Hope Road improved

STAFFORD - The Virginia Department of Transportation has installed warning signage along portions of Hope Road, near the Courthouse area of Stafford County.

The newly installed signage follows a fatal accident that occurred on February 15, and a string of 13 other separate crashes along the same string of road.

“I think that this quick response demonstrated on Hope Road might be the ticket to Stafford's traffic safety," said David Starr, a resident of Hope Road. “While we do not have the funds to change or fix all of the physical roads, we can shift funds and post the very best signage that we can, on many more locations and possibly touch much more lives.”

Starr was particularly vocal after the fatal February crash took place outside of his home. He began a letter writing campaign to Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde, R-Aquia, requesting something be done to address the safety issues along the roadway.

“Just days after Mr. Starr wrote his letter to me I forwarded it along to enough people…but it certainly got to VDOT, and VDOT acted on it…and they don’t usually act on things very quickly,” said Milde.

Milde said the new signage includes a bright yellow winding road and Chevron signs indicating a sharp turn. There is also a newly posted suggested speed limit of 25 mph through the curve.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg of the problems on Hope Road,” said Milde.

The intersection of Olde Concord and Hope roads is the “major problem spot” in the area, according to Milde. There have been at least eight serious accidents that have occurred at that intersection since 2005, according to a safety study released by VDOT in March.

The supervisor is working on an agreement with area residents to cut back or remove entire trees that create visibility hazards in the intersection.

“I went out an got signatures from the homeowners to allow us to enter their private property and cut down their trees, one location in which one person was killed…two of the three people at the intersection have agreed to let the trees come down…I’m trying to work with VDOT to help me get these trees down because they block line of sight,” said Milde.