Category Archives: traffic

Oregon Hill Parkway Closed Tomorrow

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From the City press release:

Street Closure – Oregon Hill Parkway
Traffic Advisory
Richmond, Virginia
Mayor Dwight C. Jones
For Immediate Release
March 30, 2012
For more information, contact:
Sharon North – (804) 646-5607

Street Closure – Oregon Hill Parkway

WHO: City of Richmond Department of Public Works

WHAT: Street Closure

WHEN: Wednesday, April 4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Oregon Hill Parkway between Pine Street and Laurel Street.

BACKGROUND: Oregon Hill Parkway between Pine Street and Laurel Street will be closed during structural rehabilitation to the pedestrian bridge.
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Personally, I am very excited to see things happen with the new pedestrian bridge.

New Pine Street Connector Plans (May Include Street Renaming)

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The good news that emerged this week was that the controversial 2nd Street Connector proposal has been withdrawn due to strong citizen opposition. The bad news was that the alternative Spring Street connector idea has been rejected as well.

What may be seen as even worse news is that Dominion Resources is now proposing that South Pine Street be turned into their connector road. Coming off Idlewood, the street direction would be reversed from it’s current northerly flow and instead would be one-way south towards Dominion’s riverside headquarters. The street would then replace the Overlook and terminate instead with a ramp and bridge going directly to the upper floor of Dominion’s parking deck. Because it’s so very important for Dominion employees to be able to get in and out of work (and the City) quickly, the speed limit would be raised to 45 mph, and a new traffic signal light would be put in place at Holly Street and Pine Street (at Dominion’s expense, of course).

Continue reading →

Monument 10K Road Closures

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Monument Avenue 10k road closures and travel tips for Saturday, March 31, 2012:

ROAD CLOSINGS

The exit ramp from westbound downtown expressway to Belvidere will be closed from 6 AM to 3 PM on event day to allow shuttles to load and unload on Canal St.

Broad Street will be closed between Belvidere Street and Lombardy Street from 4 AM to Noon. The recommended detour for westbound traffic is right on Belvidere Street to 95 North. The recommended detour for eastbound traffic is left on Allen Avenue, right on Leigh Street, right on Belvidere. Motorists are encouraged to use I-95 as an alternate.

Park Avenue will close from Shafer Court to Lombardy Street/Stuart Circle from 6 AM to 9 AM.

Laurel Street will be closed between Main and Broad Street from 4 AM to 3 PM.

Franklin Street will be closed between Belvidere and Laurel from 5 PM Friday, March 30 until 3 PM March 31.

Franklin Street will be closed between Laurel and Stuart Circle from 4 AM to 3 PM.

Harrison Street will be closed from Park Avenue to Marshall from 4 AM to 2 PM.

Cathedral Place will close from Laurel to Shafer Court from 4 AM to 3 PM.

Lombardy Street will be closed between Broad Street and Hanover Avenue from 7 AM to 2:30 PM.

Hanover Avenue from Plum to Lombardy will be closed from 7 AM to 9 AM.

Grace Street will be closed between Belvidere Street and Allen Avenue from 7 AM to 12 PM.

Monument Avenue will be closed between Staples Mill Road and Stuart Circle (Lombardy Street) from 7 AM to 2:00 PM. The recommended detour for eastbound traffic is left on Staples Mill Road, right on Broad Street, left on Allen Avenue, right on Leigh Street, right on Belvidere Street. The recommended detour for westbound traffic is right on Belvidere Street, left on Leigh Street, left on Allen Avenue, right on Broad Street.

Chantilly Street will be closed from Monumental Street to Monument Avenue from 5 AM to 1 PM.

The Boulevard will be closed at Monument Avenue from 8:30 AM to 12 PM. The recommended detour for northbound traffic is left on Park Avenue, right on Thompson Street to 195. The recommended detour for southbound traffic is right on Grace Street, right on Thompson Street, left on Broad Street, left on Hamilton Street to 195.

Kent Road will be closed from Wythe to Monument Avenue from 4 AM to 2 PM.

Canal Street will be closed from 2nd Street to Belvidere from 5 AM until 3 PM.

Spring Street Connector?

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Laurel Street neighbor Tommy Birchett continues to ask some good questions in reference to the proposed 2nd Street connector.

His latest:

What if they built a Spring St connector instead?

Newmarket could donate land at the bottom of their hill above Tredagar and they could connect Spring through to 5th st.

No disruption to canal

No steep incline

Direct connection to west meadvaco from 2nd st

Seems like it would be better for traffic

Just a thought for an alternative proposal.

In fact, this question actually goes back farther to 1991 when Ethyl was given permission to destroy the architecturally significant 2nd Street Bridge. It should be noted that Oregon Hill residents spoke against this demolition. What’s even more interesting is that according to a 1991 Richmond News Leader article, Ethyl received permission to demolish the 2nd Street bridge on the grounds that Spring Street would be extended to increase access to the river.

Local public watchdog C. Wayne Taylor shared the thought. In investigating the question, he discovered that the city entered into a deal with Ethyl (NewMarket) to remove a planned Spring Street extension from the master plan. In exchange, Ethyl agreed to provide land and partial funding for street improvements in other areas. Part of that agreement is that if the city ever extends Spring Street, the city has to pay for the other land and give back the partial funding. In other words, Ethyl may have bought protection against having to fulfill their earlier promise to extend Spring Street.

GRTC Task Force Holds Public Hearing Tonight

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Gas is projected to cost what, 4 or 5 dollars a gallon this summer?

From City Council Press release:

WHAT The Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force will hold a public hearing to receive public input on concerns and goals regarding public transportation in the City of Richmond.

The meeting is free and open to the public and all residents and transit riders are invited and encouraged to attend. Residents and transit riders interested in speaking are encouraged to register with the Richmond City Council Office of the City Clerk, by calling 804.646.7955, prior to Noon on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

The purpose of the Task Force is to make recommendations to Richmond City Council with regard to enhancing mass transit in the Metro-Richmond area and the efficiency and effectiveness of the GRTC Transit System.

WHEN Thursday, March 8, 2012
6:30-8:00 p.m.

Residents interested in speaking are encouraged to register with the Richmond City Council Office of the City Clerk, by calling 804.646.7955, prior to Noon on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

WHERE Richmond City Council Chambers
Richmond City Hall, 2nd Floor
900 E. Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

WHO Members of the Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force

CONTACT Those interested in speaking are encouraged to register with the Richmond City Council Office of the City Clerk, by calling 804.646.7955, prior to Noon on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

Jewell Supports Road Despite Citizen Opposition

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The Times Dispatch has an article about the 2nd Street Connector At City Council yesterday. It manages to not mention the citizen opposition from the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association and the Sierra Club Falls of the James group.

Richmond is preparing to build a new road to its downtown riverfront, while keeping open a remnant of the city’s historic canal system to one day float boats again.

The capital budget that will be presented by Mayor Dwight C. Jones next week for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 will include $385,000 to preserve a section of the James River and Kanawha Canal with an open-bottom culvert beneath the proposed Second Street Connector.

However, it does mention how 5th District Councilperson Marty Jewell is supporting the road (despite the neighborhood’s wishes):

Councilman E. Martin Jewell, of the 5th District, supports the road but not the culvert beneath it because of the $385,000 price tag that the mayor is expected to include in his proposal capital budget for fiscal 2013.

“To do this now is ridiculous,” Jewell said.

But city planning and economic development staff said Richmond would get only one chance to preserve the remnant of the canal that extends from downtown as far west at Maymont Park.

“This is the first opportunity for the city to have a say about how the canal is treated,” planner Jim Hill told council.

“We think there’s an invaluable benefit to the city … by not foreclosing the opportunity for the future,” Hill said.

2nd Street Connector At City Council Monday

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Well, here we go. It will be interesting to see which riverfront vision Council sides with…

Richmond City Council
INFORMAL SESSION
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CITY HALL – SECOND FLOOR

As of 2/23/2012

Monday, February 27, 2012
3:00 P.M.

III. 2ND ST. CONNECTOR – JENNIE WELLIVER, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

See previous 2n Street Connector posts here, here, and here. And don’t forget the coverage by C. Wayne Taylor’s City Hall Review.

Good News: Student Car Sharing Catching On

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From Richmond BizSense:

Virginia Commonwealth University introduced Zipcar in 2010. Miriam Maddux of VCU’s Parking and Transportation department, said the cars have been on a roll.

In 2011, 219 students signed up for Zipcar, and now the school has 359 members. VCU’s fleet consists of a Ford Focus, Scion XB, a Toyota Prius and a Honda Insight.

Maddux said the cars were reserved for about 724 hours each month last year.
VCU has almost 3,000 Zimride members.

Even with more than 7,000 students applying for parking permits last year, Maddux said the school is still pushing the car-sharing services hard.

“We strongly encourage students to use alternative transportation, such as Zipcar and Zimride, for trips off-campus,” she said.

Lion King at Landmark Creates Parking/Traffic Concerns

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From NBC12:

Parking is always a problem in The Fan; add roughly 80,000 ticket holders in the next month and parking is going to get worse.

Organizers at the Landmark Theatre say you should plan on arriving an hour and a half early so you don’t miss the show.

The Lion King is one of the most popular shows ever to hit Broadway. It could break the box office record as the most popular show in Richmond as well.

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Something else to think about if you’re cutting it close. These parking spaces are also being used by students at VCU night classes, and several basketball games at the Siegel Center.

Downtown Expressway Accident

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From police accident report:

Richmond Police Department
E-mail Advisory 2/10/12
Three Vehicle Collision

A three vehicle collision occurred on the Downtown Expressway this afternoon, resulting in one fatality.

At approximately 4:15 p.m., just east of the Belvidere Street overpass, a vehicle traveling eastbound crossed the grassy median and entered the westbound traffic lanes. It collided with two vehicles that were traveling westbound on the Expressway.

The Richmond Police Department and Richmond Fire Department responded to the scene, along with the State Police.

All three vehicles had a single occupant.

One driver was transported to VCU Medical Center with injuries that are not considered life threatening. One driver was able to leave the scene without significant injury, and one driver died at the scene.

Westbound lanes of the Expressway were closed for several hours as emergency crews worked the scene. Traffic was routed onto East Canal Street and allowed to return to the Expressway after passing west of the wrecks.

Eastbound traffic was limited to one lane to slow drivers down and aid in the safety of emergency workers.

The Richmond Police Department Crash Team is investigating. The identity of the person who died at the scene and the information about each vehicle involved will be released as soon as the Crash Team makes it available.