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By Naomi Smoot-Kimbi.e
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Rappahannock County Sheriff Larry Sherertz said that motorists passing Avon Hall were recorded to have reached speeds as high as 75 miles per hour earlier this month.
But Sherertz also said he has serious doubts as to the validity of these speeds and is confirming them with the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Sherertz’s comments were made at last week’s Washington Town Council meeting when he presented data from speed detectors placed Aug 1-4 at three locations in the Tbwn of Washington bv VDOT.
Speed devices found that the majority of traffic maintained speeds from 25-29 miles per hour at the Fodderstack entrance, and 30-34 miles per hour at Avon Hall and Middleton Inn.
In addition to the high speeds of 75 mph, the sites near the north and south ends of town saw speeds between 65 and 69 miles per hour.
Sherertz himself questioned the ability to travel at such high speeds in some of these locations.
“I would caution you not to have a knee-jerk reaction to this and to allow me to verify some of this data. Some of these numbers are just astronomically high. I’ve never seen a vehicle travel that fast,” he said.
Even in the event that these speeds were truly attained, some felt that the results showed serious speeding was limited in scope.
Council member Jerry Goebel said, “It doesn’t make it an epidemic if one or two people are doing it.”
Sherertz said, however, that even if it were only a few people, these speeds were such that he was concerned about the problem.
‘ I iliiok any speeding is a problem. I’m looking at some of these speeds and some of them are nearly three times the speed limit. I’d like to have these folks as guests,” he said.
In response to these dangerously high speeds several options are under consideration to slow traffic, said Sherertz.
Among these items are stop-ahead pavement markings at the foot of the hill on Fodderstack Road, a possible residence speed zone with a posted higher fine and continued enforcement. Sherertz said he has determined that the four-way stops formerly considered for the town may not be the best choice.
“I don’t want to be known as the father of the four-way stop in Little Washington,” he said. He feels that residents might come to resent such signs and after a time might being ignoring
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