Road safety concerns draw crowd to Wyndham neighborhood community meeting

Teens speeding on electric scooters and electric bikes on sidewalks, drivers zooming through crosswalks and instances of road rage brought out more than 100 residents of Henrico County's Wyndham community July 14 to discuss road safety.

“What we're seeing lately – and we've had two crashes involving juveniles – is the motorcycle that a lot of people are buying their kids, these bikes are basically dirt bikes and they go 35 miles an hour” said Shawn Kopolove, a Henrico County Police Department lieutenant who is responsible for traffic safety – a unit that includes five officers on motorcycles, five crash officers and two sergeants.

Kopolove detailed the speed and safety characteristics that distinguish the newer vehicles from motorcycles and mopeds that require a license, lights and helmets; those newer models have resulted in reckless behaviors by inexperienced drivers in unsafe conditions, he said.

While some residents in the audience at the Wyndham Road Safety Community meeting at Shady Grove Elementary School read prepared statements about the traffic issues, others asked questions about rules and age requirements for those who ride e-bikes and e-scooters.

“[In front of] the Dominion Cub, there's some very different needs in that area, in front of the lake there, and that may well be a racetrack some days,” one man said to applause. “I see it all day long.”

Thirteen officials listened to the barrage of comments and questions about traffic safety that were specific to Wyndham, a master-planned community that, according to its website, spans 1,271 acres in Henrico's Far West End and consists of 1,727 residential units and is home to more than 5,000 residents.

“I receive multiple calls a day about crosswalk safety, whether e-bikes are going too fast and people are almost being knocked over and it's scary or they whip out in front of cars,” said Shannon Barbera-Johnson, community manager at The Wyndham Foundation.

Officials assembled at the event sat on either side of Henrico County Three Chopt Supervisor Misty Roundtree. On one side were employees and board members of the Wyndham Homeowners Association. To Roundtree's other side sat Henrico police force members, including Chief of Police Eric D. English, a representative from the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney's office and Henrico Recreation and Parks Director John Zannino.

Terrell C. Hughes, director of Henrico County Public Works, filled pages of a notebook with the details of the problematic intersections and speed limits that residents lobbed at the leaders.

Neighbors for Change, a local, grassroots advocacy group that is concerned about traffic and pedestrian safety in the Wyndham area, showed up wearing t-shirts with the group's logo.

“The specific concerns are crosswalk safety for pedestrians and the increasing number of e-bikes and scooters we’re seeing ridden by young people on the roads in and around Wyndham,” Heather Massey, a member of the group, wrote in an email before the event.

Neighbors for Change members were motivated to raise awareness about the issue because a young teen boy was hit by a car in May while riding his e-bike after dark with no lights or reflectors. And the month before, another teen was struck in the same area. Both victims were hospitalized in critical condition.

Massey said there have been a few pedestrian deaths and at least one bicycle death in or near the neighborhood in the past 10 years.

Massey and her neighbors were wondering what they can do about the situation as well as what the county officials are doing to slow down traffic and better educate parents and young people about the added danger of e-bikes and scooters for unlicensed drivers.

Other residents were unified in their messaging for a need for more infrastructure that keeps pedestrians safe as well as numerous suggestions offered for changing unsafe experiences with vehicles.

One audience member told of numerous occasions during which he was walking in a crosswalk this summer but drivers going at 35 and 40 miles per hour, did not stop to yield to him as a pedestrian with the right of way.

“They drive with complete disregard for pedestrians crossing the street,” he said. “We have lots of children crossing the street. There are some areas where there is no crosswalk. And if they're in the street, they're on their own. Vehicles are not going to stop. I have made multiple requests for signs that say you must stop and yield to pedestrians. And that's because if people ask why do I have to stop? Well, then, it's the law. If there was a sign there, then I could have said, 'Look there's a sign, you need to stop.'”

Nine-year-old David Hough waited patiently to tell the officials about a red Tesla that did not stop as he crossed the street after getting off a school bus, which is required by law.

“My dad had to jump in front to stop it,” David said.

His mother, Julie Hough, elaborated that they live in a part of Wyndham that has a connecting street to a newer part of the community where drivers consistently speed.

“I do not feel comfortable with him walking, riding his bike, or doing anything outside because the average speed on what is supposed to be 25 [mph] is 40, so could you drop it to 15? I'm asking, is there any appeal process and what is the maximum [speed for cars]?”

Another resident, Tonya Sexstone, said yield signs were not sufficient and needed to be changed to full on stop signs. She, and other family members all had car crashes at the same intersection.

“If you actually created a culture of 'You have to stop. You are entering this neighborhood' rather than having people race in off of Nuckols Road at 45 to 50 mph. Have we considered that throughout the neighborhood? Bringing that concept of 'Let's stop, we're in a neighborhood,' rather than, 'Let's yield, and race around.'”

Hughes said roundabouts probably would be a solution for problematic intersections such as where Glenshaw Drive meets Wyndham Park Drive.

To date, Henrico County has built 16 roundabouts to calm traffic, with more in the works. Others opposed the idea, suggesting that many drivers have no idea how to navigate them and that they caused some confusion and crashes.

Roundabouts also raise questions about where pedestrians could cross. Many people asked for transparency in explaining what intersections are being studied and what is being planned. Hughes referred attendees to Henrico's 'Arrive Alive' safety action plan which identifies potential transportation improvements.

Henrico is unique, Hughes said, in that it controls most of its roads and thus can instate speed studies and changes.

“As we've been urbanizing, people have been wanting a more walkable community,” Hughes said. “We're identifying things in our policy that have been changed. In Henrico, we didn't get sidewalks with our roads. Now that's something that's standard and we're actually trying to go back and retrofit. Now we are leaning more heavily into pedestrian safety.”

Roundtree ended the meeting by saying she wanted to hear residents' concerns and address them.

“I'm not always going to agree with what that looks like. We don't have any reason not to be transparent," Roundtree said. "We'll be clear if it's something that says, 'the cost is this and that might be an issue, or trying to get a right of way might be an issue.' We have every incentive to make our streets as safe as possible for all of you.”

Dina Weinstein is the Citizen’s community vitality reporter and a Report for America corps member, covering housing, health and transportation. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.