An example of a speed hump. Speed humps are being proposed for North Shore Road.
A number of civic league presidents met with City officials last night to discuss a traffic calming plan for North Shore Road. Residents in Meadowbrook, Riverfront, Titustown, and Algonquin Park have been suffering from an excess of cut-through traffic on North Shore Road between Hampton Blvd and Titustown. Speeding has also been a problem on that same stretch of road.
Preliminarily, the City’s engineers have suggested up to 10 “speed humps” along North Shore Road between Shirland Ave and Diven Street. Additionally they are considering mini traffic circles and the removal of stop signs to promote bicycle traffic.
No decisions have been made. There will be a community meeting in mid-August, likely to be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, at which time residents of Lochhaven, Meadowbrook, Riverfront, Algonquin, and Titustown will be able to weigh in on the recommendations and make additional traffic calming requests for their neighborhoods.
One issue that the City and residents cannot agree on is the appropriate speed limit for North Shore Road. Residents have requested that the speed limit be reduced from 25mph to 15mph. City staff has agreed to further study that request.
A funding source will need to be identified, but construction is expected to begin in late Fall, 2015. If successful, similiar traffic calming, and bicycle encouraging, measures may be extended to the “other” North Shore Road that runs into Granby Street.
Wards Corner Now - Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia 
I was present at the meeting last night and was amused by the statement about locating a source of funding. How much can it cost to pour asphalt humps on an existing roadbed?
The 100 – 300 blocks of North Shore Rd surely have more “cut thru traffic” to skip the lights at Wards Corner. Where’s our study for a reduced speed and/or speed bumps?
The civic leagues from Meadowbrook and Riverfront have been asking the city to come up with solutions to speeding in our neighborhoods since last fall. For most of the past 6-8 months we’ve been told either that we don’t have a problem or that our problem can’t be fixed. I should correct that, for much of that time we were simply ignored. The traffic calming measures presented at the meeting are the first positive feedback that we’ve received, so we are cautiously optimistic that something may finally happen. If you want the city to solve your traffic problem, the best way to get their attention is probably through your civic league.