Please take the Virginia Beach Bikeways & Trails Survey now:
Please take it right now at VBGov.com – make a difference.

Last time it was done, guess which road ranked #1 by far for more bike lanes?

…increased!

Can you imagine how much it will increase thanks to 35?

How about when there’s bike lanes and multi-use paths on all of Shore Drive?

More about FHA’s report at The Hampton Roads Cyclist:
“This report demonstrates what we’ve been saying here at the Department,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  “Americans want and need safe alternatives to driving. And by making biking and walking safer and more accessible, we’ll be able to provide Americans with more choices and help foster more active, livable communities.”

Cross posted at ShareShoreDriveDay.net.

What is CASPER?

CASPER = Coastal Action Storm Plan Emergency Response

Stay tuned.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                            MEDIA CONTACT:

June 7, 2010                                                         Faith Christie, (757) 385-4621

                                                                  Marc Davis, (757) 385-4308

Bayfront Advisory Committee to Meet June 17, 2010

The Bayfront Advisory Committee will hold its annual retreat on Thursday, June 17th, at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center, 2800 Shore Drive, from 11:00am to 3:00pm. The Committee will be continuing discussions regarding recommendations for revisions to the Shore Drive Corridor Plan, the Shore Drive Design Guidelines, and private encroachments on City right-of-way, pedestrian access issues, parking issues, and related matters.

The meeting will be open for the public to observe; however, there will not be an opportunity for the public to participate in the Committee’s deliberations.

The Bayfront Advisory Committee will then hold its regularly scheduled meeting at 3:30 p.m., at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center, 2800 Shore Drive.

The agenda for the meeting will include the following:

Ø    Update on Public and Private Projects in the Bayfront Area

Ø    Update on Committee Activities in the Bayfront Area

There will be an opportunity for presentations from the public on projects in the Bayfront area. The Committee generally concludes its deliberations around 4:30 p.m. The meeting is then opened to the public for comments.

For additional information or to obtain a copy of the draft agenda prior to the meeting, call Faith Christie in the Planning Department at (757) 385-4621 or email at fchristi@vbgov.com.

For more information regarding the Bayfront Advisory Committee please visit vbgov.com/Bayfront

From Cape Story Neighborhood Watch:

On Friday morning, June 11 at 3:00 a.m., a house in the 2700 block of Ocean Shore Ave was burglarized.  A white male, approx. 5’10 – 6’, thin build, dark hair, suntanned, wearing dark shorts and no shirt removed the electric meter from the box and cut cable and telephone wires from the side of the house, then went to the back of the house and broke a window to gain access.  Two flower pots on the inside window ledge fell on the floor which woke the owner.  When the burglar saw the owner, he ran and did not enter the house.  A police report was filed and the electric meter was not found.  If anyone has any information, or finds the electric meter (don’t touch, it may have fingerprints), please call the police.

Please remember to call 911 if you see a crime in action and call 385-5000, option 1, to report crimes after they have occurred or to report any suspicious activity. 

Read the 7 page ordinance.

The following was received from Chris Neighborhood Watch Coordinator for Cape Henry Shores:

Residents of Cape Henry and Cape Story suffered another power surge today (Thursday, June 10).  As many have suffered damage the last two times, it would be wise to check your electronics and appliances again today.  If you have any damage, please send it to me and i will forward to Dick Robbins who is working on our behalf with Dominion Power. 

Chris W.
Neighborhood Watch Coordinator

Editorial in the Pilot for Friday June 11th:

The vote last week was the fastest and least expensive way to make the four-lane road less deadly, and the council, lately a sharply divided group, was smart to speak in a united voice.

[Note: This Editor believes it is absurd that some people have written that they think this was a negative decision and a 25 MPH Speed Limit is next. Also, when the data is made public, people will see drunks crossing Shore Drive was never the issue.  Speed, driving distracted, poor decision making and more all contributed. Finally – killing the image that Shore Drive is an interstate needed to die. Not more people. If you don’t want to help make Shore Drive safer – go around.]

Dear Vice Mayor Jones and Councilman Wood,

Please accept our thanks for your bold initiative in reducing the speed limit from N. Great Neck Road to Pleasure House Road recently.  We understand that this is not a permanent measure, and that studies must be performed and other safety improvements made to the infrastructure of Shore Drive.  However, your action to implement a speed reduction in the interim has made many feel that at least some effort is being made by the City to improve safety conditions.

We realize that this has been a contentious move, and we would have you to know that for all the negative comments posted online and in the newspaper, we have heard just as many (if not more) positive responses from the residents along the Corridor.  You have both been in public service long enough to know that the “aginners” are typically more vocal than the proponents.

The Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC) would like to lodge a formal request that the City Council resurrect the Shore Drive Safety Task Force (SDSTF) which did such fine work from 2005-2006.  We respectfully request that the revitalized SDSTF take the same form as the original.  That is to say, that the appropriate City Staff, representatives from the Bayfront Advisory Committee (BAC), SDCC and representatives from the bicyclist community comprise the panel, under the oversight of a Deputy City Manager.  Other members might be assigned at the discretion of the Deputy City Manager in charge.  I believe that Charles Meyers was the Deputy City Manager assigned this role in the original SDSTF.
Once again, we thank you for the courage and concern you have demonstrated in this matter, and your enduring service in all matters of benefit to the City of Virginia Beach.

Very respectfully,
Grace Moran
President, Shore Drive Community Coalition

More at League of American Bicyclists:

To register for this course, contact:

  Bruce Drees
  Phone: 757-647-3987
  Contact Email:
  Website: http://www.hrcyclist.info

Signup required in advance? Yes
Special signup instructions: Please contact the instructor at to reserve your seat today!

Equipment required: bicycle, bike helmet

Take a minute and click here.

From Mike & Rick:

Ocean Park Friends and Neighbors,

          I hope everyone had a terrific Memorial Day weekend.  Through the weekend we have collected just over $3500.00, cash in hand towards our deposit for the professional fireworks show on the beach this 4th of July.  We need $6000.00 total to put down the deposit for the fireworks by the end of the week.  I know many of you are sitting on the fence, or a taking a wait and see attitude.  I’ve had folks pledge well over the amount we need for our deposit, but I haven’t actually received the money yet.  If you want to see a professional fireworks show on our beach this 4th of July it’s time to act.  Please go to OPCL.org and click on the “Fireworks” tab to donate via Paypal.  We greatly appreciate everyone’s support thus far, there’s no donation that’s too small, every cent helps.  Band with your neighbors and make this grassroots effort a success and honor the founding of our country with a community fireworks show.  If you have any questions about this show, or just want to get more details, don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me.

Thanks again,

Rick Mercadante
President
Ocean Park Civic League
mercadante@cox.net

35!

From Pilotonline.com:

“The slight inconvenience is certainly worth the enhanced safety,” Wood said.

Thanks to every one involved in getting the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility walkway completed in time for this weekend.

Op-Ed in in Pilot today entitled Slow down on Shore Drive, read & comment at Pilotonline.com:

As long as vehicles use Shore Drive as a highway while throngs of people cross it to get to the beach, restaurants or bars; as long as cars fly past runners and cyclists on the way to the state park; as long as the scenic connection between Chic’s Beach and the Oceanfront continues to be a fully developed community bisected by a speedway, we will continue to see casualties.

City engineers argue that more speed reductions aren’t necessary, that expanding the 35-mph zone to west of the Lesner Bridge wouldn’t keep people safe. But it would give drivers – and pedestrians – more time to adjust to the fact that they’re on a four-lane road in the middle of a commercial and residential district, not on a highway in the country.

Envision Transportation in Hampton Roads:

The Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement, in partnership with the City of Virginia Beach has started a new public conversation about transportation possibilities and their far-reaching impacts.

This project combines the power of visual imagery, new means of information distribution, and the extraordinary value of involving the community in imagining its transportation future.
During the process, citizens will have opportunities to outline future choices and express their preferences.

At Pilotonline.com:

Obviously, Shore Drive is not the safest road in Virginia Beach. No road is perfectly safe. Among the city’s major roads, Shore Drive is about average in terms of safety. While the accident rate overall does not show anything unusual, the long history of pedestrian accidents indicates that a closer look needs to be taken.

You can read and comment at each link.
25 mph at night, 45 dayNo more Shore Drive barsNo harm in cutting speed

There are many online resources available which can help you to become better prepared for the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1-November 30.

Check out some of the following sites below for information and recources on hurricane preparedness:

  *  http://www.ready.gov 
  * http://www.ready.virginia.gov
  * http://www.vdem.state.va.us
  * http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Also,  see the forwarded e-mail below from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM).  May 25-May 31 is Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday Week .  For a complete list of emergency preparedness items that fall under the hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday week, go to http://www.ready.virginia.gov/

Thanks everyone,

Jolynn Turner
Emergency Planner
Virginia Beach Dept. of Public Health
4452 Corporation Lane
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Office:  757-518-2784
Mobile: 757-438-0381
Fax:    757-518-1393

From Mike/Rick:

Ocean Park Friends and Neighbors,

          A lot of you have been wondering what’s going on with the fireworks show for this year.  Our long pole in the tent was getting a barge and a pier to load fireworks.  We got a barge just before the deadline, but we were not able to get a loading dock to load the fireworks on the barge in time to get our Coast Guard Permit.  The Coast Guard requires a minimum of 60 days to file the permit, and we have passed that point.  So for 2010, there will not be a barge fireworks show out in the bay.  We only started this effort in late March of this year, and I’m confident that we will have time to get a barge and loading pier in plenty of time to make this happen for 2011. 

          However, I got confirmation today that here in Ocean Park we could have a beach based Fireworks show.  The permit applications are due to the city by the 3rd of June, so we only have a couple weeks to get the funding together.  We need $10,000.00 to pay for the fireworks and all the required permits, as well as delivery and cleanup.  I have seen an example of what kind of show Applied Pyrotechnics can do for that amount and I think it would make everyone happy.  The widest point of the Ocean Park Beach is by the access at Rockbridge road, so this is where we’ve targeted the show. 

          So here it is.  We have 10 days to come up with $10,000.00.  I have about $500.00 in the bank now, and pledges for $500.00 more.  By June 3rd I have to have the $10,000.00 in hand.  If you want fireworks on our Ocean Park beach this July 4th you need to either go to OPCL.org and donate money using the fireworks link, or drop off a check made out to OPCL fireworks committee at my house at 3920 Shady Oaks drive.  I think we can reach our goal for a beach show this year, but it we don’t, we’ll bank the money and use it towards next year’s barge show.  If we don’t hit our goal and you’d rather have a refund, let me know and I’ll make that happen.  All of you who have told me you want fireworks to happen, it’s time to step up and make this a reality.

            If you have any questions you can contact me using the below info.

Rick Mercadante
President
Ocean Park Civic League
mercadante@cox.net