CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Neighbors who live near the intersection of Genito and Watercove roads in Chesterfield County want a traffic light installed to address the growing number of crashes and near-misses they say occur at the busy crossroads.
Jessica Best, who has lived in Chesterfield County her entire life, said rapid development in the area has made the intersection increasingly dangerous.
"Since the growth of [Route] 288, the expansion of the added townhomes, the suburban neighborhoods... the traffic is insane," Best said. "It's taking 15 to 20 minutes sometimes to get out of the subdivision and unfortunately accidents are happening regularly."
According to TREDS, Virginia's traffic data system, there were at least seven crashes at the intersection in 2025.
So far in 2026, there have been at least two crashes.
The most recent occurred on May 5 and involved a motorcycle, injuring one person.
"I was on my patio and you could hear the crash," Best said. "I, of course, could hear the fire station as they are right in my backyard. Unfortunately, this is a regular occurrence between there and the Walnut Grove subdivision. It's a regular battle."
She said the problem goes beyond the crashes.
"There are so many near misses. I have a dash camera in my vehicle for this very reason. There definitely needs to be stoplights," she said. "They need to consider widening Genito Road if they are going to continue with the growth. We have a water park in plans to be built behind the lake and we are not built to handle anymore traffic; it's already a nightmare. I can only imagine when they open this waterpark what that's going to do for us."
Neighbors say they will continue pushing for changes, hoping action is taken before conditions worsen.
I reached out to the county about this and am still waiting to hear back.
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