These photos are from Oregon Hill’s Riverside Park, one of the City oldest parks, with the parcels acquired between 1889 and 1906.
Enjoy the sun while we can, a system is expected to bring some rain tomorrow afternoon.
The Extinction Rebellion protests which started on a weekly basis this past July continues into the new year this Friday from noon to 1 pm in Monroe Park (corner of Belvedere and Main). They welcome everyone, and every part of everyone to this nonviolent demonstration. All ages are welcome. They stand in support of #fridaysforfuture and the #globalclimatestrike.
Friday evening, there is the opening at the Main Street library for a new exhibit called Evicted in Richmond.
From James RIver Park staff:
Join us for a family friendly hike to one of Richmond’s historic gems, Belle Isle. Learn about the geologic and human history of the area and the role Richmond played in the development of our nation. Please bring water, a snack and good shoes.
Parking:
Street parking on 5th street
Belle Isle parking lot
Tredegar parking lot $3 per hour or $18 for the dayAges: 8 and Up
Price: $5 or donation
Location: Meet at the visitor sign in the Belle Isle parking lot under the Lee BridgeTo Register contact Tyler Twyford: Tyler.Twyford@richmondgov.com
From (recently re-elected) Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President Todd Woodson:
On Monday, December 16th at 1:30PM, the City Planning Commission will hear a conceptual plan presented by Venture Richmond for a $17 million, taxpayer funded “improvement plan”, including a CORPORATE HELICOPTER PAD and DYNAMIC LIGHTING PLAN for publicly owned Browns Island, located on a flood plain in downtown Richmond. Venture Richmond and 3north held a planning charrette last April and invited DOMINION ENERGY, ALTRIA CORPORATION, NEW MARKET CORPORATION, certain developers, attorneys and City planning staff yet excluded the stake-holding public from the conversation. After being approved by only 3 members of the ten member Urban Design Committee last week, the proposal is poised to be approved “under the radar” by the planning commission on Monday. If you aren’t interested in building a corporate helipad on public property with taxpayer funds, I would urge you to attend and speak out against this ill conceived plan!
Of course, the corporate media has been silent about this, as they do not want to raise the ire of Venture (aka Vulture) Richmond. Remember, Richmond’s leaders don’t want to PUT SCHOOLS FIRST! Remember, corporate corruption takes from the public– even if most citizens agree with the improvements being made, they should not be excluded from the public planning process!
A view of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart from Monroe Park sometime after 1905. This is number 0490 of the Cook Collection, on display at the Valentine Museum. Go see it in person, (support the Valentine!) and get a better idea of why so many residents want the Monroe Park Conservancy’s lease rescinded.
Extinction Rebellion continues its Friday protests in Monroe Park and there is also a World Vegan Day celebration.
From announcement:
Community Movie Night: DANTE’S PEAK
Last one of the Season
Friday, October 25 @ 6:30 pm in Pleasants Park
CSX which owns the property beneath the trestles has blocked off access, thus eliminating approximately half the available parking.
The paved lot is still accessible but parking is no longer allowed in the gravel lot as you see here in an old Google Maps screenshot.
We reached out to Park Superintendent Bryce Wilk about the situation and there wasn’t much more information to share, “The parking area is under CSX ownership and is closed until further notice.” Wilk did also state that Venture Richmond, PRCF (Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities) and CSX are working together to find some solution. Details of the possible solution aren’t available at this time.
For Oregon Hill residents, this is very troubling. It’s not so much about the parking, since residents mostly walk down to the riverfront. For years neighborhood leaders have brought up more mass transit and shuttles to alleviate parking crowding at the Belle Island parking lot.
There is the concern that the City or Venture Richmond will try to force parking closer to Oregon Hill. In the past there have been suggestions that the portion of the North Bank Trail directly south of Oregon Hill be turned into parking. Regardless, residents expect more park visitors to park near the Overlook in order to use the park.
Even more worrisome is the possibility of losing public access. For generations, Oregon Hill residents have been able to walk more or less straight down to the James River, with little regard for railroad interference. Certainly, current Oregon Hill residents want to keep that ability.