No left turn

 

A metaphor for Goochland

Much of the citizen comment at the March 10 spring Town Hall Meeting for Districts 4 and 5, held at the exquisite Tuckahoe Pines Retirement Community on Patterson Avenue, focused on traffic control at the facility. More specifically, the prohibition of left turns from its parking lot onto eastbound Patterson Ave (Go to the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ click on watch county meetings and select District 4 and 5 town hall to view the entire event)

When Tuckahoe Pines  (https://rlcommunities.com/virginia/tuckahoe-pines-retirement-community/) was zoned a few years ago, there was a great deal of discussion about the impact of vehicles exiting the facility onto a busy stretch of road, especially left turns into 55 mph oncoming traffic at the top of a blind hill. This resulted in a provision that only right turns be permitted onto Patterson Avenue. Eastbound traffic would need to make U turns at the traffic signal by Hope Church.

Concerns were raised during zoning discussions that the median in front of the entrance to Tuckahoe Pines was too narrow to permit a single car to wait for eastbound traffic to clear and turn safely. Some planning commissioners contended that the senior citizens who would live at Tuckahoe Pines would not have fast enough reflexes to execute this maneuver safely.

Left turns onto Patterson Avenue from the Creekmore subdivision, a bit west of Tuckahoe Pines, was already experiencing similar issues, causing crashes and, according to Creekmore residents, many near misses.

Residents of Rivergate, whose access point is directly opposite Tuckahoe Pines, supported the right turn only requirement. A Rivergate resident commented during the 2018 planning commission public hearing that, had the right turn only element not been part of the proposal, his neighbors would have flooded the board room to oppose the rezoning application. They also claimed that they use the river Road exit from their community when traveling east.

Tuckahoe Pines opened last August, complete with a right turn only lane and signage at its entrance clearly in place from day one.

New residents expressed outrage at the prohibition of left turn, demanded a traffic signal be installed there because of the heavy high-speed traffic. They claimed that people from Rivergate cut through the median to turn west. They also contended that making a U turn at the traffic signal is a dangerous maneuver for the facility's bus.

They seem to believe that the supervisors and our general assembly delegation could demand a traffic signal at the entrance.  VDOT has final say on the installation of traffic signals based on traffic counts.

The no left turn provision was part of the rezoning case, which is county law. A change would require an amendment to the zoning ordinance. No representative of Tuckahoe Pines' management participated in the discussion.

The no left (east) turn is a metaphor for Goochland. How many of you reading this routinely travel west, rather than toward Henrico? It seems like a lot, if not most, of new residents sleep here and live their lives to the east.

Currently, there are two "small area" studies underway for the Centerville and Courthouse Villages to look at growth strategies and ways to brand and build the community.

These areas are very different. Courthouse Village, the county seat, has the feel of a community. People live in and near the center of the village and participate in its life. Centerville, which far too many people call Manakin because of its zip code, is a different matter.

Clearly, Centerville has a branding problem. No one talks about the Richmond Mall—the Short Pump Mall has a Richmond address—or the Trader Joe's or Walmart that, according to the post office are in Glen Allen. Why is Centerville different?

Centerville, Courthouse Village, and Goochland in general have an image problem. Gathering input from those who already live here is a good first step but getting a clearer picture of how those outside Goochland view us might be more helpful. Many people who live to the east seem to think that Goochland is almost to Charlottesville, too "far out" i.e., west of "civilization", to matter.

It would be nice if newcomers realize that they've moved to a special place and participate in the community. Turning right, to head west, and see the many things Goochland has to offer would be a good start.