You have been warned: Police are starting to write tickets
"We are taking the complaints about speeding seriously," Wintergreen Police Chief Dennis Russell stressed at the 2020 annual meeting of the Wintergreen Property Owners Association.
Officers are going to be more aggressive at issuing warnings, and, if needed, tickets, said Russell. "We want people to be safe and secure on the streets here."
All Wintergreen police cars now have equipment for checking drivers’ speed, noted Russell, adding, “Every officer is now certified on the new equipment, including myself.”
Also, a new radar speed display trailer is coming to Wintergreen. Different from the current trailer that displays only the speed to drivers, the new equipment trailer will also tell the police how often there is speeding, when it happens, and what time it happens.
WPOA's Executive Director Jay Roberts said that new signage is now in place. The goal is to communicate better to everyone–property owners, guests, and contractors–that the speed limit at Wintergreen is 25 MPH throughout the community.
"We do not want to pass out speeding tickets to our property owners, but it appears much of the speeding is done by our property owners." Roberts said.
Russell got a laugh at the WPOA annual meeting last year saying it has been his experience that when a resident asks the police to come to their street to ticket speeders, "It seems like seven out of 10 times one of the first people we catch is the person who called to complain."
More of the roads within Wintergreen are getting higher-quality asphalt surfaces. Roberts said the smoother roads risk bringing on higher speeds.
Laurel Springs Drive is scheduled to see its entire length paved with smooth asphalt in 2021. "It's straight and downhill," Roberts noted with concern.
"We've looked at traffic calming options, such as speed bumps. But snow plowing is an issue. Also, WPOA is not a government that operates with the immunity of a government. Traffic calming can't be a hazard for driving or walking."
Wintergreen has all of the issues every community has with people driving too fast–and more.
The extraordinary problems with speeders in the resort community include:
well-maintained, curving roads that are seen by some as "fun to drive,"
extreme weather, such as dense fog and snow, not typical of Virginia on the mountain that catches visitors and residents by surprise, and,
a mix of careless tourists unfamiliar with the streets (and mountain driving) with locals who believe, sometimes mistakenly, they know the roads well.
All of these factors combined can make driving too fast unsafe, but there is an additional issue moves the speeding from unsafe toward dangerous: The natural beauty of Wintergreen puts pedestrians on its streets. There are few sidewalks.
Wintergreen's roads on both the mountain and in the valley have a steady stream of hikers, bikers, runners, dog walkers, birders, golf carts crossings, fishermen, casual strollers, and even horses. Both tourists and locals are regularly walking and biking on Wintergreen's roads with the automobile and truck traffic.
Throw into this mix an occasional herd of deer running across the road with the maintenance equipment used to keep the highways’ grass trimmed and it adds up to making a compelling case for driving carefully, which means more slowly, says WPOA.
Anyone with questions or suggestions for Wintergreen Police are welcome to contact the police chief. Dennis Russell’s email is drussell@wintergreenpolice.org or call his office at 434-325-8521. “We’re here to help,” Russell says.
Wintergreen has two permanent electronic signs that posts every driver’s speed. In the valley there is one on Rodes Valley Drive; the mountain has this signage on Wintergreen Drive.
The mountain sign’s location is especially appropriate. Not only is it just before entering the residential area of the mountain, but there is an awkward intersection (Fortunes Ridge Drive) in the curve about 100 yards away. At this same point there are also the starting points to two popular mountain hiking trails (Fortunes Ridge Trail and Pond Hollow Trail).
Wintergreen Police have two portable trailers that informs drivers of their speed. This trailer, purchased in 2020, records how often there is speeding, when it happens and what time it happens. Police use this data to determine the extent of the speeding problem.