LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg drivers say Fort Avenue is congested and dangerous.
“It’s definitely too busy. I think especially during peak times,” said driver Shawn Thapa.
Wynn Wang owns a business near the intersection of Fort Avenue and Chestnut Hill Drive and said that her customers risk their lives while making a left turn out of the parking lot.
“My customers have a hard time getting in, getting out on this road here,” said Wang.
She said there are frequent accidents, “sometimes two, three times a week.”
Now residents can voice their concerns through a new, online survey about Fort Avenue’s mile-and-a-half stretch between Memorial Avenue and Sandusky Drive.
“For many years now, there are population threads. People have shifted a little bit, and that area has become much busier,” said VDOT spokesperson Len Stevens.
VDOT is spreading the word about the survey, hoping to get public input on issues including congestion, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and access to public transportation.
“It’s a statewide effort to let people in the area, or who drive on that roadway, to let the state know if they do support the idea of changes there; and then how they were rank those specific changes,” said Stevens.
Lynchburg city leaders tell 10 News once a study is complete, they could partner with VDOT on possible recommendations.
There’s a similar survey being conducted about a portion of Leesville Road.