VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — The managing company behind the Cavalier Hotel is offering to pay to close the Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue merger and redevelop the area into a cul-de-sac.
Previously, both Virginia's Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund and the City of Virginia Beach declined to pay for the construction of the cul de sac project. However, Virginia Beach City Council paid $245,000 to study and plan the reconfiguration design of the cul-de-sac
In a letter to city council, Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen said Gold Key PHR, the company who is developing the oceanfront Cavalier complex, received engineering comments this October and will now fund and construct the project.
Atlantic Ave Reconfiguration CIP Update by 13News Now on Scribd
Hansen wrote that the company has accepted the city's design of a potential cul-de-sac with "no significant changes" and wrote that he expects "approval to be provided."
The cul-de-sac would close the merger of Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue north of 40th street at the Virginia Beach oceanfront.
Additional review of the construction plans are needed before work can begin, but Hansen said he hopes a majority of construction will be completed before the start of the 2019 summer tourism season.
At the oceanfront, nearby residents said the change could make the area more walkable.
"I think it would be perfect for us and all the people to have a more private area and not as much traffic," Rick Kresinske, a resident at a nearby condominium, said.
However, others looked at the potential cul-de-sac with caution. Dick Saalfeld, who rides his bicycle through the area, said it would interrupt his route and the traffic in the area.
"I would be temporarily inconvenienced but I would definitely wait and see what happens," Saalfeld said.
Other neighbors said they worried the change would simply cause traffic congestion at a different area along the oceanfront as people could no longer merge onto Pacific Avenue while driving north on Atlantic Avenue. They questioned where people would turn onto Atlantic Avenue when driving from the north end and asked if that would create more traffic problems there.
Virginia Beach will maintain possession of the road and retain responsibility for any future road repairs after construction is completed, per Julie Hill and the city’s communications department.
► Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13News Now App.