If you live in Loudoun County, you are probably familiar with Belmont Ridge Road. You know, the one that runs from Arcola to Lansdowne. It winds through Broadlands, Brambleton and Ashburn up into Leesburg. It has always given me the freaks to drive on that road if we are being honest. I have this fear that my car will break down on the narrow roads and I will have no where to go. And now, thanks to a boatload of issues, my fears are heightened, and so should yours.
The first issue lays where the W&OD trail meets BRR. I'm sure the county was trying to lessen the potential dangerous situation of having bikers and runners cross a main road when they put those diagonal lines and flashing signs along the road. However, they actually made it more confusing to drivers. Some cars will stop for pedestrians, others barrel through the crossing. Then if one car going in one direction stops, should the car going the opposite direction feel obligated to stop? What if you don't make eye contact with the biker/runner and they go for it and you weren't prepared and it turns out a disaster? The truth of the matter is the people on the W&OD trail have a stop sign. People driving on the road do not. I have no idea what those diagonal lines on the road mean, but I do know what a stop sign means. While I do not believe we should fly through the intersection, I do believe drivers are not the ones supposed to stop. Stopping could cause more potential danger to the cars behind you as they line up on the winding road.
The next issue I run into the most is at the entrance to the Luckstone in Ashburn. Right before the entrance is a windy section of the road. If you are following a truck and they stop to wait for traffic to pass so they can make the left hand turn into Luckstone, you are stuck behind them waiting too. The worst part about this is that if a car is speeding and they do not slow down on the curve, there is a great chance you will be playing bumper cars with them. I hold my breath everytime I find myself in this situation. I am no road specialist, but I am thinking there has to be like a giant reflective mirror they can put up sticking out of the trees so oncoming traffic can see what is ahead - or really just something needs to be there to warn drivers.
With all of the construction happening as BRR approaches Rt. 7, I find the amount of trucks have increased to an annoying level. They move at 25 mph, and they are constantly making left turns into their site, holding up traffic. These trucks are testing drivers' patience. With Belmont Ridge being such a narrow road there really is no room for driving errors, and I believe all these issues are giving way to more potential accidents
I am hoping one day, when all of this mess is finished, the road will feel a lot safer. For right now though, I am going to keep my fingers crossed that we all stay safe.
