NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Norfolk community members are calling for better safety measures on Colley Avenue and the surrounding area for bikers and pedestrians.
“How many people have to die for us to just be able to ride our bicycles or walk down the street and walk our dogs like the other group,” said community advocate Corey Logan.
This comes after a 61-year-old man and his two dogs were struck and killed by a vehicle on Colley Avenue Tuesday, Nov. 26.
Advocates in the area say there’s still more work to be done to make the area more bike and pedestrian friendly.
“If the improvements that the city has made were sufficient, if they were good, if the improvements that the city had made had worked, people wouldn’t be afraid to use the street,” Logan said. “They wouldn’t be afraid to ride the bike, they wouldn’t be afraid to walk. They wouldn’t be afraid to let their kids go around the corner. If the city’s changes had been effective.”
Advocates say Colley Avenue is too dangerous and if nothing changes, residents will pay the price.
“Almost two years ago, [Angela] Martin was driving up Colley Avenue and at the intersection of Colley and 39th, she was struck by a woman who was driving at almost 70 miles an hour north on 39th,” Logan said.
“There was just last week a car on 25th and Llewellyn — drove into a building,” said business owner Michael Merritt. “And I don’t know the specifics of that, but obviously, it’s excessive speed. Cars are driving too fast and such. … It’s just going to continue like this. Roads have been getting more dangerous for cars.”
Over recent years, the city has made improvements to northern section of Colley Avenue from 27th to 52nd streets. That includes reduced speed limits, installing pedestrian signals and putting in shared bike lane markings.
Logan and Merritt have some proposed suggestions.
“Streets like Colley need physical barriers that change either how drivers perceive the speed they’re driving or that physically prevent them from driving too fast,” Logan said. “For example, traffic circles. Traffic circles are barriers, typically concrete. Sometimes they have planters on the inside that go in the center of intersections and they turn those intersections into almost like miniature roundabouts.”
Said Merritt: “Protected bike lanes away from relying on the sharrows, but protected bike lanes will have a narrowing effect on on traffic and encourage drivers to drive at a slower, safer speed.”
The city of Norfolk encourages drivers to follow posted speed limits. Bicyclists should ride on the right hand side in the same direction as other vehicles. The city said it has made the following improvements on Colley Avenue from 27th to 52nd streets:
- Reduced the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph
- Installed marked parking lanes to help prevent motorists from parking too close to driveway entrances or intersections.
- Installed rectangular rapid flashing beacon pedestrian actuated warning signs with intersection bump-outs at 52nd Street, 49th Street and 42nd Street
- Installed pedestrian signals and ADA-compliant curb ramps at the intersection of Colley Avenue and 38th Street
- Installed pedestrian signals and ADA-compliant curb ramps at the intersection of Colley Avenue and 42nd Street
- Installed pedestrian signals and ADA-compliant curb ramps at the intersection of Colley Ave and 27th Street
- Installed pedestrian signals and ADA-compliant curb ramps at the intersection of Colley Ave and 35th Street
- Installed shared bike lane pavement markings
- Replaced curb ramps with ADA-compliant curb ramps at numerous intersections
- Replaced sections of sidewalk that were in poor condition, including planting of trees where possible
- Installed additional crosswalks and static pedestrian crossing warning signs at numerous intersections
- Installed intersection bump-outs at numerous intersections
- First corridor to receive conversion of streetlights to LED fixtures
- Installed drive feedback speed limit sign on southbound Colley Avenue south of 51st Street