By Paul Bello
Thursday, April 21, 2011

Issues with speeding and off- the street parking have led Fort Belvoir's garrison command to tighten its policies in areas on post. Col. John Strycula, garrison commander; Stephen Brooks, deputy installation commander and representatives from Belvoir's Directorates of Public Works and Emergency Services met recently to discuss concerns they had with improving public safety. The group decided it was best to place 'No Parking' and speed limit signs in designated housing areas as a precaution for the future.

'The key thing to remember is that we're putting people at risk if nothing is done,' Strycula said. 'We want safety and emergency vehicles to get down our streets when they have to. We also want people to be cognizant of their speed while driving in areas where there are high concentrations of children.' Strycula insisted a minimum 30day warning period be put into affect once signs are up before anyone is ticketed for speeding or towed for parking illegally. Speeding signs have already been ordered and assessments are ongoing to determine what needs to be fixed, removed or installed in housing areas on post, according to Brian Smith, Residential Communities Initiative Office liaison.

Smith said Pinnacle/ RCI maintains yellow painted curbs designating areas as fire lanes. He said it's likely many curbs will be repainted as the installation moves forward with its plan on addressing public safety measures.

Off- the- street parking has been an ongoing problem on Belvoir for a number of years, said Tim Wolfe, Fort Belvoir's chief of police. Once signs are properly placed and curbs painted, officers will be in a position to enforce regulations and issue tickets to people who park in a fire lane or handicap zone.

'We're certainly concerned and it needs to be addressed before something really bad happens,' Wolfe said. 'We need signs to be up in order for us to do anything. Having them will certainly help matters a lot.' Situations revolving around off the- street parking are nothing new for members of Belvoir's fire department. Ronald Martin, assistant fire chief, has worked on post for 15 years. He's lost count of how many times he's heard a member of his staff mention the difficulty of getting trucks and other vehicles down a particular street.

Martin said there was an issue recently when a child had to be rushed to a local hospital and emergency responders found it difficult to navigate down a street with cars parked on both sides. He said garage inspections were performed last summer by members of the fire department. As it turns out, he said most residents choose to use their garage for storage instead of for vehicles.

'It's their choice to do that, but it's another vehicle on the street that doesn't have to be there,' Martin said. 'We just want residents to be mindful of what that means in times of an emergency.'