SUFFOLK, Va. — After speaking with residents in Pughsville, I found many raised concerns about the Chesapeake-Suffolk boundary, drainage problems, and a lack of sidewalks. As your Suffolk neighborhood reporter, I took these concerns straight to city officials to see what they had to say.
"Pughsville over the years, their number one issue has always been drainage, it's always been drainage and we recognize that," Suffolk Mayor Michael Duman said.
Duman says for years, there have been ongoing issues with Pughsville drainage. In November, the city completed a nearly $10 million drainage project designed to address flooding in the neighborhood. The mayor says the project was paid for with a mix of federal and local funding.
"The whole project is done to alleviate the backups of drainage and ditches throughout the neighborhood," Interim Deputy City Manager Gerry Jones said.
Jones says relief is underway, but more improvements are coming.
Another issue is a lack of sidewalks. Wayne White, civic league president, previously expressed concerns about safety, saying he was "worried about someone getting killed."
As I previously reported, $1 million is set aside in the capital improvement plan for Pughsville, a project that will not only add sidewalks but also address drainage along Town Point Road.
"What we're doing with that project is piping all the ditches on Town Point Road, which will make way for the installation of the sidewalks," Jones said.
The project is part of the capital improvement plan and still needs council approval.
"I can't speak for everyone on council but I'm fairly certain that the proposed million dollar improvement for sidewalks in Pughsville will be approved," Duman said.
Even so, that funding won't bring sidewalks to the entire neighborhood. Pughsville, like many of Suffolk's older communities, were developed without them.
"Yes, it is frustrating because of limited resources, and I believe we've done a very equitable job allocating resources to the Pughsville community," Duman said.
City officials say they've got a good handle on drainage issues. As for Pughsville Park, they're expanding the parking lot and repairing trails. They're also addressing drainage issues in the park before warmer weather arrives.
