Downtown Fredericksburg Intersection Change Plan Gets Mixed Reviews
VDOT held a public hearing on the Lafayette Boulevard/Kenmore Avenue/Charles Street intersection project.
By Hank Silverberg
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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A plan to redraw a confusing intersection in downtown Fredericksburg has received some criticism from the public.
At an open meeting on Tuesday night, several local residents complained that the plan to eliminate the traffic light at Lafayette Boulevard and Kenmore Avenue could create a dangerous crossing for pedestrians and cyclists.
The $7.1 million plan outlined by the Virginia Department of Transportation would eliminate the stop light at that intersection, add crosswalks and some new sidewalks along part of it, and construct a ten-foot wide multi-use trail along eastern side of Lafayette Boulevard that would eventually hook up to the Riverside Heritage Trail.
The project would also regulate the lights at Lafayette Boulevard and Charles Street with a pedestrian-controlled signal, and remove part of the median at Lafayette and Kenmore to make left turns easier.
VDOT says the stop light at Lafayette and Kenmore is no longer needed and that it impedes the flow of traffic along the route, where the speed limit is now 20 miles per hour.
But the public is not convinced. Thad Humphries, who rides his tricycle along that stretch regularly, was not pleased with the plans. “I’m concerned about them taking the traffic light out” he said. “Somebody who has mobility problems, a person in a wheel chair or in a walker, they’re going want to have a button there” to stop the traffic.
Several other people also complained about the plans to remove the light.
Adi Smidt, who travels across the route to get to her job at the University of Mary Washington, is a traffic planner, and she had problems with the design. “Cars kind of whip around from Lafayette to Prince Edward, and right now, the proposed new design is not going to slow those cars down,” she said.
Also as part of the plan, Prince Edward Street would become one-way from Wolfe Street, but that would not change the current traffic going into Prince Edward from the intersection. According to Smidt, “the new crosswalk provides a safer crossing because it’s a shorter crosswalk, but the visibility is not good. It needs to be moved a little bit.”
If the project is approved, VDOT plans to begin utility work starting in 2027, with completion scheduled for 2029.
Mary-Margaret Marshall, a member of the Fredericksburg Planning Commission, said she wonders why a crosswalk was not included from the eastern side of Lafayette to the southern side of Kenmore.
“My only logical guess to that is it would be money, but I can’t believe it would be that expensive,” she said.
The City of Fredericksburg has applied for funding for the project through Virginia Smart Scale program.
Maps and details of the project are available here, and the public can provide feedback via an online survey through July 5.
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