‘Buckle up and slow down’: Symposium in Richmond focuses on speeding problems

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Education, engineering and enforcement are the city’s three “E’s” to encourage Richmond drivers to slow down.

“People are running stop signs, running stop lights, people are hurdling through yield signs,” said Bobby Vincent, director of public works.

He shares that the Speed Management Symposium will focus on the first “E”: education.

“Letting people know when there’s a stop sight or four-way stop sign. or how to potentially maneuver through a traffic circle or roundabout within the city of Richmond,” Vincent said.

Dozens of people attended the symposium, including Richmond’s Chief of Police Rick Edwards and Mayor Stoney, who gave opening remarks.

“We cannot ignore the fact that public safety also means you want to feel safe walking down the street on your sidewalk, a sidewalk that you pay for,” said Stoney.

This meeting comes when the city says overall crash numbers are down. However, severe and deadly crashes in the city are increasing.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, community members spoke with organizations partnering with the city to help improve road safety. They also saw presentations of the current and future projects.

“We are putting in bump outs, traffic circles, and we are also putting in speed tables from an infrastructure standpoint. But all of that stuff has to be engineered,” said Vincent.

Some of these projects are already happening. City leaders say some projects are happening in Scotts Addition, Church Hill, and many other Southside areas.

“We just ask that people be patient, be mindful that construction workers are out there trying to make the public right away better and more safe for them to travel,” said Vincent.

City leaders say they’ve been working on these plans for many years, and drivers can expect more projects like speed tables and speed cameras to pop up around Richmond soon.

Copyright 2023 WWBT. All rights reserved.