After Accidents, Virginia Beach Will Add Bike Lanes To Shore Drive | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

There have been three serious bicycle accidents on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach since May. Two of the cyclist accidents resulted in serious injury and two of the accidents were hit-and-runs. After the string of car-bike collisions, the mayor of Virginia Beach, William Sessoms, has decided to action: he has announced that bike lanes will be added to the historically dangerous stretch of roadway.

The plan to make Shore Drive safer for cyclists and prevent future accidents will be funded by the city’s standing road maintenance budget. The project, which the mayor hopes will begin before the start of 2012, will involved widening the street to allow for two bike lanes on either side of the roadway, beginning in Fort Story and ending at First Landings State Park, the location of the most recent bike accident. The proposed bike lanes would be five feet wide.

This week, Sessoms will meet with local cyclists to discuss the bike lane project in greater detail and ask for comments, concerns, and suggestions.

Historically, Shore drive has been the site of a number of fatal bike accidents. In the spring of 2009, a bike commuter was struck from behind by an SUV and died of his injuries, and ever since then the cyclist community has been vocal about changes along this stretch of road.