Lately, there has been a ton of good news for those that like to traverse the city by means other than auto. GRTC Pulse is experiencing way more riders than they expected and protected bike lanes opened earlier on Franklin Street.

Councilmembers Kim Gray and Chris Hilbert have decided that we’ve had enough of that type of progress and need to get back to focus on cars. They’ve introduced ORD. 2018–194 to prevent “new travel lanes from being designated to accommodate bicycle travel and lanes currently designated for motor vehicle travel from being converted to accommodate bicycle travel”. This project if it went forward would provide a major north-south route which is currently missing. The ordinance doesn’t cite any data to support its claim of “traffic congestion” or “hinder the efficient movement of motor vehicles”.

The ordinance also goes against Richmond’s Bicycle Master Plan, Richmond’s adopted Complete Streets and Vision Zero resolutions.

Max Hepp-Buchanan is the head of Sports Backers Bike Walk RVA and he posted a great summary of why this ordinance is step or rather a drive in the wrong direction.

Just when you think things are going great for bike lanes in Richmond, I have some bad news: on Monday, Council President Chris Hilbert and Councilmember Kim Gray introduced an ordinance (No. 2018-194) that would prohibit the installation of the protected bike lane on Brook Road. Adoption of this ordinance sets a bad precedent for future bike lane projects, goes against City Council’s Complete Streets and Vision Zero resolutions, and will put peoples’ lives in danger. The proposed ordinance is based on the belief of the two Councilmembers that the already planned, funded, and designed protected bike lane on Brook Road will “cause traffic congestion” or “otherwise hinder the efficient movement of motor vehicle traffic”. The ordinance does not cite any data, despite the fact that the Department of Public Works has already conducted a critical lane analysis and designed the project to reflect the needs of motor vehicle traffic at each intersection.