Richmond acts to boost pedestrian safety with new curb extensions
Construction of new curb extensions on Grace St. Photo by Nisha Chisolm.
Richmond acts to boost pedestrian safety with new curb extensions
Sal Orlando, Contributing Writer
The Department of Public Works began installing curb extensions along street corners in Monroe Ward in July as part of an effort to improve pedestrian safety. The project is expected to create road closures through April.
The purpose of curb extensions is to expand the sidewalk into the road at intersections to shorten the distance pedestrians have to cross, according to the DPW. The installations also block cars from illegally parking too close to corners at intersections, increasing visibility for drivers turning.
“The Department of Public Works has secured hundreds of millions in discretionary funding for transportation projects to change the built environment,” DPW spokesperson Paige Hairston, stated in an email.
Some of the projects include the construction of accessible sidewalks, the installation of pedestrian hybrid beacons for people crossing multi-lane streets and the conversion of intersections into roundabouts.
Second-year business student Andrew Pannill said the curb extensions make him feel safer.
“There could always be more efforts, but I think this is a good step,” Pannill said. “I think they’re doing a good job with adding these [curb extensions].”
VCU plans to install 10 additional curb extensions in the coming years, according to VCU News.
VCU students, faculty and staff say pedestrian safety is their No. 1 safety concern, according to VCU News. The university has made similar efforts since two VCU students died after being struck by motor vehicles in 2023,.
“Since 2023, when VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., commissioned an independent study to identify and prioritize pedestrian safety improvements, there has been steady progress to make our environment safer for all travelers, including speed tables, pedestrian-leading intersections, ‘No Turn on Red’ signs and more,” Jake Burns, VCU Police public relations specialist, stated in an email.
VCU is in full support of any efforts the city is making to improve pedestrian safety, Burns stated.
“VCU has been committed to enhancing pedestrian safety for a very long time. VCU has unique dynamics and challenges like no other part of the city,” John Venuti, the head of emergency services and public safety at VCU, stated in an email. “Continued focus, enforcement, education and awareness has been the ongoing strategy to keep the VCU community safe.”
In addition, the DPW announced in July that a new traffic signaling project is set to be implemented this fall. With the new system, traffic signals will be connected to the city’s Emergency 911 Call Center and the GRTC Operations Center, “ensuring real-time responsiveness”, according to the DPW. The three main goals for the project are to boost transit reliability, increase the speed of emergency response and provide safe access for all.
CORRECTION: A previous iteration of this story misspelled Andrew Pannill’s name. The story has been updated with the correct spelling.
