TAKE ACTION

A reminder! Henrico is, as we speak, in the middle of updating their bus routes to seamlessly connect with the changes made by the Richmond Transit Network Plan—call it the Henrico Transit Network Plan, if you will. If you’re interested in joining our Henrico Team, which will help advocate for better transit in the County, please reply to this email and let me know! There are lots of opportunities to get involved in the near future.

AROUND THE REGION

Catherine Komp at WCVE has a great piece about Vision Zero in Richmond. Vision Zero is a world-wide effort for cities to reduce traffic-related deaths and serious injuries to zero—that’s anyone who uses our streets: pedestrians, people on bikes, and motorists. This initiative is super important for transit users because everyone begins and ends their trip as a pedestrian. Stay tuned for more on Vision Zero!

Richmond’s bike share system opens this coming Tuesday, August 29th! Bike share is a useful first/last-mile tool for transit riders. RVA’s system will launch with 20 stations and 220 bikes scattered around downtown. A second phase, which will double the number of stations and bikes, is in the works.

ELSEWHERE

I’m fascinated by public transportation in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina decimated their public transit network, and even now their bus fleet stands at half of its pre-Katrina numbers. Where once they had 19 high-frequency routes, now they have just five. Recently, they’ve put money into a street car project which advocates say hasn’t connected enough people to enough jobs.

Miami has started to implement their Safer People, Safer Streets action plan with a small, easy-to-install pilot project: A redesigned half-mile of street that features a green bike lane; a red bus-only lane; improved crosswalks; and a lower, 25 mile-per-hour speed limit. Pilot project are a cheap way to experiment with new ideas that make streets safer for pedestrians, folks riding bikes, and transit riders.

Have you ever wanted to read a really detailed take on just how far apart bus stops should be? Well, then have I got the article for you! Stop spacing is an important part of the equation to speed up transit. Too close together and the frequent stops lower the average speed of the vehicle, too far apart and folks have inconveniently long walks between stops.

If you'd like to support RVA Rapid Transit's work to bring a truly regional transit system to Richmond, consider picking up an awesome transit map T-shirt or making a tax-deductible donation.

—Ross Catrow