Photos from this morning- click here for background.
Idlewood Meeting
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Category Archives: traffic
UDC Meets Thursday
Reminder from City Councilperson Parker Agelasto:
The Urban Design Committee will meet on September 4 at 10:00 am in the 5th Floor Conference Room at City Hall. On the agenda is the Conceptual Location, Character and Extent Review of the proposed roundabout along Idlewood Avenue between S. Cherry and S. Harrison Streets (UDC No. 2014-30, as well as the same review of the proposed Floyd Avenue Bike Boulevard (UDC No. 2014-31). The Carytown Gateway Sign (UDC No. 2014-12) will receive its Final Location, Character and Extent Review.
Additional:
Kimley-Horn Associates has completed the design for the proposed roundabout on Idlewood Avenue between S. Cherry and S. Harrison Streets. Residents from Randolph and Oregon Hill are invited to walk the site with the engineers on Wednesday, September 3, at 9:00 am. The Urban Design Committee will then review the proposal at its meeting on September 4 at 10:00 am in the 5th Floor Conference Room at City Hall.
Joe’s Fence
A few weeks ago, there was a car accident at S.Laurel and Idlewood that took out neighbor Joe Pyrek’s metal front fence. He gave permission to post this account, since several neighbors have asked what happened.
…wanted to give you a little bit of follow up to the incident that occurred at the Laurel/Idlewood intersection in the early morning hours of 7/25. Apparently there was a vehicle with about 3-4 individuals driving at high speed around the neighborhood around 2:15 in the morning. They were circling blocks and were coming eastbound on Idlewood and made a right hand turn onto Laurel but overshot the turn and took out my fire hydrant and several sections of my fence. My neighbors across the street were awoken by the noise and looked outside and called the police. They witnessed the individuals get out of the vehicle and push it off of my property back onto the road and they proceeded to drive off before the police arrived. However, they didn’t made it very far as about ½ way down the block on Laurel headed towards Albemarle, they crashed into two parked cars. According to the police report, two cars were towed and the driver was arrested. He had been drinking and was 19 or 20. Luckily for me, the individual’s parents had insurance on the vehicle, so my property will be taken care of. I notified the city of the fire hydrant on 7/26, however, no work has been done to get that replaced. I’ve called the city a few times about it as it worries me in regards to fire safety.
That’s really all I know on the situation, but just thought you might like to know!
Idlewood Roundabout Plan Update
One of the topics covered at Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s meeting on Wednesday night was an update on the Idlewood roundabout project.
City Transportation Engineer Tom Flynn gave a quick background and overview, and then presented the “first, final draft” from engineering/design firm Kimley Horn. Due to some unforeseen costs, the plan right now is to NOT remove the stretch of Grayland at the time of roundabout construction, but leave it with a dead end. Expect this and other points to be covered at a future community meeting.
VCU Students Arrive (Note Traffic Restrictions)
From VCU press release:
RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 13, 2014) – Virginia Commonwealth University’s incoming freshman class will begin to arrive on campus this weekend and move into student residence halls as the university launches its annual Welcome Week schedule of activities.
Reuban Rodriguez, Ed.D., associate vice provost and dean of student affairs at VCU, will be available for media interviews about move-in days and the opening of the academic year from 10 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, in front of Brandt Hall, at the corner of Laurel and Franklin streets.
VCU will enroll an estimated 31,000 students this fall. This year’s freshman class is expected to be approximately 3,600 students.
About 88 percent of VCU’s freshman class is from Virginia, including 23 percent from Northern Virginia, 20 percent from the Richmond Metro area, 20 percent from north central Virginia and 20 percent from the Tidewater area.
Minority students represent 47 percent of the freshman class, with another 2 percent of the class being international students.
VCU will enroll about 2,200 transfer students, which includes about 1,400 students from the Virginia Community College System.
Freshmen will move in on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. Traffic congestion is expected in the areas near VCU’s student residence halls on both Saturday and Sunday and nearby street parking will be blocked.
In order to ensure safety and order as students move into residence halls, the following streets will have travel restrictions or will be closed:
· Franklin Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Harrison and Belvidere streets
· Main Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Belvidere and Laurel streets
· Laurel Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Franklin and W. Grace streets
· Pine Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Cary and W. Main streetsTraffic restrictions and closures will be in effect on Friday, Aug. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 16 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 17 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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No Parking On Oregon Hill Pkwy For Fireworks
Partly in response to the illegal parking during Dominion RiverRock, and partly due to the desire to make more room for pedestrians, the Oregon Hill Parkway will be closed to parking during the July 3 fireworks. Holly Street will be closed, except for Oregon Hill residents. As stated before, expect more Richmond police presence in Oregon Hill during the July 3 event.
Expect Police Presence For July 3rd Fireworks, Updated
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association leaders have been meeting with the police ahead of the July 3 riverfront fireworks show.
From email:
Just a note that there will be 4 police officers in the neighborhood on July 3rd, starting around 3 in the afternoon.
We met with Lt Beazley and Officer Green this afternoon and discussed traffic and illegal parking.
They may close some of the alleys to thru traffic. The Lee bridge will be shut down around 7:30 pm.
There will still be a traffic backup getting out of the neighborhood, but we are hoping things will run a little smoother.
If you see any problems, let me know. I will be following up with the police on things that need to be changed or improvements that could be made for the next year.
Thanks
Jennifer
Update: It sounds like police will also close off Holly Street, 2nd Street, and the Lee Bridge at times during the event.
E-ZPass Program Ends Monthly Fee
Call me old-fashioned, but I still pay the 195 tolls with coins. However, for those that do use E-ZPass, the monthly fees for it will end:
Dear Valued E-ZPass Virginia Customer,
I am pleased to inform you that as of July 1, 2014, Virginia’s E-ZPass program will no longer charge a monthly maintenance fee on transponders. In April 2014, Governor McAuliffe signed legislation that required the elimination of the monthly maintenance fees by September 1, 2014. At the Governor’s direction, we are implementing this change two months early.
In the coming days, you will receive more details regarding the terms and conditions of Virginia’s E-ZPass program. We will continue to look for opportunities to improve the program and appreciate your participation in E-ZPass Virginia.
www.ezpassva.com
This email was sent from customerservice@ezpassva.com
Wreck on Idlewood Last Night
From a neighbor:
A gentleman had a medical emergency around midnight coming up Idlewood. He barely touched the pole but police had to smash the rear passenger window to get him out. he left in the ambulance. Only person in the car.
Accident At Idlewood and S. Laurel Street
There was an accident this afternoon involving a school bus. A witness said a woman ran a light and hit the bus.