Mechanicsville parents call for more crosswalk safety equipment before a tragedy strikes

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Three Mechanicsville fathers are part of a larger group asking Hanover government and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to grow safety measures along Atlee Road.

They say cars constantly speed through the Atlee intersection with Combs Drive facing the northeast and Rutland Center Boulevard facing the southwest. They believe a change needs to happen because someone gets hurt.

Parents Steve Douglas, Sean Doherty, and David Riley took 8News to the intersection, where they say it could become problematic around the end of the school day. Atlee High School and Chickahominy Middle School students often try to dodge cars while crossing the street.

Among the safety measures are two road signs that let drivers know about the crosswalk perpendicular to Atlee and the possible presence of pedestrians. Douglas, Doherty and Riley say they've watched close calls and accidents along the corridor, caused by cars going too fast.

They believe another cause of close calls and crashes is that drivers are not stopping for pedestrians because drivers cannot see them.

8News watched as two girls crossed Atlee's southbound traffic, huddled in the median and then had to wait for cars to stop or for when traffic was clear.

"Everyday, it's like Frogger out here trying to just see if we're going to be able to make it across," Doherty said.

It's not an isolated incident. With reportedly around 10,000 views on social media, Doherty's wife created a video earlier this December showing other pedestrians having to dodge cars.

"Those close calls. We all know at some point can turn to something that could have been prevented," Riley said.

Hundreds of others agree. A Change.org petition is active with more than 500 supporters.

The petition calls for VDOT to put in equipment with flashing lights as an interim fix.

"If there's something that indicated down the road that someone was there and there was potential danger, that's what we feel like would really make a huge difference at this intersection," Doherty said.

They hope this technology would help prevent a tragedy while something permanent is figured out.

"From what I understand, there would be a large overhead beacon... that's going to extend over the intersection and just have flashing lights," Douglas said while describing the permanent fixture.

The three say they've had conversations with Hanover County and VDOT about a permanent installation date. They say it may take two or three years before an installation begins.

8News reached out to VDOT which said was looking into information.