Category Archives: parks

Stop the Deforestation of Richmond’s Historic Monroe Park

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Letter from neighbor:

Dear Richmond Urban Design Committee and Planning Commission

Monroe Park was once a beautiful public park with its most delightful feature being its vibrant urban tree canopy. Now, under the guidance of a few individuals, it has lost much of its beautiful urban forest which previously served as an aesthetic wonder, habitat for animals and the proverbial “lungs” of our city. The city under the direction of the Monroe Park Conservancy is now requesting to forego planting 8 more trees that were included in the approved master plan and replacing them with planters in order to increase the surveillance scope from cameras attached to the Checkers House soffit. This is unacceptable and I respectfully ask that this request for approval of the tree deletion be denied.

Thank you,

Charles T Woodson
Richmond Va 23220

The tree removal request will be heard THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5th at 10am at the Urban Design Committee meeting. Please sign and share!
New petition on Change.org

The Portland Loo

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The Urban Design Committee agenda and related documents for the Thursday, September 7, 2017 meeting are now available on the City’s legislative website. The Committee will meet at 10 am in the Conference Room on the 5th Floor of City Hall.

Included is Item 6:

UDC 2017-33 Final Location, Character and Extent review of the “Portland Loo,” to be installed as a public facility, 719 W. Franklin St.

The full agenda can be accessed using the link below.

https://richmondva.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=532506&GUID=B73BAB4F-95E2-49CE-AC1A-9D03AFEC5AE2&Options=&Search=

Bike Share Almost Here

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Power infrastructure put in for new bike share station just outside Pleasants Park.

City announcement:

RVA Bike Share Ready to Roll Public invited to bike share launch

Richmond, VA — Mayor Levar M. Stoney will launch the RVA Bike Share program on Tuesday, August 29 at 9 a.m. at Kanawha Plaza and lead cyclists on a 2-mile ride from across the Manchester Bridge to the T. Tyler Potterfield Bridge, ending at Browns Island.

“Bike sharing programs are a community transportation service and desired amenity provided by forward thinking and environmentally conscious cities,” said Mayor Stoney. “I am proud Richmond is now among those leading in this regard.”

Richmond has teamed up with Canada-based Bewegen Technologies Inc., an industry bike share leader, to supply the bicycles and docking stations. The equipment will be maintained by Corps Logistics, a Baltimore-based firm owned and operated by military veterans.

The initial phase includes 220 8-speed bikes and 20 docking stations located throughout the city. A second phase is expected to be implemented in the coming months, doubling the fleet and including electric assist PedElec bikes, making it easier to ride uphill. These hi-tech bicycles will be equipped with a color screen, live GPS and can be unlocked through a mobile app.

RVA Bike Share is a public-private initiative, and Mayor Stoney has written a letter to encourage Richmond’s corporate and business leaders to engage in sponsorship opportunities necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program. Click here to read the mayor’s letter. (In comments)

Plans for RVA Bike Share have been in the works since 2012. The city was awarded a $1,064,000 federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant in 2014 to start the program, supplementing $280,000 in capital improvement funds made available by the city.

One-way trip and daily passes will be available as well as weekly, monthly and yearly memberships. For more information about RVA Bike Share, pricing, membership and sponsorship opportunities, please visit rvabikes.com.