It’s not often that I agree with Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run), but I will give credit where credit is due.
From an e-mail I received today from Supervisor Waters’ office:
I would like to make you aware of a recent speed study that was conducted for a portion of Gloucester Parkway and ask for your help in opposing an increase in the speed limit. The portion of Gloucester Parkway between Loudoun County Parkway and Marblehead Drive is currently in the process of being turned over to VDOT. As a part of the VDOT street acceptance policy, a speed study must be conducted to set the speed limit on any road going into the VDOT system.
A recent speed study conducted by the owners of this road portion has led VDOT to conclude the speed limit should be raised from 35mph to 40mph in that area. I oppose this recommendation. We have several senior communities located along Gloucester and Marblehead. My office has heard consistent concerns from those communities regarding traffic speeds and pedestrian safety. Raising the speed limit would only increase these concerns.
Supervisor Waters is correct in her assertion here. The entrance to Ashby Ponds retirement community is practically mid-way between Loudoun County Parkway and Marblehead Drive. Drivers routinely exceed the 35 m.p.h. speed limit on Gloucester, and (if I could put this gently) some seniors’ reaction times behind the wheel simply aren’t what they used to be. Raising the speed limit is just inviting a tragedy.
Plus, Farmwell Station Middle School is a bit further down Gloucester Parkway, and if you think that most drivers cruisng along at 40 m.p.h. (or better) are going to slow down enough to drop below the 25 m.p.h. school zone speed limit, you’re fooling yourself.
There’s absolutely no need to raise the speed limit at all in that area. Occasionally, when I’m driving that stretch, I see Loudoun County’s finest “running radar”, so you know excessive speed is definitely a problem there.
If you are in agreement that the speed limit should not be raised on this stretch, please contact your Supervisor and let him or her know. You may just save a life.