Tuesday, May 6, 2014

We Won the Bell Helmets Dream Trail Project Grant!

Richmond won the East Coast region of the Dig This competition sponsored by Bell Helmets. The local project is one of three nationwide to receive an equal share of $100,000.
Developers of the Richmond Regional Ride Center will use the money to rehabilitate 15 miles of existing mountain bike trail and construct an additional 20 miles at Pocahontas State Park, offering trails at a variety of skill levels. That would help efforts to designate the area an International Mountain Bicycling Association Ride Center, of which there are only 17 currently in the country.
The city collaborated with the state and Chesterfield County to be designated as an IMBA Ride Center, the first urban-focused ride center by virtue of our great--and expanding--mountain bike trails. Pocahontas State Park will see additional trails, including some designed specifically for access by hand cyclists--with an emphasis on paralyzed vets. Getting greenways and on-road routes built will also be central to linking these amenities in Richmond and Chesterfield.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Bike Master Plan

The city's Bike Master Plan is nearing completion. The commission has been working with a consulting team to develop a network of proposed bike routes throughout the city and is now opening the draft for public review and comment.

An online interactive map has been created that allows users to log comments and draw their suggested edits on the map.

A commission meeting is scheduled for May 14, 2-4 p.m., on the 5th floor of City Hall to discuss the recommendations and plan.

A Bike Master Plan Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, 6-8 p.m., at the Carillon in Byrd Park to present the network maps and recommendations, and engage in dialogue on what needs to be refined. Maps and moderators will be on hand to facilitate discussions and suggested edits to the network.

The network recommendations will serve as the blueprint for better bike infrastructure, so the commission needs stakeholders to provide critical feedback. Please read the map instructions, particularly the part about turning off other comments so you can better navigate the map. If you can't see the whole screen, use scroll bars on the bottom and left. The map can pinpoint specific locations as well as draw routes and provide comments associated with them. In particular, the commission needs feedback on:

  • Route recommendations. Did they capture the right streets? Are critical streets or destinations missing. Remember this is limited to the city limits.
  • Problem locations -- Any bad intersections or segments that need addressing?
  • Facility type -- The legend shows the types of facilities proposed. Determine if the recommended infrastructure is appropriate for that route.