Washington may target speeding with stop sign

The Washington Town Council appears set to pursue adding a stop sign on Washington's Main Street to reduce speeding in the town.

Council members are considering putting the new sign at the corner of Main and Porter streets, which would make the intersection a four-way stop.

The council voted at its meeting last week to hold a public hearing on March 12 to discuss the issue. Most of the members expressed support for the idea, but vice mayor Jean Goodine said she wanted to first talk it over with Sheriff Connie Compton-Smith.

After the public hearing the council could submit a request to the Virginia Department of Transportation to install the sign.

David Cubbage, a VDOT planner, investigated possible locations for the sign. He told the council that he had ruled out adding one at Main Street's intersection with Harris Hollow Road. The intersection is too close to the existing four-way stop at Main and Middle streets, and a hill farther up Main Street might make the sign hard to see, he said.

In September Cubbage presented an array of anti-speeding measures for the council to consider. Outcry from town residents arose this past summer when vehicles were clocked traveling 40 mph and faster on Main Street, which has a 25-mph speed limit.

"I think a stop sign is the absolute most fair way to make a dent in it," council member Claudia Mitchell said.

Washington resident John MacPherson asked why the council was not considering adding signs that warn drivers of steep speeding fines. VDOT's Cubbage had earlier brought up the option, but it had been put aside in favor of a stop sign.

"It's more of a visual deterrent just to have someone be aware of the speed limit," said MacPherson, who has a 2-year-old son and lives on Main Street.

Council member John Fox Sullivan said he questioned how effective the speeding signs would be, but noted that his position was not set in stone.

Vice mayor Goodine said the signs might help.

"I think some indication about a high fine would get people's attention," she said.

"[It] isn't a whole lot if you think about it," he said.

Still, it is too much.

The town was expected to begin taking bids for construction of the wastewater system in May, but that time frame may now be extended. White said it would be a bad idea to break ground without establishing a method of compliance.

"As your consultant I would not recommend that," he said.

To get around the zero-emissions limit, the town will either have to purchase credits from another jurisdiction or remove an equal amount of phosphorous from the environment, White said.

Both options are being explored.

White told the council that he had already approached Spotsylvania County officials about purchasing credits. Spotsylvania, he said, has been issued credits for exceeding compliance with emissions regulations, and can sell the credits to other counties.

White said the credits would probably cost around $300 a year.

"The regulation is a regulation and we just gotta get past it," he said.

However, a prospective project to clean up the pond in front of Avon Hall coincidentally might bring the proposed wastewater plant into compliance.

Council member Claudia Mitchell had been exploring the idea with RappFLOW, a local environmental group.

Beverly Hunter, president of RappFLOW, originally approached the clean-up as a way to teach environmental stewardship.

"Our objective is to have an educational site for the public to learn from," she said.

But it might also result in a reduction of phosphorous, potentially offsetting the expected emissions from the proposed wastewater plant.

Hunter said she would look into the emissions regulations to cater the clean-up to the state's requirements.

RappFLOW member Marc Malik said planting vegetation along the pond would help strain run-off. And introducing aquatic plants might help absorb phosphorous, he said.

The town council will hold a public hearing at its meeting March 12 to discuss the environmental impact of the wastewater system.