VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Summer is heating up at the Oceanfront and Virginia Beach city leaders are facing growing calls to keep pedestrians safe.
A recent nightly walk to the beach for Oceanfront resident Adriane Rome ended abruptly. Virginia Beach Police said a driver hit the 53-year-old as she crossed Pacific Avenue near 15th Street. They say a bus stopped in that area and the driver of the car did not see Adriane until she stepped in front of them.
“It is just a messed up situation,” said her son, Daryl Rome. “There is a crosswalk there, but it is just like, the drivers don’t care if pedestrians are crossing.”
Daryl said his mother is now in a coma.
“If we had proper traffic calming measures already in place, what happened to her, many feel was absolutely preventable,” said Oceanfront resident Ginger Capps.
There are crosswalks, but no traffic lights between 16th and 10th Streets. Capps, who is a member of the resort area’s traffic committee, said that’s unacceptable.
“Pretty much at least every other meeting we talk about what safety measures need to be done in this area of Pacific Avenue, and the wheels may be turning but they are turning incredibly slowly,” Capps said.
Mayor Bobby Dyer said city leaders are in the process of adding blinking pedestrian signs at the 15th and 16th Street crosswalks. He said this plan has been in the works.
“We are putting up poles that you can push the button and you are going to see those flashing lights here,” Dyer said. “With supply chain issues and everything, it’s on back order.”
He said they have also reduced the speed limit to 25 miles per hour from 15th to 32nd Streets.
“We have to make sure everyone is safe when they come down here,” Dyer said.
Daryl and his sister Ashanti Smith hope to see the improvements soon.
“She has a wonderful community behind her, her neighbors are so supportive, and I appreciate that,” Smith said. “It is just bringing awareness to it.”
A spokeswoman for Virginia Beach Police said that since January 1, 2020, they’ve had 11 pedestrian accidents on Pacific Avenue.
The city’s traffic coordinator said the parts needed to complete the flashing signs arrive at the end of the month.