Posts tagged Richmond
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Could regional expansion solve Charlottesville, Virginia’s transit “death spiral?”
Five years ago Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) had a ridership of 2.4 million; this year the city’s transit expects to serve just 1.7 million riders. The system lost more than one-fourth of its ridership since 2014, and CAT’s new director Garland Williams says it’s in a “death spiral.” Keep reading…
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Hopewell, VA’s complete streets overhaul shows small towns can be urbanist too
The successes and setbacks of creating safer streetscapes in big cities dominate our imagination, but many corners of small town America are quietly undergoing a complete streets transformation as well. The compact street grids of smaller cities like Hopewell, Virginia that developed before the advent of the automobile represent low-hanging fruit in the fight for safer, healthier, and more sustainable communities. Keep reading…
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This new package of bills aims to make Richmond’s streets safer for all users
Watching the Pulse bus drive off as you wait to cross the street, traversing treacherous sidewalks and dangerous streets, waiting for a bus that never comes—these experiences are all too common in Richmond, where there’s an emerging consensus that the city’s streets need to be fixed. Keep reading…
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Is Richmond’s bus rapid transit a priority at red lights? There are mixed signals.
The Pulse bus rapid transit line is the face of modern transit in Richmond. Planners praise it, and riders flock to it. One problem with it, however, is its transit signal prioritization (TSP) system, which some say isn’t delivering on promises to speed buses through red lights. Keep reading…
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With its superstreet plans, Chesterfield is doubling down on suburban sprawl
The traffic engineers, it appears, have won. Chesterfield County is doubling down on suburban sprawl with plans to build a series of “superstreets” at a cost of tens of millions of dollars over the next decade. While the massive infrastructure investment likely will reduce traffic accidents and improve traffic flow on the streets themselves, they will literally cement into place the county’s dysfunctional land use patterns. Keep reading…
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Norfolk hopes to turn the tide on its transit
After years of stagnating ridership, Norfolk hopes to rejuvenate its transit system by modeling it after the City of Richmond’s successful bus system update. Norfolk is hoping to attract more people to its bus networks and expand its light rail system to be more useful to riders throughout the Hampton Roads region. Keep reading…
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Chesterfield County plans one intersection with a monster price tag
Recently, Richmond has garnered a reputation as something of a transit wunderkind thanks to its bus route redesign, award-winning Pulse Bus Rapid Transit, subsequent 17% growth in ridership, and the dynamic new CEO at the helm of the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC). Meanwhile, Chesterfield County—the locality to the city’s south that owns the other half of GRTC—is busting its budget to double down on car culture. Keep reading…
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The Democrats will control Virginia. What does this mean for transportation?
Virginia is now a wholly-blue state, as Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate in Tuesday’s election. They will have the opportunity to pass many previously-stalled legislative proposals, including on transportation and housing as well as hot-button national issues. Keep reading…
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This 22-mile biking and walking trail could improve health south of Richmond
Health outcomes in Virginia’s Gateway Region, the southern half of the Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area, lag behind those of the rest of the state. One organization hopes to help address this by finally completing a 22-mile multimodal path called the Appomattox River Trail (ART), which will give residents a safe place to walk and bicycle. Keep reading…
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City Council candidates in Richmond’s bellwether district want safer streets and better transit
Richmond’s 5th District lies at the heart of the city, both geographically and culturally, and the upcoming election for the City Council seat there is bringing urbanist issues like safer streets and better transit to the fore. Keep reading…