Accident at corner of Claiborne & Waxpool

It's just something I noticed on the way back into work from lunch... it's still 35mph at the intersection itself and it's not "extremely curvy" IMO and it gets plenty of traffic coming off the greenway on Ash Village, perhaps more than Claiborne. It gets up to 40/45 outside of a residential area... but I'll defer to VDOT since they know more than me.

 

Claiborne past the Waxpool intersection towards Southern Walk is 55mph; check this post from lilpea "Yes VDOT did confirm past Turro to Croson the speed limit is in fact 55mph." (sic) in this thread;
http://www.broadlandshoa.org/hoafor...y-and-claiborne-pkwy.27684/page-3#post-166980

 

Julie and Coley, if you look at posts from years past you will see that a majority of posters are in favor of increasing the limits, not lowering them. Personally, I would like to see them lowered.

 

Each one of us should stop and think how many times have you been distracted whether on foot or in a vehicle and just make it a point to be more cautious going forward. Accidents are not planned actions hence accidents, we can try and avoid them but eliminating them? What are we trying to do here?

 

The road is truly unmarked

 

I am at a loss as to why there are no speed limit signs for that stretch. I would hazard a guess that if VDOT were to put up signs, they would be 45MPH.
Perhaps the HOA has or can ask for signage.

As for what is appropriate in each area of Ashburn, I am not an engineer. But I trust VDOT doesn't make up the limits on a whim. Sure, they get some wrong and hopefully they get corrected (e.g. Waxpool in front of Verizon).

 

According to http://www.virginiadot.org/info/faq-speedlimits.asp;

"What Are The Speed Limits For Roads That Are Not Posted?
The speed limit for most business and residential areas is 25 mph. On secondary roads (those routes numbered 600 and above, with one exception), the limits are 45 mph for trucks and 55 mph for other vehicles."

 

We live in a community that emphasizes being active and outdoors. Why wouldn’t we want to make people slow down and be safer so that our kids can play outside without us worrying that they’ll get run over? People even speed down the side streets – I may be super-conservative when it comes to the safety of my children but I would totally advocate a 10mph speed limit on the side streets and/or stop signs and speed bumps every 100 yards.

Here are some easy/inexpensive ways we can make our neighborhood safer:

• Put in “Slow! Children at Play signs.”
• Add more stop signs (or speed bumps) on the side streets.
• Get more participation from the Sheriff’s department for enforcing the law.
• Have more radar speed signs showing people their current speed.
• Install cameras used to enforce stop signs, catch red light runners, and issue automatic tickets for speeding. This is revenue for the county and I bet we could get it funded very easily.

Coley – I agree 100% and appreciate your support. 55mph just seems so fast.

KTDid – Increasing the speed limits is just crazy and endemic of the very fast-paced, competitive lifestyle we have all become accustomed to.

T8erman – Yes, people are going to rally to make things safer, particularly after something this tragic happens. Timing is everything and people are more open to change right now. We need to do more than just pay better attention. We can better enforce the law to make things safer, which should help with distracted driving. I’m not putting fault on either party, just advocating for better safety in our neighborhood. Right of way or not, an accident at 35 mph and an accident at 45mph have very different physics at play and a person is more likely to survive being struck at 35 vs. 45 mph.

When you say the traffic studies found the speed limits appropriate, is that just for how the roads are designed or does it take into consideration the number of people crossing the roads and using the sidewalks as well as the dense population of children that live the Broadlands?

Some of the signs at the four way stops are much smaller than they used to be and people blow through them all the time, both at Claiborne/Wynridge and Mooreview/Old Ryan Road. This could be easily fixed with rumble strips or paint (“Stop Ahead”), both of which shouldn’t break the bank. And, of course, catching whomever keeps steeling the stop signs would help.

Also, sidewalks along Wynridge are not like the others. They are about 2 feet from the curb, whereas the bike trails along Claiborne vary from 3 feet away to 15 feet away from the street. The stretch of Waxpool by the farm house and Dunkin Donuts is similar to Wynridge and there is a guardrail in place where the road curves. I would advocate a guardrail and/or reduced speed on Wynridge as well.

Finally, thanks for the apathetic endorsement for the task force. But I’m not so willing to just give up. Where there are problems, there are solutions. Where people have tried before and failed, there is an opportunity to try again and win. VDOT probably doesn’t want to make changes due to the cost. I don’t know much about the operating budget for the HOA, but I do know it’s large. We could probably make room for these types of improvements and offer to pay for them.

Flynnibus – Fine to say that the smaller one should take the defensive posture. My kids are learning that, but they don’t have the experience to be aware of what’s happening 100% of the time.

I don’t understand your vehement view against lowering the speed limit. People push the limit and end up going faster than what is posted, making for an even more dangerous situation. Cars actually don’t slow down that much for the right turns and come flying up to the intersection on red, crossing over the cross walk. The underpasses are an option and would be GREAT if they weren’t ¾ mile apart and unavailable to anyone south of Wynridge/Ridgeway. We need more!!

Villager – I understand your concern. I wear earbuds and listen to music while jogging and keep the music at a volume where I can hear everything else going on. It’s also a good idea to be extremely cautious when crossing streets.

Razdaz – That’s easy to say, but not always easy to do/remember. As long as the sneaker memorial stays at the corner of Waxpool and Claiborne, we will all slow down and pay better attention. But once it’s gone, people will go back to their usual ways.


Although there seems to be some support for making our neighborhood a safer place to be, I feel like more people are fighting against safety measures and improvements than for them. This makes me sad. If we can do more to prevent something this tragic from ever happening in our neighborhood again, why wouldn’t we?

 

Julie, you want a safer neighborhood? Tell your Broadlands neighbors not to speed. That is the biggest safety issue IMO.

 

Julie, your heart is in the absolute right place but reality is that signs and radar guns don't matter to the drivers who consistently speed, don't use signals, text and drive, etc. there are ALREADY signs. people ALREADY know that it's a residential area full of kids. chronic speeders don't care what the radar speed sign says. your last idea could work because there's an actual con$equence associated with behavior, which is what many people respond to.

This tragedy will do more to curb bad behavior than anything else, and even THAT will be temporary. nobody believes it could happen to them. that's what it takes- a horrible thing has to happen for people to wake up.

Individual responsibility is all that works, and it's up to the Individual to make the right choices. That's just my humble opinion...

 

Thanks for posting this link, amazing how the community is coming together for them in this time of need. Already past 45k...well done Ashburn (and others who helped)

 

55 mph is correct. I have put in several calls to VDOT to get this corrected. I got no response. I have brought it up twice at Broadlands HOA meetings over the past year.
The last time I brought it up a few months ago, Sarah said she would look into it.

 

My heart breaks for the two young kids who will never be able to have their mother with them again. I wonder if their father is around or ? Life is too short...hug your kids!

I read the Leesburg news article and at the end of the article, it states that the police are working with the DA to see if charges aginst the driver are warranted. From what I have read, there MIGHT be probable charges on the way against the driver and what might be the charges? Failure to give way ? Speeding? Won't know until investigation is completed, I presume.

I hope the children are ok and that they are with relatives who can comfort them.

 

People need to pay attention and drive the speed limit instead of driving at whatever speed feels right to them. Pay attention to your speed and your driving! And that goes for my husband and friends, too.

 

I agree with Redon1. On a daily basis I watch drivers speed well above 25 mph when the school zone lights are flashing. Even if there are kids crossing the street during peak dismissal time. It is quite bad on Clairborne near Stone Bridge HS and I notice that the worst offenders have kids in the car with them! So if our own residents are not willing to tone it down near a school I don't see them obeying right of way rules. :-(