HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — During a Wednesday meeting, Hampton City Council approved adding extra fines for drivers who speed on certain roads in the Wythe area.
The vote comes after 10 On Your Side reported several crashes at the intersection of Shell Road and Greenbriar Avenue.
A 2023 ordinance currently fines drivers $200 for speeding in the city on top of the cost of tickets. Ahead of Wednesday night’s meeting, residents were able to discuss why the extra fines were needed.
“Speeding cars continue to barrow through our neighborhood to get to Pembroke Avenue or Victoria Boulevard and may ignore the stop signs all together,” Hampton resident Ursula Barkers said.
“Where I sit in my living room, I can see the four corners, and I can see the cars flying by, and there’s going to be an accident there,” Hampton resident Charlene Thompson said.
Barkers’ husband, Roger Barkers, spoke to 10 On Your Side’s Regina Mobley before the vote about the issue of speeding on Greenbriar Avenue even with a newly installed four-way stop.
“But as far as Greenbriar Avenue, getting to Shell Road, it hasn’t made a difference because cars constantly speed past us doing more than 25 miles an hour,” Barkers said. “It’s a 25 miles hour zone. Neighborhood. And they are constantly just [going] 35, 40, 50 miles an hour.”
Recently, on that same stretch of road, a 68-year-old man was arrested for reckless driving after he lost control on Greenbriar and slammed into a parked car and a house.
Ursula also spoke about the reservations they have about short term mitigation efforts.
“As you know, Ms. Mobley, one of the incidents involved a pregnant woman and a four-year-old child in their car,” Barkers said. “And so, you know, we just cannot say, okay, no one died in the accident. We can continue with business as usual. The city must, and I believe the more attention as it’s garnered, and thank you to WAVY TV 10, and to me, to you and your team for taking this seriously because it is immensely serious.”
The harsher penalties will be for Shell Road from Old Aberdeen Road to Powhatan Parkway, and Greenbriar Avenue from Pembroke Avenue to Victoria Boulevard.