HAMPTON, Va. — Frequent speeders are causing frustration in one Hampton neighborhood.
“If you’re not vigilant, I mean [you’d] be seconds from disaster,” said Hampton resident Elijah Lee. “This cross junction here is very dangerous.”
Neighbors said some drivers constantly fly through the Wythe neighborhood.
“I pulled up to the stop sign up there... somebody came down Shell Road and went right on through the stop sign,” said Charlie Richardson, another city resident.
Neighbors took their concerns to city officials, prompting a public works traffic study. It looked at driving patterns in the residential area. The study shows over an eight-day period, 3.3% of vehicles on Greenbriar Avenue and 5.3% of cars on Shell Road drove 20 miles or more over the speed limit. The report tracked 18 crashes between 2019 and 2023 at the Shell Road-Greenbriar Avenue intersection.
“We responded by adding a four-way stop at that specific intersection with lots of warning signs,” said Hampton Communications Coordinator Mike Holtzclaw.
Even with new signs, flags, and police patrolling more often around the neighborhood, city officials said speeding trends haven’t changed. They hope a new $200 fine will help alleviate that.
Public Works will request an ordinance imposing an additional $200 fine on top of any speeding tickets in that corridor. City council members are expected to vote on the proposed fine Wednesday night at their council meeting.
Lee doesn't know if another fine would help.
“Is it really going to change the mind of a speeder?” he asked.
Richardson is more optimistic.
“If they get a couple of $200 fines, I’ll think they’ll stop,” Richardson said.
If approved, the additional fine would take effect immediately. Holtzclaw said Hampton police officers will continue patrolling the area. He said officers have written a series of tickets since putting up new signs over the last few weeks. He said during the first weekend of adding a four-way stop, officers wrote about a dozen tickets.