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Zoning ‘Dangerous’ For Roads?

 By Kelly Jasper

BROADWAY — As new town residents, the Sneads knew just where to voice their concerns about traffic outside their home on Early Drive.

The town annexed the street along with 260 acres at the start of the new year, adding the Sneads to Broadway’s growing population. They’re part of a handful of new residents who spoke to the Town Council at its first meeting since the annexation.

The council Tuesday approved zoning for the annexed land — voting to preserve most of the previous zoning set by Rockingham County, said Town Manager Kyle O’Brien.

One of the town’s changes, however, caught the eye of some Early Drive residents. Their street branches off Va. 42 on the south end of Broadway.

The council voted to zone the corner where the two roads meet for business use. Under the county, the corner was previously zoned as industrial.

Town officials say the new zoning reduces the burden that development could have on the surrounding community. But residents say the road already is unsafe, and restricting the road to business use isn’t enough to fix existing problems.

‘It’s Too Dangerous’

In the spring, when trees are in full bloom, Shawna Snead says residents can hardly see around corners of Early Drive as traffic flies by. There’s also a one-lane bridge that she says delays traffic as cars stop in the road and allow other vehicles to pass.

The Sneads have two daughters at home, ages 11 and 4. One is severely handicap, Shawna Snead said.

“When it’s nice outside, we should be able to take her for a walk,” she said. “We can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

Other residents on the street say they share her concerns. Claude Halterman, 59, lives on Early Drive and says he sees people drive by at 40 to 60 mph on the 25 mph road.

Admittedly, Halterman adds, he wasn’t a fan of the annexation to begin with.

“I don’t like growth,” he said. “I don’t like what they’re doing to the town.”

But now that the road is inside the town boundary, Halterman said he’d like to see the council do something about its safety.

“I can only see that road getting worse,” he said.

Snead and her husband, Mike, agree. Both say they’re concerned that through traffic will only increase with the new zoning.

“It’s pretty hazardous as it is,” Mike Snead, 42, said.

Shawna continued: “People do use Early Drive as a thruway. To have more commercial traffic through there is just scary.”

Zoning ‘Softens’ Impact

Town officials, however, say their new zoning “softens” the impact of new development.

Under the county, the parcel had been zoned for industrial use for several years, O’Brien said. The town, instead, chose to restrict the area to business use.

He adds that the corner of Va. 42 is “an appropriate location for business.” So far, no plans have been submitted to develop the corner, he said.

At the hearing, Vice Mayor Leslie Fulk told residents, “It could be a lot worse there on that corner.”

Offering Solutions

Residents, however, say they don’t want to wait and see if traffic becomes an even greater problem because the situation already is bad enough. At the hearing, they offered recommendations to improve traffic.

Halterman asked if the one-lane bridge could be closed. A new two-lane bridge on Spring Brook Road could be used to divert traffic, he said.

Although funding was recently allocated for construction of that bridge, construction hasn’t started on Spring Brook Road yet, O’Brien said. He says it’s supposed to be finished in 2009.

It’s a suggestion that was never brought before the board, O’Brien said, but some Town Council members called the idea a good one.

Speed bumps also were suggested, but O’Brien says the Virginia Department of Transportation is unlikely approve the idea because the bumps would hinder snow removal.

As for the trees that residents say reduce visibility, council members say they’d like to do something about the overgrown brush both on Early Drive and in other spots around town, but often don’t have the authority to do so.

The town offered a few suggestions of its own. Broadway could up police presence on the road, or ask the VDOT to close the road to trucks, O’Brien said.

Now that the road is inside the town boundaries, Police Chief Jay Lantz said his officers could use radar to curb speeding.

“You at least slow them up,” he said at the hearing. “Use law enforcement to adjust people’s habits.”

While the council heard several suggestions, O’Brien said no plans are in the works to implement the ideas just yet.

“We feel the impacts aren’t going to be nearly as great as some proposed,” he said.

Other Zoning Changes

On Tuesday, the town also approved two other requests that differed from the zoning put into place by Rockingham County. Property owners requested both, O’Brien said.

One of those concerns 20 acres near Broadway Electric, which was zoned general industrial use instead of the proposed light industrial classification.

The other change in the town’s proposal comes from a resident, whose half-acre lot was zoned as industrial use when in Rockingham County but is now zoned residential by the town.