Traffic Lights?

It's not about that. Look at my earlier post of the VA state law. Pedestrians lose protections they have at 35mph by this increase.

 

That's a fair point, but how many pedestrians and drivers actually know about these rights? It is my guess that 99% of the people on Claiborne will not be prepared to yield to a pedestrian simply because the speed limit is 35MPH instead of 45MPH.

And any pedestrian crossing Claiborne and expecting a driver to yield is insane. I cross Claiborne (admittedly, near the Model Home Court) all the time (with my two children, even), and I'm not stupid enough to expect any cars to yield to me.

So, I guess my point is that you have to be just as careful crossing a 35MPH road as a 45MPH one.

 

hey, I figure: pedestrian 150 lbs, car 1500lbs (at least) ... I know who wins, and it ain't pretty.

 

While we may not have heavier traffic now once one can get to the toll road via Clairborne we will have more problems with heavier traffic, noise and speed. Clairborne is going to become a very popular cut throught at that time. As such, I would have liked to see the speed limit remain at 35.

Now regarding Steve's comments about the stretch of Waxpool between Broadlands and Shellhorn, I was under the impression that the speed limit was 35. At least that is what I go especially because of the conditions identified by Steve - no median, less shoulders, more curves et al. By comparison, Clairborne by the nature of its construction can encourage speeders to speed more since it does have parkway characteristics but due to its location through a busy residential area I think the speed should be more moderate than 45.

 

I am willing to bet that most in our community are not going to complain about the 45mph since 40-45 is what they drive anyhow. So a few are not happy, WAH!

Like I have said before, be careful what you ask for. Sooo many wanted, at a minimum, a 4-way stop at the 2 major intersections on Claiborne. Now, many of those same people complain about people not understanding the nuances of a 4-way stop and are also complaining about the sometimes 15-20 car backup at Broadlands Blvd during the evening rush.

IMHO, obey the posted signs and be content. This issue has already led to one instance of "forum rage"!

 

Actually, I don't think people will be using Claiborne to hit the toll road unless they're going to Leesburg, they'll head out to the Ryan Road interchange before they head further north.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I have asked that this issue be put on the agenda for the next HOA Board meeting, which is Tuesday, November 9, 4-6pm at the Nature Center.

 

Cliff, I am glad to see that, as an HOA Board member you are taking "issues" seriously, but at what cost? A few (and I mean a few) people on this forum do not like the new speed limit and whi.. complain about it. You are being proactive (good thing) and will bring it to the boards attention. Will this happen with every issue from now on when a few people are not happy with some change?

Perhaps some of our fellow residents want our community to be more like Herndon, 25mph pretty much everywhere and lights at EVERY intersection...

 

T8,

You have to know the vast majority of residents don't come to this forum and out of them most do not even post and just lurk. People like us are the vocal minority and are like the avatars of community opinions. I think a survey of all the residents would show most would not favor the increase.

 

Based on the traffic survey that was done, most people favor the increase, as traffic speeds averaged 40/45 MPH during the rush hours.

That said ... we've been talking about this amongst the homeowner board members, and we're going to see what can be done once the developer can turn over the road to VDOT.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

LOL! Putting out cables on the road to see what the speeds are is not a survey. If you present the issue to the residents, explaining to them what the law is I bet you'd see an outcry. That traffic survey includes people who do not live here like the hundreds of dump trucks that go through every day.

 

Homer, I know that very few of us participate. I am even becoming more of a lurker myself. But regardless of a survey, the 35mph on Claiborne is/was rarely obeyed in the 8 years I have lived here. I agree that it does not "feel" right driving 45 but that is also a conditioning in that I have driven at 38-40 for the entire time.

I think 45 is high and would like to see it dropped to 40 for many of the reasons stated here. But as I have said, unless there is a change we should obey the posted signs.

 

Why does the board have meetings at a time when most residents are at work? Is there a scheduling issue, or are the meetings not intended for resident participation?

 

We started meeting at that time because it was convenient for most members to have the Board meeting be immediately at the end of the work day, rather than working a full day, haveing a few hours off, then reconvening a meeting in the evening.
I have always encouraged residents to come. The meetings generally run until 6-6:30 pm, so those residents that would like to address the Board can be scheduled for a time later in the meeting.
If we hear that more residents would attend if the meetings were later in the meeting, I would fully support changing the start to a later time.

 

Claiborne should never of had the speed limit raised with the school and the walking path right next to it. The 35mph should have been more inforced. A radar speed trap would have been ideal for this. Early last year (or was it the year before... I forget offhand) a car going too fast lost control and hit the curb and went airborne right into the walkway directly under the school. If kids were walking there at the time, they would have been killed. We were all surprised that the driver lived, the air bag probably saved his life.

All this does, raising the speed limit to 45, is make people now drive 55.

Also I would like to see a traffic survey, I know I have never seen one. Monitoring the speed of traffic is not much of a survey. If it was, the beltways speed limit would be 90 by now.

---------------
Got Broadband?

 

Here, Here! I'm glad some people will speak up.

 

Like I said before, I really haven't noticed anyone driving above 45mph since the change.

As far as the accident, that could happen on any road in our community regardless of the speed limit.

As far as kids walking by the school... HA! I lived near there for 7 years and judging by the number of kids being dropped off and picked up, I think maybe 10 kids in the whole community walk to school.

Now, if you had said "ANYONE walking by..." instead of trying to hype the issue even more by mentioning children........

 

The point is that similarly designed roads around here do not have consistent speed limits. Why does Claiborne go from 45 in Broadlands to 40 in the Farm? Why does 4 lane divided Waxpool by MCI have a 35 mph speed limit? All these roads have the same "feel", but have 3 different speed limits. Traffic ticket nightmare (or are some streets around here designated "revenue roads"?