Northampton Board asks VDOT to lower speed limit on 13 around Cape Charles and Bayside Road by ESAAA

The Northampton County Board of Supervisors have approved two resolutions calling for reduced speed limits in Exmore and Cape Charles, citing growing safety concerns for children, seniors, and motorists in increasingly congested corridors.

The first resolution addressed the heavily traveled portion of Route 13 stretching from Kiptopeke Elementary School north through the Food Lion and Stone Road intersections and up to Townfield Drive. Traffic in both directions creates significant congestion during summer months, the resolution said, with backups extending the full length of the corridor. The resolution points to numerous median crossovers maintained for farming and business access, three existing traffic signals, and an upcoming pedestrian crosswalk VDOT plans to install at the Food Lion intersection in early 2026 to support safe bicyclist and pedestrian access along the Eastern Shore Rail Trail.

The resolution, read aloud by Chairman John Coker, cited extensive commercial growth—new restaurants, retail stores, and a pending Royal Farms site—as well as the major expansion of the Tower Hill subdivision, which will add another entrance near Hardee’s, close to the Cherrystone intersection. A recent speed study recorded average speeds of 57 mph northbound and 62 mph southbound along a corridor that remains posted at 55 mph. Coker described that speed as far too high for an area increasingly marked by congestion and vulnerable road users.

The second resolution focused on Bayside Road near the Eastern Shore Area Agency on Aging/Community Action Agency (ESAAA/CAA) facility at 5432 Bayside Road in Exmore. Coker noted that 50 to 75 elderly citizens visit the site each weekday, while roughly 75 preschool children attend the Head Start program located there. About 10 buses enter and exit the property daily. The resolution said the existing speed limit along a quarter-mile stretch north and south of the facility is too high for a designated school zone and poses risks to both seniors and young students. Supervisors requested the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) reduce the limit to 25 miles per hour to bring the zone in line with other school areas in the county.