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Legislation would have impact on driving in Virginia

Can the median at Southpoint Parkway be whittled down? And when will the Ladysmith I-95 off-ramp get a new surface

Date published: 12/1/2008

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By Kelly Hannon

LEGISLATION IS al- ready being sub- mitted for the 2009 Virginia General Assembly session, which starts January 14. Many of the bills would affect transportation.

Among them:

House Bill 374: requires the Virginia Department of Transportation, when requested by a child's parent or guardian, to post a "Child With Autism" sign when a child under the age of 18 with autism lives nearby.

HB 438: would prevent the state from issuing a learner's permit to minors when school records show a minor has had more than five unexcused absences in the six months immediately preceding their application.

HB 904: bans the use of cell phones or wireless electronic telecommunications devices while driving a motor vehicle on a public highway (with "certain exceptions") unless the device is equipped with a hands-free accessory.

HB 1281: anyone convicted of a third or subsequent DUI charge would display a yellow license plate with red letters and numbers on motor vehicles registered in Virginia for five years.

Senate Bill 526: requires vehicle safety inspections every 24 months instead of every 12 months, and increases the maximum fee to $20 instead of the current $16.

Go to leg1.va.state.us.org to read more about legislation for the 2009 session.

Dear Kelly:

The northbound U.S. 1 left-turn lanes onto Southpoint Parkway in Spotsylvania are being inhibited by the median on Southpoint, which protrudes too far into the inside of the left-turn lanes. This results in slower turning movements, which, in turn, result in traffic stacking up in the left-turn lanes, overflowing them. Traffic then stacks up in the adjacent northbound through lanes. If that median was shaved off by a few feet, the turning traffic would move faster and thus clear the stacked cars faster--and then they'd not be blocking U.S. 1 north.

This would be a fairly simple thing to do but it would take someone from VDOT or the county to come down and take a look--and then, of course, either VDOT (or the owners, if it is not yet VDOT's) would have to fix it. There are dozens of small things like this across the region that would help move traffic more efficiently if they were looked into.

--Larry Gross, Spotsylvania

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Date published: 12/1/2008

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