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BEWARE OF TWO
On I-95 southbound, the off-ramp at Exit 130 for State Route 3 eastbound will be closed until 2 p.m. today.
Tomorrow, in Stafford, the I-95 on-ramp from Courthouse Road to I-95 southbound will be closed from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Dear Kelly: Who is responsible for ticketing parallel parkers on College Avenue? I think that the students at the University of Mary Washington need to take a semester of driving school/parking school.
It is very dangerous driving down the very narrow street when you come across a student who has already parked with the front or back hanging feet out into the street. Not only that, the traffic backs up as a student takes about nine tries to park before giving up. These students need more parking areas, or need to be ticketed for horrible parking jobs.
--David Payne, Stafford
The Fredericksburg Police Department is responsible for ticketing improperly parked vehicles within the city, including on College Avenue. Improper parking could mean lopping over the outlines of a parking space or jutting out into a travel lane.
The University of Mary Washington and the city police department work together to tackle parking skirmishes near the college. For instance, the police department and university jointly fund a part-time parking enforcement officer who looks for parking violations. That officer spends 99 percent of his time in the College Heights neighborhood, said Natatia Bledsoe, Police Department spokeswoman.
The officer's primary mission is checking residential streets to see if students are parked in an improper zone around the college. "However, he will also write tickets for improper parking if they are too far away from the curb, if they're blocking a hydrant or a driveway, or if they are, as you say, outside the allowable parking space," Bledsoe said.
As for the traffic on College Avenue, that's a tougher problem to solve. The trip down College Avenue is never going to be fast. The street runs through a residential neighborhood and the most pedestrian-dense place in the Fredericksburg area. The speed limit is 25 mph, and I'm usually stopped at all three traffic signals.
The university has tried to provide more off-street parking for students. It opened a 444-space parking deck behind Goolrick Hall, and it boosted parking for residential students when it purchased the UMW Apartments on William Street. When Eagle Village opens on the other side of U.S. 1, there will be another parking garage.
The university also partnered with FREDericksburg Regional Transit, so all students and staff can ride FRED buses for free. Plus, I see a lot of students walking and biking to campus.
What the university cannot do is change human behavior. Visitors can park for free in the deck, but students must pay $200 each year for a parking decal, in part to defray the cost of maintaining the parking deck. Virginia will not pay for any costs connected with parking facilities at public colleges and universities. Some commuter students are likely parking on College Avenue to avoid the fee.
In defense of the students, a driver can be a poor parallel parker at any age, with or without practice. I'm one of them. I'll do just about anything to avoid parking in a parallel space.
When I lived in downtown Fredericksburg I caused so much damage to my curb-side tires that I had to replace them at least 30,000 miles early. Believe me, I've had plenty of pointers shouted at me by my passengers. I learned to park on a less-crowded street and walk a few extra blocks. When I'm in a city, I park in a garage.
Eventually, any students who lack parallel parking aptitude will reach the same conclusion, either by getting a ticket or after their passengers hide on the floorboard as they make a ninth run at an open space.
Dear Kelly: The traffic signal at U.S. 17 and Banks Ford Road in Stafford does not work correctly. It appears the sensor is malfunctioning, as it thinks there is traffic coming from the used-car lot across the street and the signal cycles when there is no traffic there.
--Scott Lindsey, Stafford
Have you noticed an improvement recently? After receiving your question, the Virginia Department of Transportation reported the problem to a Celebrate Virginia contractor responsible for that traffic signal, according to Tina Bundy, VDOT spokeswoman. The contractor found a problem with the video detector--detecting traffic that was not there, as you guessed--and fixed it. The traffic signal resumed normal operation on Oct. 8, Bundy said.
Kelly Hannon is The Free Lance-Star's transportation reporter. If you have questions, send them to Getting There, c/o The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; or you may fill out the Getting There form on the Web at fredericks burg.com.
