ross.paste.lol / 2023.04.17 · 11 months ago·

Have you been scared in traffic recently? Have you noticed an unprecedented level of reckless driving and unsafe speeding? Please attend Richmond's Speed Management Symposium open house next Tuesday if you can.

Last year, Richmond's pedestrian fatalities increased 150%, and we saw 30+% increases across the region and all of Virginia. Richmond also reports a 79% increase in roadway fatalities related to speeding, crashes that took 43 lives last year. Impact speed is the number one predictor of whether a crash will be fatal, and we have got to get a handle on this.

Please RSVP for Richmond's open house about Speed Management now, and we'll see you next Tuesday.

Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Time: 5:30 - 8:00 PM
Location: Main Street Station (2nd Floor Train Shed)

We are thankful to see Richmond host this important event and bring multiple departments out to present on their efforts to slow speeds. It is important to be open-minded while also staying laser-focused on the fact that the most impactful way to slow speeds is through INFRASTRUCTURE and STREET DESIGN. PSAs and asking drivers politely will do little to change driver behavior. Do not lose focus on demanding safer streets that are difficult to speed on.

Things that help with or without traffic enforcement:

Lane reductions (a.k.a. "road diets) that add dedicated bike lanes or trails
Narrower lanes
Traffic calming like curb extensions, diverters
Widening sidewalks or converting roads to pedestrian space (like Linden St. at VCU)
Speed tables and raised crosswalks
Photo speed enforcement, which was enabled by the General Assembly in 2020 and have been installed in localities around Virginia but not in Richmond
High visibility crosswalks
Demonstration projects/tactical urbanism to slow speeds with temporary pedestrian and bike space conversions (think cones, parklets, pedestrian zones, and "Open Streets", which Richmond has not implemented)
Bus stop platforms
Synchronized traffic lights with a slow "green wave"
Things that don't help reduce speeding:

Simple repaving (if anything, this ENCOURAGES speeding)
Asking drivers to slow down (using tools like Twitter, PSA commercials, encouraging pedestrians to carry flags)
Please RSVP for Richmond's open house about Speed Management now, and we'll see you next Tuesday.

Thanks in advance to attending to support speed reductions and for voicing your support for life saving transportation measures that focus on what we know will work.

Brantley Tyndall
Director of Bike Walk RVA