Economy slows traffic on Blue Ridge Parkway
As the economy decelerated and gas prices soared, annual visitation to the Blue Ridge Parkway dropped by more than a million motorists in 2008.
The 469-mile scenic highway drew 18.25 million visitors last year, down from 19.29 million in 2007, according to statistics from the National Park Service.
The 2008 visitation was the lowest in the past eight years and the first time below 19 million during that span.
Parkway officials have not traced a cause for the decrease in visitors, and Scott Bell, the Park Service official who tallies visits, declined to speculate.
Campgrounds along the parkway’s first 106 miles — which includes Bedford, Amherst and Nelson counties — saw fewer out-of-state visitors last year than normal, said Randy Sutton, an interpretive ranger for the parkway’s Ridge District.
Bikers along the East Coast usually flock to the ridge-top road, he said, but 2008 saw less motorcycle traffic, leading to a reduction in accidents.
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Redflex gets back to work in Virginia Beach
October 3, 2008 by Hersey · Leave a Comment
Redflex Traffic Systems has announced the execution of a new open-ended contract with the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The initial phase is for 20 red light enforcement systems at 10 intersections for five years with three one-year renewals. However, there is potential for a
programme build-out of up to 43 intersections.
In 1995 the Virginia State Legislature authorised red light cameras for a 10-year period concluding 1 July, 2005. Commencing in September 2004 through 1 July 2005 and resulting from a successful competitive tender, Redflex and Virginia Beach implemented a highly successful red light camera programme that reduced red light running crashes by 40 per cent at the monitored intersections.
