Road Shoulders

Let’s widen roadway shoulders where rumble strips are present

Mathews County needs wide, 4 foot shoulders along main roadways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic.

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Our progress so far… (TIMELINE)

The Issue

Mathews County needs wide, 4 foot shoulders along main roadways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic.

In rural Mathews County Virginia, roadways are shared by motorists, cyclists, runners, walkers, and mopeds. Two main highways – routes 14 & 198 – have high speed automobiles and zero shoulder space, forcing all users to share the lane of traffic. When VA Dept of Transportation (VDOT) installed rumble strips along the roadside, this forced slower users (non-automobiles, such as cyclists, runners, walkers, etc) further into the traffic lanes. Mathews County needs wider shoulders along these highways to ensure the safety of non-automobile traffic, where possible.

Per VDOT regulations**, “Where shoulders are used by bicyclists, if rumble strips are installed to discourage or warn motorists they are driving on the shoulder, there should be a minimum clear path of 4 feet from the rumble strip to the outside edge of paved shoulder.”

Why it matters

Petition VDOT to add shoulders to Mathews County roadsides where rumble strips are installed, bearing in mind the special events described below which make the need uniquely urgent.

Mathews County is host to Tour de Chesapeake (TDC, tourdechesapeake.org), a 25-year annual cycling event that brings hundreds of cyclists into the county for a weekend each May. With the added traffic volume along these narrow rural roadways, road-sharing is difficult (traffic backs up and passing is unsafe). The safety of TDC cyclists can be enhanced with wide shoulders.

In addition, each October hundreds of runners compete in the Mathews Marathon & Half Marathon event, and road-sharing is again necessary and would be made much safer with wide roadside shoulders. These two annual events provide valuable tourism revenue to Mathews County Virginia – the wide roadside shoulders will enhance the safety for participants PLUS reduce friction with automobiles who share the roadways and thus make these events even more successful & beneficial to Mathews County.

Where there’s a rumble strip, there should be a wide shoulder… VDOT regulations state

AASHTO’s recommendations for shoulder width (as described in A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets) are the best guide for bicycles as well, since wider shoulders are recommended on heavily traveled and high-speed roads and those carrying large numbers of trucks. In order to be usable by bicyclists, the shoulder must be paved.

Rumble strips or raised pavement markers, where installed to discourage or warn motorists they are driving on the shoulder, are not recommended where shoulders are used by bicyclists unless there is a minimum clear path of 1 foot from the rumble strip to the traveled way, 4 feet from the rumble strip to the outside edge of paved shoulder, or 5 feet to adjacent guardrail, curb or other obstacle. If existing conditions preclude achieving the minimum desirable clearance, the width of the rumble strip may be decreased, or other appropriate alternative solutions should be considered. VDOT’s policy is to not install pavement markers along the outside edge line of a travelway.1

  1. VDOT Document Title: VDOT Complete Streets: Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Guidelines, Bus Stop Design and Parking Guidelines, relevant section is page A(1)-17, Rumble strips
Timeline of concern over rumble strips

Mathews Outdoor Club uncovered VDOT guidelines and alerted local officials to them in an effort to enact change. Wider roadside shoulders will be a significant safety enhancement by providing a buffer between motorized & nonmotorized users.

  • 2024 – VDOT installed rumble strips along certain roadsides (main roads, not backroads) in Mathews County.
  • 2024 Apr – Found the VDOT regulations stating the need for wider shoulders where rumble strips are installed; shared that with local VDOT office, Lee McKnight.
  • 2024 Oct – Shared the VDOT regulations with Board of Supervisor (Ms Phillips) via email.
  • 2025 Jan – Shared the VDOT regulation (regarding road shoulders) with entire Mathews Co Parks & Rec Commission, including 2 Board of Supervisors (Mr Walls, Mr Bowen) who were in attendance.
  • 2025 Mar – Launched a petition (Change.Org) to provide an opportunity for other citizens to support the initiative.
  • 2025 Apr – Posted roadside signage with link to petition for awareness.
  • 2025 May – Followed up with 3 Board of Supervisors (Ms Phillips, Mr Walls, Mr Bowen) via email advising them of our plan to approach state representatives about the need & requirement for wider road shoulders.
  • 2025 May – Reached out to state representatives (Delegate Hodges, Representative McDougle) requesting their assistance in prioritizing VDOT road shoulder work in Mathews.
  • 2025 Jun – Provided project history to Gazette Journal reporter for potential news highlight.