Widen roadway shoulders where rumble strips are present
Widen roadway shoulders where rumble strips are present
The Issue
Mathews County needs wide, 4 foot shoulders along main roadways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic.
In rural Mathews County Virginia, roadways are shared by motorists, cyclists, runners, walkers, and mopeds. Two main highways - routes 14 & 198 - have high speed automobiles and zero shoulder space, forcing all users to share the lane of traffic. When VA Dept of Transportation (VDOT) installed rumble strips along the roadside, this forced slower users (non-automobiles, such as cyclists, runners, walkers, etc) further into the traffic lanes. Mathews County needs wider shoulders along these highways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic, where possible.
Per VDOT regulations**, "Where shoulders are used by bicyclists, if rumble strips are installed to discourage or warn motorists they are driving on the shoulder, there should be a minimum clear path of 4 feet from the rumble strip to the outside edge of paved shoulder."
Petition VDOT to add shoulders to Mathews County roadsides where rumble strips are installed, bearing in mind the special events described below which make the need uniquely urgent.
Mathews County is host to Tour de Chesapeake (TDC, tourdechesapeake.org), a 25-year annual cycling event that brings hundreds of cyclists into the county for a weekend each May. With the added traffic volume along these narrow rural roadways, road-sharing is difficult (traffic backs up and passing is unsafe). The safety of TDC cyclists can be enhanced with wide shoulders.
In addition, each October hundreds of runners compete in the Mathews Marathon & Half Marathon event, and road-sharing is again necessary and would be made much safer with wide roadside shoulders. These two annual events provide valuable tourism revenue to Mathews County Virginia - the wide roadside shoulders will enhance the safety for participants PLUS reduce friction with automobiles who share the roadways and thus make these events even more successful & beneficial to Mathews County.
**VDOT Document Title: VDOT Complete Streets: Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Guidelines, Bus Stop Design and Parking Guidelines, relevant section is page A(1)-17, Rumble strips
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The Issue
Mathews County needs wide, 4 foot shoulders along main roadways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic.
In rural Mathews County Virginia, roadways are shared by motorists, cyclists, runners, walkers, and mopeds. Two main highways - routes 14 & 198 - have high speed automobiles and zero shoulder space, forcing all users to share the lane of traffic. When VA Dept of Transportation (VDOT) installed rumble strips along the roadside, this forced slower users (non-automobiles, such as cyclists, runners, walkers, etc) further into the traffic lanes. Mathews County needs wider shoulders along these highways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic, where possible.
Per VDOT regulations**, "Where shoulders are used by bicyclists, if rumble strips are installed to discourage or warn motorists they are driving on the shoulder, there should be a minimum clear path of 4 feet from the rumble strip to the outside edge of paved shoulder."
Petition VDOT to add shoulders to Mathews County roadsides where rumble strips are installed, bearing in mind the special events described below which make the need uniquely urgent.
Mathews County is host to Tour de Chesapeake (TDC, tourdechesapeake.org), a 25-year annual cycling event that brings hundreds of cyclists into the county for a weekend each May. With the added traffic volume along these narrow rural roadways, road-sharing is difficult (traffic backs up and passing is unsafe). The safety of TDC cyclists can be enhanced with wide shoulders.
In addition, each October hundreds of runners compete in the Mathews Marathon & Half Marathon event, and road-sharing is again necessary and would be made much safer with wide roadside shoulders. These two annual events provide valuable tourism revenue to Mathews County Virginia - the wide roadside shoulders will enhance the safety for participants PLUS reduce friction with automobiles who share the roadways and thus make these events even more successful & beneficial to Mathews County.
**VDOT Document Title: VDOT Complete Streets: Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Guidelines, Bus Stop Design and Parking Guidelines, relevant section is page A(1)-17, Rumble strips
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Petition created on December 21, 2024