Hampton Council discusses stop signs and mini-pitch

The Hampton City Council discussed more than the impending resignation of Mayor Russell Wood during their workshop meeting on Monday, March 21.

At the meeting, Thad Long of SVPA Architects presented the council with an update on plans for city hall renovations. Long reported that the final plans are about complete, though he is not optimistic that the council will especially happy with the estimated cost or timeframe due to the limited availability of supplies and materials.

The council also discussed potential ordinances that would install stop signs at troublesome intersections in the city.

For the last couple weeks the council has discussed installing a four-way stop sign at the intersection of 1st Ave. NW and 3rd St. NW, better known as the northeast corner of Fareway.

After looking at data on reported traffic accidents, Public Works Director Doug Tarr also suggested to the council that a four-way stop may be warranted at the intersection of 5th Ave. SE and 2nd St., as it is the intersection with the highest number of accidents.

Some council members questioned the necessity of installing additional stop signs as the rules regarding right-of-way are already required knowledge.

"This driving thing is getting out of hand," said council member Barry Lamos, who posited that licensed drivers should be more aware of their surroundings to avoid accidents. "We may as well have a stop sign at every intersection."

The council will consider the matter further during the Thursday meeting.

Finally, the council discussed an update on the upcoming mini-pitch project. A mini-pitch has been planned to be constructed at Progress Park, though the city may decide to scale down the project in order to ensure that it fits on the existing infrastructure. The city currently has a 50' x 80' pad at Progress Park where the current skate park sits. Rather than going through the expense of an engineer to have the pad extended to fit a larger mini-pitch, the city may instead opt for a 40" x 70" project that would fit on the existing pad.

Meanwhile, it is not yet determined what will become of the existing skate park equipment. The equipment itself can be moved and stored, but there are no obvious locations yet where it could be relocated.