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The study is a multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional transportation study. It will coordinate regional transportation improvements by assessing the safety and integrity of the existing infrastructure for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. It will also determine future improvements that will be needed to adequately support projected demands for roughly a twenty-year planning horizon. The study is intended to be used as a detailed planning tool by both the City of Richmond and Henrico County to continue managing planned growth, to assess transportation network impacts due to anticipated land development patterns, and to strategically implement the vision of the community.
Throughout its history, Route 5 has served an important role for transportation in the Richmond region. While the modes of transportation have changed dramatically, the importance of transportation in the eastern region of Richmond and Henrico County has not. Furthermore, the corridor is in transition from low-density residential, industrial, and rural land uses to mixed-use urban land uses. As a result, the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission (RRPDC) have begun the process of developing a transportation plan to address access and safety for all modes of travel using the Route 5 corridor to reach important employment destinations within the Richmond Central Business District (CBD). This corridor study is being conducted to determine how this goal can be accomplished.
This corridor study will consider options including roadway, transit, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements; transportation demand management (TDM) considerations; access management; and parking management. Measures will be combined to develop a corridor plan that will provide effective transportation options, encourage smart growth, and serve as an example for other areas of the City of Richmond and Henrico County for the successful balance of mobility and access.
Today users of Route 5 experience delays during the peak hours and are subject to the potential for crashes. In the future, as new developments are approved on or near Route 5, traffic will continue to grow. A plan needs to be developed that takes into account the various users of Route 5 and that creates a vision to handle increased traffic as Route 5 transitions from rural, to suburban to urban character.
- Determine the safety and integrity of existing transportation infrastructure including vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation infrastructure
- Formulate and assess the feasibility and safety of several multimodal transportation scenarios (including vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and mass transit) to meet travel needs
- Develop a consensus-based preferred multimodal scenario that incorporates public input and addresses future transportation conditions in the corridor
- Identify short-, mid, and long-term recommendations that address all modes of transportation
- Coordinate with adopted plans/study efforts for the City of Richmond and Henrico County
- Establish a future vision for the corridor
- Engineering design of the corridor or intersections
- Site layout for private properties fronting the corridor
- Updates to County and City zoning and land use plan
This study has an overall 18-month timeline with the following general schedule (see more detailed schedule below):
- July 29, 2010 - Public Workshop # 1 - Completed
- Summer 2010 - Existing conditions analysis - Completed
- Fall / Winter 2010/11 - Modeling and forecasting for future conditions
- Spring 2011 - Analysis of future conditions
- Spring 2011 - Develop conceptual scenarios for future conditions
- May 31, 2011 - Public Meeting #2 – Completed
- Summer / Fall 2011 - Develop final concept plan
- September 2011 - Public Meeting #3
- Fall 2011 - Prepare final report
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