Speedtrap on Shellhorn Rd

Also hiding just to the right and down the incline @ Winnridge and Mooreview....trying to catch the folks who are doing a "california roll" through the stop sign as they turn left onto Mooreview.

 

GOOD. bad habits carry over- as i was driving my kid to school, a in a minivan decide not to bother with her stop sign at ALL as she turned right into me onto ELLZEY. i laid on my horn and slammed on my brakes since she would have creamed my car. it actually took her a second or two to even realize that she had nearly caused a accident. idiot. don't run stop signs EVER and you won't forget to stop at the one right near your kid's school while kids are WALKING to school...

and when she DOES hit something, someone, she'll blame the other party i'm sure. maybe sue the company that made her minivan for not idiot proofing it to stop on its own.

 

Ohhhhhhhhh, I like it when Redon gets feisty!!!!!!

 

don't make me angry... you wouldn't like me when i'm angry...

 

I have to say the amount of Stop Sign enforcement in the area around Southern Walk Plaza in the last week is ridiculous. Im all for enforcing Stop Signs, especially at places like Claiborne/Wynridge or any road that intersects Claiborne for that matter, but where people do the "roll" through the stop sign turning left onto Mooreview by the shopping center? Until the roads they are building out are done, there is virtually NO cross traffic - in fact one could argue they should have installed some barriers and made it a curve.

Personally I would rather see these guys running radar on roads like Ridgeway, etc where traffic flys along and houses are right on the road.

 

Which direction? I turn left from Wynridge onto...whatever the name of that street is from the inside lane. It seems to me that the outside lane should be for going straight. But the road is closed for now so people turn left from that lane. (which I think is odd)

 

I see this all the time and it never seems right to me. Is it legal to make a turn from any lane except for the far right/left when there isn't a sign specifically stating it is ok? I can understand maybe if there is a large flow of traffic and this will overall save time for everyone, but I see it happen all the time when noone else is near the intersection. Other times I've been turning there from the proper lane and someone pulls up beside me, does the roll stop, then makes the turn alongside me. As there are no curved lines painted, I feel like this is an accident begging to happen.

 

Ok - I misunderstood you. I always turn into my corresponding lane. I thought you meant it was weird for people to turn from the lane that is obviously going to be the "through" lane once the road opens up.

This is what I was talking about.

 

Once there was a smart car that I didn't notice beside me until well into the turn as it pulled ahead of me. Given the size/height of the car verses my full size truck and no lane markings, I was a bit surprised that the person was willing to take the chance that I would not veer just enough to hit them being they clearly came up after me, was passing me, and mostly stayed in my blind spot through the majority of the turn.

 

It is obvious that there has been a stepped-up enforcement presence out there recently...I'm sure to improve the Commonwealth and/or the County's revenue situation in these tough times.

I got nailed going down 29 three weeks ago toward Charlottesville, and on the way back I must have seen 8 police cars along the same stretch of road...it was rediculous. Now, if this helps calm down the crazy drivers out there I'm all for it, even if I got nailed. But if they are hanging out in these "speed trap" areas because they know it is going to be easier to more easily meet their quotas...then that is a bad use of their time.

 

One of my issues is continued speeding through the neighborhoods and failure to stop at the big red octagon signs that say STOP.

I constantly record the license plate of offenders when possible and report them to the LCSO. They have a nice little database that they record the info. When officers pull someone over, this part of the record comes up. Granted, they can not fine someone fro something I witnessed, but it may reflect on how "nice" the officer may be to the alleged offender. Too many complaints most likely will not get you a break that day.

Also, please complain about these issue to the LCSO. They have an online complaint form that actually works. I have complained about speeding on Vestals and they have put out the mobile radar unit. I have also complianed about the stop sign issue and they have put an officer at that intersection that wrote tickets all day long.

 

The cops are always out in full force on 29 going to and from Charlottesville in May when UVA students are leaving and also graduation, then in Aug. for the start of classes, also winter break, spring break, football games, etc. My son went to UVA and I definitely noticed the pattern over the four years. Fortunately neither myself or my son got any tickets during the four years. We still go to athletic events there and stay the speed limit.

 

How about those articles in the newspapers where the Sheriff's office is trumpeting their good work in raising revenue via speeding tickets?! Too bad that they are not as much in our neighborhoods as the Sheriff would like us to believe from the press release, but instead in places like the undeveloped section of Shellhorn Rd.

I suggest sending a note to the VDOT engineers requesting that Shellhorn's speed limit be looked at. The Northern Virginia Office email address is: novainfo@vdot.virginia.gov

You may also want to cc our representatives:
stevens.miller@loudoun.gov; district33@sov.state.va.us; DelDPoisson@house.virginia.gov

=====================================================

Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 10:58 AM
To: NOVAinfo
Cc: stevens.miller@loudoun.gov; district33@sov.state.va.us; DelDPoisson@house.virginia.gov
Subject: Speed Limit on Route 643 Shellhorn Rd. Should be Raised

Dear VDOT:

The section of Shellhorn Road, Rt 643, west of Loudoun County Pkwy to the Home Depot is posted with a speed limit that is unreasonably low for this type of road. This section of state highway is a divided roadway with two travel lanes in each direction. The roadway runs through a section of Ashburn that is primarily undeveloped except for several warehouse/data center buldings. The current speed limit of 35 mph is inconsistent with the speed limit on other divided roadways in the area. Claiborne Parkway at 45 mph and Ashburn Village Parkway at 40 mph are each 4 lane divided roads that traverse heavily populated areas. Within the past year VDOT raised the speed limit on a similarly configured section of Waxpool Rd. next to the Verizon campus from 35 mph to 45 mph.

The inconsistency in the speed limit on this section of Rt. 643 sets up ideal conditions for abusive tactics by the Sheriff for generating revenue via speed traps (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062604264.html).

Please give consideration and high priority to applying a consistent speed limit to this section of Route 643. Thank you.

 

i wonder what would happen if hundreds of us wrote letters to the sherrif's office praising the fact that they are doing more to curb speeding, and imploring them to move into higher RISK areas to write their tix, since that would not only yield a speeder, but a speeder in an area that has more potential to see a child or pedestrian injured?

if we name off consistently dangerous intersections- you think they would shift to those areas to asses the revenue potential- i mean- SAFETY increase potential...?

 

This note from VDOT's engineer is just in. Reading between the lines, it looks like good news for the speed limit on Shellhorn Rd.:

I received your email request on 6/29/2009 for an increased speed limit on Shellhorn Road (Rte 643) north of Loudoun County Pkwy. The 35 mph speed limit has previously been brought to VDOT’s attention, and we have already performed a speed study on this section of road. The study has been completed and is currently under review by the State Traffic Engineer’s Office. We cannot discuss the results of the study until the State Traffic Engineer’s Office has approved the study and officially established a speed zone resolution for the road. However, once the speed zone is established, I will send you a notification outlining the results. Please be patient as this process can take a month or two to be finalized. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Brett Randolph, E.I.T.
Area Traffic Engineer
Prince William & Loudoun County
Virginia Department of Transportation
Northern Virginia District Office
14685 Avion Pkwy, Chantilly, Virginia 201

 

Good news! The speed limit on the undeveloped section of Shellhorn road is being increased to 45 mph.

I received the following this morning from the VDOT engineer:
===================================

The State Traffic Engineer’s Office has officially established a speed zone resolution on Shellhorn Road (Rte 643). The results of the study indicate that an increased speed limit from 35 mph to 45 mph is warranted from Loudoun County Pkwy (Rte 1950) to Hartley Place (Rte 2180), which is approximately ¼ mile south of the traffic signal for the Shoppes at Ryan Park shopping center (with the Home Depot). The speed limit will remain 35 mph from Hartley Place to Waxpool Road (Rte 625) as this section possesses significant commercial development as well as traffic signals. The sign sketches will be completed in our office in the coming weeks, and then the speed limit signs will be posted depending on the schedule of our field forces.

===================================

Where will the deputies get their easy pickings next?

-Jim