ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City is in the middle of a six-month project to improve safety on Williamson Road, but not everyone is happy with the changes.
The city recently reduced the road from four lanes to two, adding a dedicated left-turn lane and other safety features. Officials say Williamson Road ranks among the top 1% of the most dangerous roads in Virginia.
However, some local businesses, including Northwest Ace Hardware, say the changes are causing difficulties.
Esther Martin, human resources director for Northwest Ace Hardware, said, “I had to wait eight minutes to get out of my lot the other day... I timed it out to be actually eight minutes.”
The hardware store has collected more than 10,000 signatures from customers opposing the plan, compiling about 80 pages of signatures.
The project reduces traffic lanes from four to two, which Ace Hardware says is making it harder for customers to enter and exit their parking lot.
City officials, including Robert Issem, Roanoke’s Complete Streets and Vision Zero administrator, explained the reasoning behind the changes.
“By providing them with a safe space to take that left turn from, it makes them more comfortable and more safe in theory, and that’s what this demonstration is testing,” Issem said.
The project also adds timed traffic lights to improve flow and introduces a “bike plus” lane on each side of the street.
“We’re calling them bike plus lanes too because bikes and all kinds of other things are in that lane,” Issem said. “We acknowledge that there’s all kinds of transportation happening and providing safe space for everybody.”
City officials emphasize that no permanent changes have been made yet. This is a demonstration project designed to collect community feedback and data before any final decisions.
“And the information and the data redeemed from this demonstration project will inform how we repaint the lines when we do it permanently next spring,” Issem said.
The city encourages residents to share their thoughts on the project. Those interested can visit the city’s contact page to leave feedback.