Reader frustrated by 'no turn on red' sign

Dear Lane Ranger,

Toward the beginning of the summer there was a “NO TURN ON RED” sign placed at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Panther Pride Drive and I am curious as to why? I have lived in this area all my life and was surprised to see this sign placed there. There are tons of intersections more dangerous than this one where this sign would be much more useful.

Having this sign here is going to cause major backups for cars coming from the apartments and all of the traffic from the schools as well. The light timing is horrible to the point that everyone I know has no nicknamed this intersection light as “the punishment light.” Whoever did this did not think things through at all....

The placement of this sign and the timing of the lights are in some serious need of re-evaluation!

Extremely Frustrated,

Lee Ann S.

Dear Lee Ann,

The Virginia Department of Transportation has received a number of questions about that intersection and the “no turn on red” restriction since school started back up.

From what VDOT says, there’s no way to remove that restriction. What will happen sometime in the future, is the right-turn traffic light will be phased so that motorists in line to turn right will get the green light when left-turning motorists from the intersecting street do.

Here’s what VDOT engineer Jerry Pauley wrote in response to your question:

“A new shopping center was built on the corner of Route 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) and Route 9341 (Panther Pride Drive). As part of that development a right turn lane was constructed into the shopping center and a crosswalk was added across Panther Pride Drive. Before the construction, the right-turn lane exiting Panther Pride Drive was staggered or moved closer to the intersection to allow for better sight distance. With the construction of the shopping center the right-turn lane from Panther Pride Drive had to be moved further back to not conflict with the shopping center turn lane and the crosswalk.

“Because the Panther Pride Drive turn lane was moved back the sight distance to vehicles travel southbound on Route 1 was reduced to below acceptable limits. This resulted in the installation of ‘No right turn on red’ sign to ensure the safety of vehicles exiting Panther Pride Drive.

“Because the sight distance levels are below acceptable levels we cannot remove the signs, however, we are currently exploring some options to allow a right-turn overlap for this movement. This change will require a modification to the traffic signal hardware. We are currently developing plans for this modification. Once the plans are complete, we will secure funding and then begin construction of the hardware changes.”

Reader: light at intersection too short

Dear Lane Ranger,

The cycle for traffic coming west on Balls Ford Road [at Va. 234] is way too short. Only two to four vehicles can make it through. Going the other direction (from Wal-Mart to Sudley Road), you can’t count how many make it through. Sometimes you have to two to three cycles when coming west on Balls Ford Road.

Dear Reader,

Sounds like it comes down to the classic theory of supply and demand. In response to several complaints, the Virginia Department of Transportation sent a traffic signal engineer to check out the intersection Tuesday and the engineer found no problems, VDOT spokesman Mike Salmon said.

“Traffic moved very nicely and there is no back up on the westbound direction,” Salmon said. “The eastbound traffic is getting more green time because this approach has more traffic volume.”

I-95 Widening Project Lane Closures

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced the following lane closures scheduled for this week as a part of the Interstate 95 widening project:

I-95 South Night work

When: Monday through Wednesday nights, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
What: Single lane closure
Where: I-95 south, from Exit 166, Fairfax County Parkway (Va. 7100) to Exit 163, Lorton Road (Va. 642)
Why: Barrier placement
Police: Onsite for motorist safety

I-95 South

When: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon
What: Single lane closure
Where: I-95 south, from Exit 166, Fairfax County Parkway (Va. 7100) to Exit 160, Gordon Boulevard (Va. 123)
Why: Electrical work and clearing

I-95 North

When: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to noon
What: Single lane closure
Where: I-95 north, from Exit 160, Gordon Boulevard (Va. 123) to Exit 166, Fairfax County Parkway (Va. 7100)
Why: Retaining wall, electric and ground work, set barrier, clearing

I-495 HOT Lanes Project Lane Closures

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced the following lane closures scheduled for this week as a part of the Interstate 495 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes Project:

I-495 North Night work

When: Sunday through Thursday, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
What: Two right and two left lanes closed (not to be closed simultaneously)
Where: I-495 north, at Lee Highway overpass (U.S. 29)
Why: Shielding for median demolition

I-495 South Night work

When: Sunday through Thursday nights, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
What: Two right and two left lanes closed (Not to be closed simultaneously)
Where: I-495 south, at Lee Highway Overpass (U.S. 29)
Why: Set concrete barriers and shielding for median demolition

When: Sunday through Thursday nights, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
What: Two right and two left lanes closed (not to be closed simultaneously)
Where: I-495 south, at Oak Street overpass
Why: Pavement re-striping and setting concrete barriers

I-495 South

When: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to noon
What: Right shoulder closed
Where: I-495 south, from Exit 45, Dulles Toll Road (Va. 267) to I-395 exits
Why: Pavement cores

When: Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
What: Left lane closed
Where: I-495 south, at Lee Highway overpass (U.S. 29)
Why: Set concrete barriers

When: Tuesday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
What: Left lane closed
Where: I-495 south at Exit 52, Little River Turnpike (Va. 236)
Why: Set concrete barriers

I-495 North

When: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to noon
What: Right shoulder closure
Where: I-495 north, from Interstate 395 exits to Exit 45, Dulles Toll Road (Va. 267)
Why: Pavement cores