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Residents press supervisors for action after school‑bus near‑miss on Lakeside Drive; board asks VDOT and staff to study fixes
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Summary
Multiple residents described near‑misses and collisions on Lakeside Drive involving a Southampton County school bus and urged vegetation clearing, striping and signage. The board directed supervisors and staff to work with VDOT and return with options next month.
Several Lakeside Drive residents addressed the Southampton County Board of Supervisors at the Sept. 23 meeting, urging the county and VDOT to address a 90‑degree curve they say is hazardous and poorly visible.
Ash Cutchen, who identified himself as a Lakeside Drive resident, told the board he was forced onto the grassy shoulder on Sept. 15 to avoid a head‑on collision when an oncoming school bus — which he identified as Southampton County school bus No. 165 — drifted over the center line. Cutchen said he later followed the bus but could not obtain the driver’s name; he reported a subsequent collision that caused approximately $2,400 damage to his truck and asked the county to trim heavy vegetation on adjacent Girl Scout property, add double‑yellow lines, and install signs instructing drivers to “stay in your lane.” He provided the board a map and photographs and said neighbors and property owners are willing to allow trimming if liability is addressed through an agreement.
Other residents, including Ronnie Knowlton and Devin Fisher, reiterated that the curve has produced multiple incidents and described another recent near‑miss involving what one speaker said sounded like the same bus driver. The chairman and supervisors acknowledged the complaints; at the meeting one supervisor asked county staff and two named supervisors to coordinate with VDOT and report back next month.
Separately, the board held a public hearing on truck routing for Buckhorn Quarter Road related to sandpit operations. Bruce Phillips, who said the sand pit is on his property, described efforts to reroute trucks to Pope Station Road and urged board support; VDOT staff and supervisors discussed sight‑distance limitations and possible interim measures such as signage and a traffic/safety study. The board directed staff to request a formal VDOT traffic and safety study and to bring a resolution back for consideration at the next meeting.
Next steps: County staff to coordinate with VDOT on vegetation/visibility mitigation options for Lakeside Drive, and to request a formal traffic and safety study for Buckhorn Quarter Road; board members asked for reports at the next meeting.
