There are many people in our community who either cannot or prefer not to drive, but who still need to be able to get to schools, parks, shopping and other areas of our community. Additionally, providing safe options for pedestrians and bicyclists reduces traffic by removing vehicles from the road and helps preserve our the historic character of our towns.

Isle of Wight County has a very good Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, but implementation of the plan does not seem to be a priority. In fact, after a search of publicly available VDOT data on upcoming projects, we could not locate ANY bicycle or pedestrian projects planned for Isle of Wight County for the coming eight years. And in a recent public hearing about the proposed intersection rebuild at Rt 10 Bypass and Main St in Smithfield when asked why pedestrian crossings were not being provided for all four legs, the County response was "it might hold up traffic." This is unacceptable and needs to change.

Accordingly: We, the undersigned, believe that Isle of Wight County has a responsibility to provide safe and efficient transportation for all users, not just drivers. The safety and needs of non-motorized users should be of at least equal importance to those of motorized users, and the potential for inconvenience to motorized users should not usurp the rights of non-motorized users to travel safely around the County. Accordingly, we request and demand that the County identify funding, plan, and deliver transportation improvements to enable safe movement for non-motorized users of our roads and paths. At a minimum, the following locations should be incorporated into a project or projects for immediate improvement:

Pedestrian crossing of Main St (US 258) at Westside Elementary School

Pedestrian crossings at all four legs of the Rt 10 Bypass and Main St intersection

Pedestrian signals at intersection of S Church St and Main St

Pedestrian crossing and sidewalk or path to connect Cypress Creek bridge to Red Point

Pedestrian signals at intersection of S Church St and Battery Park Rd

Pedestrian crossing of Battery Park Rd at Kendall Haven

Pedestrian crossing of Church St. at Windsor High School

Pedestrian crossings of Old Stage Hwy at Hardy Elementary School at Griffin Hwy and Jenkins Ln

Traffic calming measures and shared bike lane/shoulder on John Rolfe Dr from Battery Park to Lumar Rd.