Drivers keep hitting pedestrians on the same Richmond streets
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These used to be on intersections across Richmond but kept being taken down because drivers kept hitting them. Photo: Ned Oliver/Axios
Last month, a driver killed a man standing on the sidewalk on Chamberlayne Avenue.
The next day, a woman died in a hit-and-run crash on West Main outside Helen's. Weeks later, a driver in an SUV fatally hit a man on Hull Street.
The big picture: Despite a drop in pedestrian deaths in 2024, Richmond is still far from its goal of zero traffic-related fatalities.
- City data shows most of the severe pedestrian injuries or deaths in Richmond over the past two years happened along those same roads: West/East Main, Chamberlayne, Hull and Broad.
By the numbers: On average, there are 133 pedestrian-involved crashes in Richmond each year, per the city's dashboard for Vision Zero, a plan to make streets safer.
- An average of 158 pedestrians have been injured and seven have been killed annually since 2022.
The number of pedestrian deaths in Richmond fell to six last year, down from nine in 2023.
- It was a similar pattern statewide: There was a 9% drop in pedestrian deaths last year compared with 2023.
State of play: The city has been pushing to improve pedestrian safety in recent years by adding speed bumps, curb extensions, pedestrian crossing signs and traffic cameras around school zones.
- One of the latest bumps is on Robinson Street near Monument.
- One radar trailer was added to the West Main intersection where the woman was killed last month. Another is down the street on West Cary.
- City spokesperson Julian Walker tells Axios the trailers are temporary and are generally moved by the Richmond Police Department within two weeks. But they're deployed "as needed on roads identified as areas of concern by community members."
What's next: Last Friday, Richmond's Department of Public Works announced additional, more permanent, changes starting this week and next month. They include:
- Narrowing Midlothian Turnpike by one lane to reduce car speeds near pedestrian walkways.
- Adding curb extensions and street art on the Laburnum Avenue intersection near Linwood Holton Elementary, which has been a problem for years.
- Adding a raised bus boarding platform on Mosby Street near Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School so passengers don't have to step into traffic to get off or on the bus.
What we're watching: Richmond's "people's budget" is letting Richmonders decide how to spend some of the city's money.
- And residents in all nine districts proposed projects that would lower pedestrian deaths and increase safety.