southeast corner of Shore Drive & Pleasure House Road where there is NO contiguous sidewalks on north side of Shore Drive. Minimum of dozens of pedestrians & cyclists commute through this area daily.
From Councilman Schulman:
Good afternoon,
You are receiving this message because you are a civic league or HOA president in a neighborhood in close proximity to Shore Drive in District 9.
As you may recall, due to inflation, supply and labor challenges, stormwater requirements, and other factors, the estimated cost to complete the projects in our Capital Improvement Program grew by nearly $180MM as the Council considered the 2023-2024 Budget. Consequently, the Council made the difficult decision to delay/defer several roadway projects, including Shore Drive Phase IV (Marlin Bay Drive to the Lesner Bridge) and Pleasure House Road Phase II (Shore Drive to Lookout Road). Money that was originally budgeted for these projects was redirected to other projects (like Shore Drive Phase III, to the east of the Lesner Bridge) in order to lessen the impact of additional cost escalations, because they were closer-in-time to construction.
Over the last 7 months, I’ve been working with City Staff to impress upon them the importance of these projects to our residents – and I’ve been challenging them to find ways to re-resource these projects so that they do not slip further away from us in both time and projected cost.
Thankfully, the City is set to realize about $20MM in proceeds from the sale of easements to Dominion Energy for their Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, and Staff is recommending that nearly half of those proceeds be appropriated to Shore Drive Phase IV ($6.98MM) and to Pleasure House Road Phase II ($1.36MM). Although we still have a ways to go to get these projects fully-funded, this is a very significant development because it gets us back on track after the setback we experienced earlier this year. We are also working on some interim pedestrian safety improvements along Shore Drive that are meant to last until Phase IV is constructed. These funds will help with this initiative as well.
The reason I am contacting you is because the appropriation of these sale proceeds requires the passage of an ordinance with the affirmative vote of a majority of the Council. There will be a public hearing about the appropriation of these funds tomorrow night at 6pm during our City Council’s formal session. The Council will vote on the ordinance and the appropriations at our November 21st meeting.
While I do not think we need speakers at the public hearing or for the vote on the 21st, I think it would be extremely helpful if your organizations would consider sending a letter to the Council supporting the ordinance and the appropriations made therein. You can feel free to send a letter on your organization’s letterhead, and you can also encourage your residents to email the Council at citycouncil@vbgov.com to voice their individual support. Additionally, if you have relationships with other members of the Council, I would encourage you to express your support to them as well.
A copy of the public hearing notice, some background information and the ordinance itself are attached for your reference.
If you have any questions, or require additional information, please let me know.
Thank you!
Joash
Joashua F. “Joash” Schulman
VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL
District 9 Representative
C: 757-840-1291 | JSchulman@vbgov.com
http://www.virginiabeach.gov
Bldg. 1, Suite 2047
2401 Courthouse Dr. | Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Note: Emphasis ours.
City is looking for feedback from YOU about road safety.
Start here to learn more & take the interactive survey.
Thanks to Hank for the Agenda!
NEW BUSINESS
1) Proposed HRT Transportation Service Plan (TSP) for FY25 – Proposed service
adjustments for Bayfront HRT lines and requested changes for Route 35 Trolley.
The Public Workshops will consist of a short recap presentation on themes developed in the Focus Groups and the Vision Mapping process. We will then proceed to break out into small groups to provide more direct, specific feedback on each of the draft themes. The Vision Map will take the draft themes of balanced growth, sustainability, connectivity, diversity, and wellbeing, and apply them to areas of the city to create a framework of how the city should grow and develop over time. There will be an interactive planning exercise in our small groups.
The workshops will be held at these times and locations:
There is no need to RSVP to these workshops. We estimate this meeting to run about 1.5 to 2 hours. Please pass along the information to your friends, family, neighborhoods, colleagues, youth groups, civic leagues, faith groups, etc.
Here’s where we are so far.
As always, for more information or if you have any outstanding questions, please reach out to me at RacMiller@vbgov.com or Hank Morrison, the Comprehensive Planning Administrator, at JMorrison@vbgov.com.
You are aware about the reality of sea level rise(SLR) correct?
THE NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION OF ABOUT 6 LIVE OAKS, The City Tree, will be on the Agenda.
Bayfront Advisory Commission meeting link at City’s website.
#WeLoveShoreDrive 