Which Hampton Roads freeways should have a speed limit increase? (Virginia Beach: city hall, pharmacies)

[Pink Jazz]

I am currently in Virginia Beach, and ever since I lived here (I now live in Arizona), some of the freeways have had speed limit increases to 60 or 65 MPH (or 70 MPH in Williamsburg). However, I think there are some other stretches of freeways in Hampton Roads that can use a speed limit increase to at least 60 mph, up from their current speed limits at 55 MPH.


Here are my picks:

• Raise I-264 speed limit in Virginia Beach from First Colonial Road to Independence Blvd to 60 MPH.
• Raise the Chesapeake Expressway speed limit to 60 or 65 MPH.
• Raise the speed limit on the I-64 reversible HOV lanes to 70 MPH.

What are your picks? Remember that speed limit increases require a traffic study, and not all freeways in Hampton Roads are eligible for 60+ (probably not the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, and definitely not the Downtown Tunnel).

Anyway, one other thing since I lived here is that Virginia was one of the first states to allow logo signs (food, gas, lodging, camping, attractions, and 24-hour pharmacies) in urban areas. Where I live in Arizona, it was only last year that the restriction of logo signs to rural areas was lifted.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

I am currently in Virginia Beach, and ever since I lived here (I now live in Arizona), some of the freeways have had speed limit increases to 60 or 65 MPH (or 70 MPH in Williamsburg). However, I think there are some other stretches of freeways in Hampton Roads that can use a speed limit increase to at least 60 mph, up from their current speed limits at 55 MPH.



Here are my picks:

• Raise I-264 speed limit in Virginia Beach from First Colonial Road to Independence Blvd to 60 MPH.
• Raise the Chesapeake Expressway speed limit to 60 or 65 MPH.
• Raise the speed limit on the I-64 reversible HOV lanes to 70 MPH.

What are your picks? Remember that speed limit increases require a traffic study, and not all freeways in Hampton Roads are eligible for 60+ (probably not the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, and definitely not the Downtown Tunnel).

Anyway, one other thing since I lived here is that Virginia was one of the first states to allow logo signs (food, gas, lodging, camping, attractions, and 24-hour pharmacies) in urban areas. Where I live in Arizona, it was only last year that the restriction of logo signs to rural areas was lifted.

I don't think there should be any speed increases, as people have a difficult time as it is driving well at the speeds that are posed now. It is already 70 mph in the rural areas of Virginia. Given the fatal nature of the accidents we have in the metro area I doubt you'll see any support for speed increases in the area.

If Virginia does raise the speed limit, they should use cameras to clock people, and then send them a ticket in the mail, rather than chase them through the area, as that is very dangerous and has resulted in any number of situations; I believe there was gun fire exchanged on I-64 in Chesapeake last year. There are too many drivers, and too many people speeding, for this not to happen. We should also have a better developed system for drivers to merge onto I-264; we may need traffic signals controlling the right lane, as that can be deadly too, particularly in Virginia Beach.

I know that I-264 in the morning from Virginia Beach either headed towards Chesapeake, or past I-64 continuing to head into downtown Norfolk is treacherous, as you get pushed along. There were times I went 85, and still struggled to keep up with traffic during rush hour. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the limit should be raised, just means that traffic could be managed better.

[nycricanpapi]

All the the freeways should have a speed limit increase. Why? Because the highways over there are so wide. Also the streets are so smoothly.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by nycricanpapi

All the the freeways should have a speed limit increase. Why? Because the highways over there are so wide. Also the streets are so smoothly.

Strange that you would think so, considering you live in NYC where the speed limit for urban freeways is 50 mph. IMO HR freeways are nothing compared to those in Phoenix.

BTW, the Downtown Tunnel has a variable speed limit, but is usually set at 35 MPH, and increasing it to 60 MPH would be almost doubling the speed limit. The Downtown Tunnel was not designed for 60 mph, period.

[nycricanpapi]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Strange that you would think so, considering you live in NYC where the speed limit for urban freeways is 50 mph. IMO HR freeways are nothing compared to those in Phoenix.

BTW, the Downtown Tunnel has a variable speed limit, but is usually set at 35 MPH, and increasing it to 60 MPH would be almost doubling the speed limit. The Downtown Tunnel was not designed for 60 mph, period.

Lol the speed limit may be 50 mph, but everybody drive faster than 50 mph. Oh and the tunnels whew! I just hate when I drive in the tunnels over there and people drive so slow.. As they are coming inside of the tunnels people just break they go from 50 or 60 mph to 30 or 40 mph. I'm like wowww lol. If you go to Lincoln tunnel or the FDR highway the lanes are so narrow and people still go fast...

[Coconut1]

This really makes me laugh.

If you think a traffic study makes one iota of difference on speeds in the HR area, I've got a bridge to sell you.

Speed limits are designated by each city, and are designed to maximize revenue through tickets.

For example, take Route 17 in Suffolk. In November the speed limit was reduced to 45 MPH on the entire stretch of road. This was done to make it a "uniform limit" on the entire stretch of road. While that's a very nice thought, if you were to request the study from the city, you would see it was done not only against their data (the data that was collected. Not all data was collected, including one major stretch of the road,) but against Federal Highway Administration recommendations.

If you travel the road today you'll note several spots where the police department wait to hand out tickets like candy.

When Traffic Engineering was questioned about the limit, a member of the staff flat out said the change in the limit was done at the request of the police department. The city manager and council members defended the reduction as being done for "safety" reasons, yet the vast majority of accidents (87%, actually) occurred in zones with slower speeds.

The same can be said for countless roads throughout the Hampton Roads areas- 264/64 by Military Highway, 64 east and westbound, 664, High Street in Portsmouth, etc, etc, etc.

Part of what frustrates me most about the HR area is that corruption like this is rampant. When people say "Just don't speed!" (and that's a vast majority) it shows they don't understand the severity of what is actually going on. It has absolutely nothing to do with speed, it's all about corruption. Speed limits are a minor issues. If you go poking around city hall, what you see will make your blood run cold.

People in HR are being taken for a ride, and nobody cares enough to do anything about it. The media is in bed with the politicians and every resident of this area is being screwed over. If you don't believe me, do some digging of your own, but be prepared for what you'll find, and be prepared that no one will care.

[H-S2017]

Raise the speed limit to 65 from Norfolk side of HRBT north, and to 70 at Lee Hall/Endview Plantation.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by H-S2017

Raise the speed limit to 65 from Norfolk side of HRBT north, and to 70 at Lee Hall/Endview Plantation.

The HRBT isn't designed for 65 mph, let alone 60 mph. In fact, the westbound tube is substandard for an Interstate and required a waiver to get an Interstate designation.

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

The HRBT isn't designed for 65 mph, let alone 60 mph. In fact, the westbound tube is substandard for an Interstate and required a waiver to get an Interstate designation.

I've never heard that before. Do you have a link? I've looked but couldn't find anything about a waiver.


I don't think 65mph would be an issue, and it can easily be done. The only issue I see is people can't seem to maintain speed in the tunnel. It's like there is some sort of cosmic convergence that causes people to slow down.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by Spazkat9696

I've never heard that before. Do you have a link? I've looked but couldn't find anything about a waiver.

Well, in terms of shoulder width and vertical clearance, I do know for a fact that the westbound tube is substandard for an Interstate. The westbound tube predates the Interstate Highway System, and to have a non-compliant road be designated an Interstate either requires a waiver or must be grandfathered from a previous standard.

In fact, the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel (built at a much later time) was built around a design speed of 60 mph, which is now the current speed limit. If the MMMBT was designed around a speed of 60 mph, why would the HRBT get raised to 65 mph, considering it was designed around a lower speed than the MMMBT.