New traffic pattern at Claiborne and Croson?

The flashing message boards on Croson say that there will be a new pattern starting next week. It seems that the 4-way stop will now become 2-way. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Claiborne will now have no stop heading down to the dead end and up to Waxpool. With the 55 mph speed limit in place, this could lead to some bad accidents. Maybe not. I don't know if I'm looking at this the right way.
It just seems that this move is premature since Claiborne doesn't go through to Ryan Road yet.

 

Completely agree. I think it's a really bad idea. If you're traveling westbound on Croson and approaching Claiborne, visibility is somewhat limited to the right (southbound Claiborne traffic), particularly if you're gonna be starting from a stop and crossing 4 lanes of traffic that could be traveling 55mph.

I've emailed Mr. Letourneau this morning regarding this. He responded quickly and stated that he's having both VDOT and county staff look into it.

 

Just wondered where you got this info?

 

Going east on Croson from Belmont Ridge, the sign says "Cross traffic does not stop". That will start next Tuesday.

 

Electronic sign for westbound Croson says the same.

 

I wonder why? Claiborne dead-ends, but Croson goes through.
Another brilliant plan by VDOT...kind of like repaving a perfectly good Claiborne Parkway.
At the meeting about Wynridge/Ridgeway/Claiborne, VDOT stressed how important it is for all sides to stop....so now they eliminate one at the next intersection.

 

I'm starting to think VDOT is hoping for a major accident in our area! This is beyond ridiculous. This intersection is already problematic, especially since Croson was opened to Belmont. But without the 4 way stop... well I just shudder to think what might happen!

I emailed Steven Shannon (Steven.Shannon@vdot.virginia.gov), as referenced in the Claiborne/Ridgeway thread last month. This lunacy really has to stop!

 

I imagine the conversation going like this:

smart guy #1: "people are blowing through a stop sign, breaking the law! how can we stop this?"

smart guy #2 "remove the stop sign, then there is nothing to blow through, no law broken!"

smart guy #1: "BRILLIANT!"

 

I've spoken to VDOT. They're gonna look at the intersection again and make a decision next week. They've received several emails all stating the same specific concerns. The emails made enough of an impact that they're gonna come out and inspect the intersection on-site, likely today.

 

That's great. I'm really loving how quickly these concerns are being addressed. The stop sign that just got put in in Broadlands Marketplace has made crossing the intersection a lot safer for anyone who goes through it.

 

As of Saturday morning (9/8/12), the electronic signs on southbound Claiborne and westbound Croson are dark. I take that as a good sign.

 

Update:

Stop signs will remain in place for the time being while VDOT studies the intersection further and makes a decision on what they want to do.

 

Maybe they can also "study" the destruction of the Claiborne Parkway pavement now underway and provide an explanation of that as well. The cost to all of us taxpayers of the equipment, labor (including VA State Police this morning), and materials for this needless work is a crime.

 

See the VDOT response in the follwing thread:
http://www.broadlandshoa.org/hoaforum/showthread.php?t=27758&page=2

 

Thank you, Lightning, for addressing these issues with VDot. I, too, don't get why the stop sign was removed, and am especially miffed about the Claiborne repave. The Wegman's shopping center is a mess in all directions, and the many four-way stop intersections need to be replaced with traffic lights.