Traffic circle in plans for Battery Park intersection

By Diana McFarland

Managing editor

The town of Smithfield and Isle of Wight County has agreed to change the boundary to allow the Scott farm property owners to develop their property within town limits.

But the thought of more traffic on Battery Park and Nike Park roads that would result from development of the Scott farm, and also Mallory Pointe, has some residents concerned about how those roads can handle the load. 

Mallory Pointe is located along Battery Park Road across from Wellington Estates, while the Scott farm is located at the intersection of Battery Park and Nike Park roads. {mprestriction ids=”1,2,3,4,5,6″}

Mallory Pointe was rezoned in 2005 for 265 lots on 240 acres, while the Scott farm, at 184 acres, has not yet had a plan submitted for it, although the developers have expressed interest in moving ahead with that property. 

A traffic circle at the intersection of Battery Park and Nike Park roads to include the entrance of Mallory Pointe Drive, is part of the Isle of Wight’s Brewer’s Neck Corridor Study.  

The traffic circle was part of the Mallory Pointe plans, said Smithfield Director of Planning, Engineering and Public Works Williams Saunders, adding that he hasn’t heard from the Mallory Pointe and Scott farm developers in more than a month. 

That proposed traffic circle also calls for Battery Park and Nike Park roads to be expanded to four lanes each — to include the 10-foot bike and pedestrian trail.

There is room on both sides of the road to allow for lane expansion, said Isle of Wight County Transportation Manager Jamie Oliver.

The timeframe given for those improvements is 2034, according to the study. 

If the developers for Mallory Pointe decide to modify their plans, the traffic circle could come up for discussion, said Saunders. 

Traffic along those roads ways has increased as development in the county has continued, despite the recession.

Traffic along Nike Park Road from Reynolds Drive went up 61 percent from 2006 to 2016, the latest data available, or from 2,600 to 4,200 average vehicles a day. 

The number of vehicles on Battery Park Road to Kendall Haven went up 10 percent, from 10,000 vehicles in 2006 to 11,000 in 2016, on the two-lane road.   {/mprestriction}