Table Falls On Belle Island Pedestrian Bridge

WTVR has a dramatic story with photos of a dining table that fell onto the Belle Island pedestrian bridge this past Sunday.

Excerpts:

Terry Davis never expected a stroll across the pedestrian bridge to Belle Isle to shake her up so much. But it did on Sunday. As she and her friend crossed the walkway, she said she heard a thunderous sound.

“‘What is that noise?’ I asked. I looked up and there was this huge table laying in the center of the walk area of the pedestrian bridge,” Davis said.

She said she believed somehow a banquet table fell nearly 60 feet from a gaping space above the pedestrian walkway from the Lee Bridge.

Davis and others who use the pedestrian walkway often, said they’d like to see the city install some type of safety barrier.

Richmond Public Works spokesperson Sharon North said the city would send out a crew to inspect for damage. Workers were seen removing the table from a nearby area under the walkway Monday afternoon.

North said the city has no plan to install a safety barrier above the pedestrian walkway. The department sent out an inspector to check for damage and concluded that someone may have rolled the table out onto this pedestrian walkway and left it.

Witnesses who heard the crash said they don’t buy that theory.

UCI Bicycle Race Leaves Monroe Park In The Dust

Some choice excerpts from the Times Dispatch article:

Monroe Park will not host a designated fan zone during the UCI 2015 Road World Championships despite plans to the contrary and tens of thousands of dollars in city expense to improve the space.
A sponsor that loosely agreed to underwrite the celebration space in the Fan District switched gears in recent weeks, according to officials with Richmond 2015, the organization putting on the event.

The group declined to name the sponsor but said it had shifted to another space along the course. Officials would not detail costs associated with sponsoring a zone at the park. The move did not affect fundraising, they said.

Todd Woodson, who lives in neighboring Oregon Hill, said the city had squandered taxpayers’ money.
“We’re in a crisis of leadership in this city and we’re hemorrhaging money,” Woodson said.
About 300 feet of a water line along Franklin Street was damaged during work done this spring, officials said at the time. How much the damage cost was unclear Monday. City officials were not able to provide an estimate.

Solar Oven Picnic Scheduled for Sunday

A “solar oven picnic” is scheduled for this Sunday morning and early afternoon in Riverside Park.

From Solar Cookers International:

Most solar cookers work on basic principles: sunlight is converted to heat energy that is retained for cooking. Sunlight is the “fuel.” A solar cooker needs an outdoor spot that is sunny for several hours and protected from strong wind, and where food will be safe.

From FaceBook event page:

Cook and share food using only solar ovens at the top of the grassy slope in Oregon Hill’s Riverside Park. If it rains or it is too overcast the event will be postponed.

Seeing as the forecast is partly cloudy, this may have a 50% chance of happening, but as with the recent neighborhood yard sale, this event is an experiment that will hopefully improve with re-iteration.

James River Park Public Service Announcement

James River Park System PSA - Pick up Your Trash! from Max Posner on Vimeo.

A message from James River Park System Superintendent, Nathan Burrell on the importance of picking up the trash you bring into the JRPS.

Please pack out what you pack in to The James River Park System.

Don't trash our treasure!

Brought to you by The James River Outdoor Coalition.

https://www.facebook.com/jroc.rva?fref=ts

…same goes for Oregon Hill. Resident or visitor, please pick up your trash!