The Franklin Street Cycle Track in Richmond by the author.
Two months after cities across the globe began making more space for people to safely walk and bike, could Richmond finally be on the verge of piloting its own slow streets program?
With transit ridership tanking, white-collar professionals working from home, and everyone across the board driving less, the two modes of transportation most in demand since COVID-19 struck the nation have been two of the oldest and cleanest ways to get around: by foot and by bike.
This renewed interest in walking and cycling has focused on two main objectives: to provide essential workers with safe routes to and from their jobs and to give those cooped up at home more space to exercise for their physical and mental health. Cities across the globe appear locked in a heated competition to make their urban areas as healthful and livable as possible, so what can Richmond do to catch up?
A movement gains momentum
In the United States this newfound slow streets movement began in Oakland, California and similar to the miles of safe spaces created for people has expanded rapidly. In a matter of weeks the Bay Area city has built out 20 miles of slow streets with a plan to increase that number to 74over 10% of the citys total street gridwithin the next couple of months.
Drawing on inspiration from the European concept of a living street that asserts roads must be designed to prioritize the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and children, such slow or open streets dont block off vehicular traffic completely but rather attempt to slow cars down and keep out thru traffic with barriers like traffic cones or sawhorses.
Based upon a survey the City of Richmond tweeted out, it appears the River City may be moving towards some open street pilot projects of its own, albeit far slower than the rest of the nation. With input from community leaders, city council members, and the broader public, Richmond has the chance to transform its cityscape to not only respond to this immediate public health crisis but also to address the intransigent inequities left behind by decades of segregation, redlining, and destructive urban renewal programs. So what changes should Richmonders ask for?
Time for a road diet
With driving down by half or more and walking and biking at historic highs, the most straightforward solution to Richmonds crowding problem would be to shift space from the former to the latter. Converting lanes on overbuilt roads into wider sidewalks, bioswales, or cycle tracks isnt a new idea. City planners have long referred to this best practice as a road dieta technique to reduce the number of lanes in order to boost roadway safety.
In the 1950s during White Flight, huge portions of Richmond city streets were converted into six to eight lane pseudo-highways to accommodate suburban (largely White) commuters at the expense of the more diverse, lower-income urban dwellers who remained. With ample space and terrible safety records, these roadways offer Richmond low-hanging fruit ripe for a road diet.
Grove Avenue is just a highway funneling people out to the counties that pretends to be a city road, said Jeremy Hoffman, a member of the Scotts Addition Boulevard Association. The protected bike lanes added to Franklin Street, Patterson Avenue, and Brook Road are good models for Grove. The City should move the current parking spots over into a travel lane and add a protected bike lane. That would basically extend the sidewalks and help people walking and jogging there to feel more comfortable by using the bike lane as a buffer. This model worked in other parts of the city, so why not here?
If Hoffmans proposal were to be implemented, Richmonders could enjoy a 2.1 mile-long uninterrupted walking and biking route from I-195 all the way to Three Chopt Road. Similar calls have rung out requesting road diets for Monument Avenue and Carytown as well due to their popularity among joggers and walkers. However, Hoffmans idea to boost road safety and add an amenity to Grove Avenue need not be limited to Richmonds more affluent West End.
Tired of seeing her half of the city neglected, Sheri Shannon of Hull Street Action a community revitalization group in Manchester has called for pedestrian improvements on Richmonds Southside where most neighborhoods never got infrastructure added after annexation from Chesterfield County. I am advocating for better sidewalks first, especially in the 8th and 9th districts. In many areas, sidewalks are nonexistent and we see people taking unsafe routes just to get to the bus stop, said Shannon.
Dr. Mike Jones, City Councilmember for Richmonds 9th District, wholeheartedly agrees. Down here weve been waiting on this deferred dream of walkable streets for decades. Id like to make all of Hull Street as narrow as it is in Manchester the whole way out to the county line, he said in an interview. Why cant I bike from Chippenham to Downtown? Its because its not safe to do it, but we could do it. We need to transform Richmond so people can walk and bike all over the city.
Slower is better
One of the unfortunate (yet predictable) consequences of Americas underinvestment in quality spaces for people to walk, bike, or simply get outside has been the over-policing of crowding, especially directed at people of color. The pandemic triggered a fierce debate on the evils and merits of density in our cities, but the true danger stems from overcrowding. A small town with just one park can experience dangerous levels of visitors just as many of our overlooked urban green spaces provide safe solitude in which to stretch your legs.
As popular outdoor destinations across Richmond such as Browns Island or the lawn at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts fill up, the threat of contagion and over-policing grows. To ease said pressure, advocates across America have been placing sawhorses, cones, or other minor obstacles at the ends of their streets with a friendly request to those who dont live on their block to please find another route. The demand for open streets has grown so strong that some guerilla slow streets have already been spotted throughout the city.
1st District City Councilmember Andreas Addison understands residents frustration with Richmonds built environment. Our lack of infrastructure makes it hard for people to comply with social distancing even in front of peoples houses our sidewalks are too narrow, he said. Thats why Addison has proposed creating a slow street on North Sheppard Street that would span the Museum District from Scotts Addition to Carytown.
Under his vision the three northernmost blocks of Sheppard that currently serve two directional traffic would become one way like the rest of the street. A new 15mph speed limit wouldnt cut off cars completely, but it would make it a lot safer for pedestrians and cyclists to share the road without fear of being run over. Those who dont live on Sheppard would hopefully use Belmont Avenue instead just one block over. Sheppard Street began its life as a trolley-only easement, so a new slow street would simply revert the road back to its multimodal roots.
I cant improve the infrastructure quickly, but I can shift the expectation towards safer streets for everyone to enjoy, said Addison. We can push drivers onto the roads that are better suited to get them where they need to go while also making Sheppard a more walkable connection for everybody else. The councilmember also hopes the increased foot traffic that would result from making Sheppard a slow street would help the small businesses along that corridor like Buddys Tavern, Akida Sushi, and Sheppard Street Tavern.
Across the James, Keya Strudwicka resident of British Camp Farms in Richmonds 8th Districtis disappointed by the infrastructure the City put in a couple years back to slow down traffic in her neighborhood. She hopes this current crisis could finally prompt a rethink of traffic safety in her neck of the woods on Southside as well, specifically in front of her childrens school.
The streets in our community are very narrow and make it unsafe for anyone to walk, said Strudwick in an interview. If people have to get out of a cars way then they literally have to jump into the ditch. Elementary schoolers are especially vulnerable; its not even safe for them to walk to the school in the neighborhood in which they live.
The two roundabouts on Dorset Road were intended to calm traffic in front of Broad Rock Elementary, but Strudwick says dangerous crashes continue to plague her neighborhood as drivers dont yield or navigate the roundabout properly. Over the last few weeks alone shes heard of several crashes. Even the sign in the roundabout at Welford Avenue got knocked over in a crash, and so far no one has come to fix it. A slow street is something I think would be worth exploring in the short term, but I still dont know how we would address traffic coming through at unsafe speeds, she said.
Whether or not a slow street in front of her childrens school could be a solution to such dangerous driving, Strudwick welcomes the chance at change in her area. We need to bring more attention to the southside of Richmond and let our civic leaders know that there are concerned residents down here who want the best for our kids and our community too. Ive noticed more of the progress being made north of the river, so it would be great for us to begin shifting our attention to making changes south of the river as well, she said.
Open the streets
Although the level of change being contemplated may seem radicaleven temporarily, the changes being called for by city officials and River City residents alike have become nothing short of commonplace these days. 100 miles in New York City, 25 miles in Baltimore, 20 permanent miles in Seattle, and the list of cities opening up more space for people to safely bike and walk for their commute or exercise grows ever longer. How long will Richmond continue to avoid making any changes to benefit the health and mental well-being of its residents?
If Richmonders like Hoffman have their say, not long. I dont get how there is so much room for fewer cars going so much faster and still the same amount of room for the many more people biking and walking? So much has changed about our day to day lives yet nothing about our streets has changed to accommodate this new reality, he said. The demand for more space to bike and walk is there, but we havent yet made any efforts to accommodate that demand.
A quick coronavirus survey by Richmond 300, the citys master planning process, corroborates such claims. The top four features residents want all relate to the walk- and bikeability of their neighborhoods.
From Richmond's Master Plan.
There is no way to look on the bright side as our country speeds toward over 100,000 deaths due to COVID-19, but city leaders have the power to flatten the curve of another crisis: the rapid increase in traffic deaths.
From March through May of last year the Commonwealth recorded 185 deaths on its roadways; however, even with driving down by 70% across the state Virginia has clocked 140 traffic fatalities during that same period this yearonly a 25% drop.
Such statistics bare out the recklessness too many people have seen with their own eyes. Just last week a driver in Richmond was speeding, and careened over a median on Broad Street, and struck a GRTC Pulse bus.
If implemented right, open streets policies like road diets and slow streets have the potential not only to ease our current crisis but also to lay the foundation for a healthier, safer, and more equitable future.
Its all possible, said Councilmember Jones. We just have to be willing to do it.
Wyatt Gordon is Greater Greater Washington's Virginia Correspondent. He's a born-and-raised Richmonder with a master's in Urban Planning from the University of Hawaii at Mnoa and a bachelor's in International Political Economy from American University. Previously he's written for the Times of India, Nairobi News, Civil Beat, Style Weekly, andRVA Magazine. You can find him on Richmond's Northside.
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