Category Archives: parks

Bike Share Almost Here

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Power infrastructure put in for new bike share station just outside Pleasants Park.

City announcement:

RVA Bike Share Ready to Roll Public invited to bike share launch

Richmond, VA — Mayor Levar M. Stoney will launch the RVA Bike Share program on Tuesday, August 29 at 9 a.m. at Kanawha Plaza and lead cyclists on a 2-mile ride from across the Manchester Bridge to the T. Tyler Potterfield Bridge, ending at Browns Island.

“Bike sharing programs are a community transportation service and desired amenity provided by forward thinking and environmentally conscious cities,” said Mayor Stoney. “I am proud Richmond is now among those leading in this regard.”

Richmond has teamed up with Canada-based Bewegen Technologies Inc., an industry bike share leader, to supply the bicycles and docking stations. The equipment will be maintained by Corps Logistics, a Baltimore-based firm owned and operated by military veterans.

The initial phase includes 220 8-speed bikes and 20 docking stations located throughout the city. A second phase is expected to be implemented in the coming months, doubling the fleet and including electric assist PedElec bikes, making it easier to ride uphill. These hi-tech bicycles will be equipped with a color screen, live GPS and can be unlocked through a mobile app.

RVA Bike Share is a public-private initiative, and Mayor Stoney has written a letter to encourage Richmond’s corporate and business leaders to engage in sponsorship opportunities necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program. Click here to read the mayor’s letter. (In comments)

Plans for RVA Bike Share have been in the works since 2012. The city was awarded a $1,064,000 federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant in 2014 to start the program, supplementing $280,000 in capital improvement funds made available by the city.

One-way trip and daily passes will be available as well as weekly, monthly and yearly memberships. For more information about RVA Bike Share, pricing, membership and sponsorship opportunities, please visit rvabikes.com.

Water Matters II

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Following up on water matters…

Times Dispatch picks up on the PILOT issue with an editorial that concludes:

City Councilman Parker Agelasto has proposed phasing out the PILOT charge over 10 years. That should give City Hall more than enough time to find a way to make up the difference. Let’s hope the substitute is less regressive and more rational.

While Style has published a ‘back page’ by Laurel Street neighbor Charles Poole on the Larus Park issue (It also touches on the PILOT):

This project has been under wraps since 2012 when it was conceived during Mayor Dwight Jones’ administration. I can understand how Jones might want to shower his parishioners in Chesterfield with low water rates, but why would Mayor Levar Stoney be the patron of this flawed ordinance? Stoney has a fortuitous opportunity to make good on his pledge to work for the people of Richmond. We can only hope that he will honor that pledge.

Tom Robbins On Monroe Park

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From local history buff Fred Rogers:

Tom Robbins, the well known novelist (author of several published works including “Another Roadside Attraction” and “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues”) is a 1959 graduate of Richmond Professional Institute (VCU’s Monroe Park campus predecessor). During his last year at the school he served as editor and writer of the RPI student newspaper, the Proscript. His column that school year was entitled “Robbin’s Nest” and then “Walks on the Wild Side.” Robbins was concerned about the future of Monroe Park, threatened by corporate and political interests, to write about the park in the March 12, 1959 issue of the student paper. Below is an image of his column about Monroe Park. Here’s the link to the issue (download the file as a PDF):

http://dig.library.vcu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/rps/id/3165/rec/444