PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth resident has traffic troubles.
For years, drivers have been speeding through Jonathan Benton’s neighborhood on Bingham Drive and Stamford Road.
“This street is a cut-through street between High Street and West Norfolk Road,” he said.
He brought his speeding concerns to the city and he said they made a change that made the problem worse.
There used to be a stop sign on the corner of Bingham Drive and Stamford Road. Benton said drivers would always blow through that sign. He contacted the city and police department to ramp-up enforcement.
At the end of January, he noticed a yield sign had taken the place of the stop sign.
“Extremely frustrating,” he said as he spoke about this change. “Now, it just exasperated the problem.”
“Before, you know, it used to be you get half of the people actually stopping and now, you don’t get anybody stopping,” he said.
Benton’s fears, worries and confusion are not stopping either.
“I do think this is a safety issue the city has turned their back on,” he said. “I really just want to know who made the decision to take the sign down and put a yield sign in. What was the rationale behind that?”
10 On Your Side contacted the city of Portsmouth.
Officials said: “Traffic Engineering and the Police Traffic Unit observed the area and determined that a yield sign is an appropriate traffic control measure based on the geometry and traffic at this intersection.”
WAVY pressed further and asked why they felt it was an appropriate measure when their residents disagree.
They replied: “The concerns that the resident relayed were not observed during the times when City personnel observed the location. There are no visual issues obstructing visibility. Stop signs are intended to indicate who has the right-of-way when approaching an intersection, and not for speed control. The yield sign is the more appropriate sign for this intersection.”
WAVY brought up that Benton’s observations of the area encompass a much longer period of time, considering he lives right in front of the intersection in question.
If you have any concerns out there on the road — traffic troubles, intersection issues, pothole problems, Don’t Get Mad, get Madison. Contact 10 On Your Side’s Traffic Anchor Madison Glassman.
