Virginia Beach, Va. - The City of Virginia Beach is looking at ways to improve safety along a stretch of Laskin Road in the Hilltop area.
The high volume of traffic in the area coupled with the access or feeder roads in the area has led to safety concerns for both drivers and pedestrians.
"We've got a lot of people up and down the feeder road who don't really know how to manage the feeder road properly," explained longtime Hilltop resident Dustin Judge. "They don't pay attention when cars are merging. They don't know how to merge. They kind of park in the feeder roads sometimes."
A long-term Capital Improvement Plan managed by VDOT will eventually turn a stretch of Laskin Road from Republic Road to Winwood Drive into an eight-lane divided highway that removes the access roads all-together. Right of way acquisitions for that project are wrapping up and utility adjustments should begin soon.
Until construction on that project can start, Virginia Beach is looking at short-term safety solutions that can be implemented.
Among the suggested short term improvements presented as a citizen information meeting in April are installing pedestrian countdown signals, painting stop bars, installing stop signs and trimming vegetation.
Those recommendations are meant to be interim solutions for the areas of Laskin Road that will be ultimately addressed by the capital improvements plan project.
You can read more about the suggested short term improvements to Laskin Road here.
You can read more about the road safety assessment for Laskin Road here.
