VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — If you're into revving engines, joyriding, or doing donuts, you're not going to be able to do that at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. This is the message from city leaders after extra measures have been implemented due to ongoing issues at the facility.
Video footage News 3 showed you last week shows some of the ongoing issues at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. Neighbors say the street drifting and burnouts are just a glimpse of the problems.
"Some of them appear to shoot fire out of the tailpipes, and then they go in these big circles,” said Howard Weinberg, a neighbor. “If one of them slipped, you would probably run over 20 people who are standing there and cheering them on."
Last month, Virginia Beach police responded to the boat ramp area after a gun was fired. No one was injured, and police later made an arrest in connection with that incident on July 1.
"I've literally touched this 3 or 4 times a week," said Councilman Joash Schulman, who represents the district with the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp.
He held a community meeting Wednesday night to discuss ongoing issues and what the city is doing to ensure the safety of residents.
Some solutions set to be implemented were met with applause. This includes the addition of armed security guards at the boat ramp facility after hours.
"Tomorrow night, we will have armed security on site until 2 a.m., seven days a week through October," said Michael Kirschman of Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation.
Other proposed solutions include adding wireless boat ramp signs along Shore Drive to inform drivers if the lot is full, preventing overflow traffic into the neighborhoods. Additionally, a Flock camera— a type of license plate reader used by police departments to track down suspects— will also be installed.
"This is the technology they are using across the city. We have these funded, and they are going to be installed as well," Kirschman noted.
Some residents said the proposed solutions for nighttime issues at the boat ramp have eased their concerns.
"In my opinion, you've solved the nighttime problem at the boat ramp by putting security there from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. That's what we've been asking for for years," said one neighbor.
However, some other concerns raised by residents included the number of charter boats on the water near the neighborhood, and there wasn't a clear solution offered to address that issue.
