RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Some residents of Richmond’s Southside are raising concerns about the city’s plan to add buffered bike lanes to Westover Hills Boulevard.
Under Richmond’s Bicycle Master Plan, which was suspended in 2017 and revived last February, buffered bike lanes would run alongside the northbound and southbound lanes of Westover Hills Boulevard from Forest Hill Avenue to Crutchfield Street.
Some residents of the Westover Hills Neighborhood, which the bike lane would go through, have raised concerns about some aspects of the design.
“We’re arguing for several small changes, but [want to] keep the bike lane,” said Westover Hills resident Reid Carter.
Wayne Collier, another Westover Hills resident, said he is specifically concerned about cyclists’ safety.
“They have taken the proposed northbound bicycle lane and shown on the plans that the bicyclist is supposed to go down the center of the boulevard bridge, which is a 35 mile-an-hour road,” said Collier.
Westover Hills Boulevard currently has two lanes in each direction, but part of the bike lane plan is to confine drivers to one lane per side and use the other lane for street parking. Carter offered a different suggestion.
“Put no parking signs on the road and return traffic to two lanes rather than the one. That way people won’t be cutting through,” said Carter. “If they need to slow the traffic down, they can reduce the speed limit. It’s 35, they can make it 25. They can put on speed humps. You know, there are ways to slow traffic down.”
After the Bicycle Master Plan resurfaced last year – a Westover Hills group called the “Group for Sensible Bike Lanes” spent six months gathering information about the plan and surveying neighbors. The say the lane closures will cause more traffic backups in the neighborhoods.
Richmond City Councilwoman Kristen M. Nye, who represents the Westover Hills area, shared the following statement in response to the complaints:
“The 4th District City Council and the City’s Traffic Engineering Department in DPW have worked closely with neighbors to collect input and share details on bike lanes for Westover Hills Boulevard. Plans for bike lanes on Westover Hills Boulevard have been discussed publicly as early as 2015, including multiple rounds of community engagement/meetings in subsequent years, including most recently throughout 2023. As the representative – and a resident – of this area for many years, speeding on Westover Hills Boulevard has always been a significant complaint, with residents pleading with the City to make this area safer for pedestrians and residents. The bike lanes and complimentary “road diet” will decrease speeding, aggressive driving and make this corridor safety for all road users, including vehicular traffic. Further, the bike lanes support the City-wide multimodal transportation vision and will serve as an essential connector for residents on both sides of the James River to ensure transit is safe and accessible for all users. As the Councilmember for this area, I will always advocate for my residents’ safety as well as creative, equitable solutions that will move our neighborhood forward.”
During the public comment at a Monday, Jan. 22 Richmond City Council meeting, several other residents spoke in favor of the proposed plan and said they are excited about Westover Hills Boulevard shifting to one lane to help reduce speeding.
