Street Beat

Q:How does one petition to have a residential street designated "no trucks/commercial vehicles"? Large numbers of folks walk, run and ride bicycles in my Chesterfield County neighborhood. For safety's sake, we need to reduce traffic in this area. -- Jim F.

Answer: I'm all in favor of preserving the endangered practice of walking. To prove my commitment, I sat at my desk and did some research.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is responsible for many Chesterfield roads. Here's what I found. "For a request to be considered by VDOT . . . the Board of Supervisors must hold a public hearing and make a formal request to the department through the VDOT residency administrator." This ensures that all concerned parties have an opportunity to provide input.

VDOT will then conduct a traffic engineering study of the request and make a recommendation on whether to approve or deny it.

For more information, go to VDOT's site at http://www.virginia dot.org. Click on "Programs" and then "Neighborhood Traffic Programs."

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Answer: Resurfacing improvements at this location are scheduled to begin in the fall, said Jemila M. Woodson of the Department of Public Works. Crews will mill and pave Belt Boulevard between Hull Street and Midlothian Turnpike.

. . .

• the person who is trying to go across the other three lanes of traffic;

• the person who is now stopped in the middle of West Broad Street to let the person through; and

• the other westbound drivers who cannot see the person who is trying to make the left-hand turn across the other lanes!

This left-hand turn lane needs to be eliminated. There are two left-turn opportunities, with traffic lights, just before and after this turn lane that will get people into Wal-Mart much more safely. If VDOT feels this is a good thing, then someone from VDOT needs to try this turn sometime. -- Anonymous

Answer: VDOT is considering your request.

"The project many years ago that widened Broad Street to its current configuration also provided the special left-turn slot in the median eastbound on Broad Street into Wal-Mart," said VDOT's Taya M. Jarman. "However, we will conduct a safety and operations study of this location, given the recent area growth."

The study will include a crash analysis and the impact at the signalized intersections if this left-turn slot is closed, she said. "Given current workloads, this should take 45 to 60 days to complete."