|
|
|
| Mon, Nov. 30 - - Mobile - RSS | |
|
|
Taming traffic all a matter of timing
Route 2 signals adjusted for better traffic flow
Date published: 10/23/2007
By KELLY HANNON Driving home on Tidewater Trail should be quicker in the afternoons. The Virginia Department of Transportation has retimed signals to break up the traffic jam on State Route 2 between Lansdowne Road and Shannon Park Drive in Spotsylvania County. There's a quick succession of three traffic signals there, and during the evening rush hour, cars quickly stack up in the southbound lanes. Tidewater Trail links employment centers in Fredericksburg with residential areas in Spotsylvania, and connects with U.S. 17 at New Post. As development has expanded in that area, traffic has increased, said Tina Bundy, a VDOT spokeswoman. In 2000, a daily average of 17,808 vehicles traveled Route 2 between Lansdowne Road and the new Shannon Park Drive. In 2006, the average had risen to 22,238 vehicles a day. So VDOT has changed the signal timing to cycle more cars through the bottleneck. Now, once a driver reaches the Lansdowne signal, it should take about 21/2 minutes to pass Shannon Park Drive, which is adjacent to a Wawa gas station. That's down 46 percent from the previous wait of 4.7 minutes. VDOT engineers added a new sequence of timing options. The three signals have weekday morning, midday and afternoon schedules, a weekend schedule, and an off-peak schedule. Under the old timing schedule, the signals had only morning and afternoon patterns. Unfortunately, it could still take some time for drivers leaving Fredericksburg to reach the Lansdowne signal. Two southbound lanes of Route 2 merge to one lane just before the intersection. In the afternoon, this results in lots of weaving and merging, which slows traffic down. Some motorists take side streets to avoid the back up. "You can only get so many drops of water through the funnel at one time," Bundy said. Also, in the fall and spring, afternoon activities at Dixon Street Park add to commuter traffic, Bundy said. And VDOT cannot change the signals in Fredericksburg. VDOT only has control over traffic signals in area counties, she said. But Doug Fawcett, director of Fredericksburg's Public Works Department, said city signals on Route 2 are not the ones delaying drivers. Cars are waiting to travel through the Lansdowne, Joseph Mills Drive, and Shannon Park signals, Fawcett said. VDOT will monitor traffic in coming weeks to make sure the signals are operating correctly. "It seems to be flowing better," Bundy said. Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
Date published: 10/23/2007
|
 |
|||
|
|||
