PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A group of neighbors in Portsmouth’s Waterview section wants the city to do something about the traffic issues there. The biggest one? Speeding on their streets is getting out of control.
This problem is happening on Caroline Avenue and Shenandoah Street in the Waterview neighborhood of Portsmouth.
10 on Your Side spoke with multiple residents who fear for their safety every time they walk out of their homes.
“It’s traffic,” said resident Fred Brusso. “Constant traffic all the time and you see, maybe one out of three people don’t stop, period.”
Residents said drivers are blowing through the stop sign and pummeling down the street.
Some residents are so fed up, they are moving out.
“A person was sharing that they left after they were loading up their car and their dog skipped across the street to jump in the vehicle, and a car smacked it dead,” said Cory Newell, a resident.
The neighborhood is scared to park their cars on the street after they say a driver hit a car and drove away. Newell said they were “literally pushing the car into the yard and so the car is totaled and no use anymore,” Newell said.
He said he sent several emails to the city over the years, but says he never gets a response.
“That death silence is very observant to realize this council and this leadership doesn’t care or doesn’t want to care,” he said.
“You want to be able to enjoy where you live and you can’t do that here,” said resident Shelley Comerford. “I’m a realtor, and I can tell you I’ve had several people love the homes online or when I send them in an email. But when you come to visit the neighborhood and see this, they don’t want to be here.”
The neighborhood is on the city to take action.
“They’ve got to do something. Without enforcement and without traffic calming or something else, the only alternative is to close the causeway,” Brusso said.
In an email to the residents, the city manager says the fire chief raised concerns over closing the causeway. He fears emergency vehicles won’t be able to get to the neighborhood easily.
10 on Your Side called the city and told me that they stand by this.
We also left a voicemail and emailed the city manager, and I’m still working to get answers.
If you have any concerns on the roads, email Traffic Anchor Madison Glassman.
