PORTSMOUTH, VA. (WAVY) — Residents in a Portsmouth neighborhood can’t take one more day of speeding drivers and unpaved roads.
“They come through here sometimes doing 40, 50 miles per hour down Stratford St, fast as they can come,” said Reginald Ruffin.
Ruffin is fed up with speeding drivers on his unpaved street. Vanessa Johnson visits her mom here and grew up on this street. She says not much has changed over the years.
They’re demanding a few things: stop signs on the corner of Beechdale Road and Stratford Street and their road paved.
“The streets need paving, Johnson said. “They require much attention.”
You may remember their neighbor Terry Eley. He lives just down the street on Taft Drive in the same neighborhood. We helped him get his street paved through another Don’t Get Mad Get Madison success story. Now, his neighbors are looking for the same.
“The streets remain the same and as a result of that, we feel we are ignored,” Johnson said.
The Department of Engineering disagrees with the stop sign request. They told WAVY it should not be used for speed control.
The city’s department of public works said they’ve received no requests for this road to be paved in the last three years. The drivers WAVY spoke with say they have contacted the city.
City officials added the area of Stratford Street has pending utility work and will be on their schedule for 2022.
