Category Archives: transportation

Riverfront Railroad History

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Andrew McRoberts has written an interesting article in Richmond.com on the “Reasons Richmond Should Love the CSX Railroad Viaduct”.

Excerpts:

The C&O (now CSX) Viaduct is enormously long (about three miles in length). It starts beneath the Robert E. Lee Bridge near Oregon Hill Overlook, and stretches all the way to Nicholson Street and the former Fulton Yard (across Route 5 from Rockett’s Landing in far eastern city of Richmond). It allows a nearly at-grade (level) train crossing of downtown Richmond along the James River and the Great Shiplock for much of its length.

…

In 2014, the viaduct is celebrating 113 years in its existence. And, as you know if you ever visit the riverfront downtown, the viaduct is still in active use by CSX Corporation

Like much of Phil Riggan’s articles in Richmond.com on the James River, this deserves reading.

I can’t help but wonder if this is a bit of public relations on CSX’s part, given recent concerns stemming from the Lynchburg explosion.

But, getting back to the history…The C&O Railroad Viaduct is a treasure, and Richmond residents should be aware of other important railroad history that is now threatened within sight of the Viaduct. A remnant of the Tredegar Branch railroad connecting the iron works on Belle Isle with Tredegar is slated to be destroyed by Venture Richmond for yet another amphitheater. These tracks sit on the towpath of the historic James River and Kanawha Canal. Venture Richmond’s plan is to lower the towpath below the historical level of water in the canal and in the process of irreparably damaging the canal, the old railroad line will also be scrapped. Alternatives, such as putting Venture Richmond’s largest stage on Brown’s Island, already leased to Venture Richmond, were ignored. It is unbelieveable that Venture Richmond is destroying the Tredegar Branch railroad remnant that is within the Tredegar Historic Site.

WTVR News: Officials discuss rerouting trains around Richmond that transport volatile oil

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WTVR CBS 6 recently had a new report on talks with the railroad company and government officials about possibly rerouting the trains that carry the volatile oil around Richmond. This follows the recent disaster in Lynchburg.

Excerpt:

Fire officials define the “worst case scenario” for this situation would involve 33 train cars derailing in Shockoe Bottom.

If that were to happen during peak business hours, the impact could stretch to a half mile radius encompassing hundreds of thousands of people.

Lynchburg Derailment Raises Richmond Concerns

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A train derailment yesterday in Lynchburg train destroyed three oil tanker cars and spilled an estimated 50,000 gallons of crude oil into the James River.

Thankfully no one was hurt in the upriver incident, but it has raised local concerns. The Times Dispatch reports:

The spill also prompted Richmond utility officials to prepare to possibly switch to an alternative source for the city’s drinking water supply, which depends primarily on the James. With the river at flood stage, that isn’t likely, said city officials, who plan to use booms to capture any oil nearing the treatment plant.
The incident also cast a bright light on the rapidly expanding rail transport of crude oil from the Upper Plains through Virginia — and downtown Richmond — to terminals and refineries in the Northeast, raising safety and environmental concerns all along the way.
“It’s difficult to get Virginia to pay attention to this because they don’t think of their being part of the oil patch, but now they are,” said Fred Millar, an Arlington County-based consultant on hazardous materials safety who has warned Virginia officials of potential dangers from the transport of crude oil across the state.

Personally, while I am not panicking, I do know of a few neighbors who have filled water containers despite safety assurances. This may cause more scrutiny of trains going by the neighborhood along the Kanawha Canal.

Traffic Impact Briefing for Collegiate Races May 2-4

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From Councilperson Parker Agelasto:

Dear all,

I am passing along information about the 2014 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championship occurring May 2 – 4. There will be road closings affecting the northeastern portion of the 5th District. Please note that the provisions that have been recommended to accommodate for ingress and egress from neighborhoods. Oregon Hill will be most affected and will gain access by the temporary conversion of 2nd Street to two-way.

Please feel free to distribute this information to your civic association members as I am certain they will want to know.

Many thanks,
Parker C. Agelasto
Richmond City Council, 5th District

Click here for full Power Point file- 4.8.14 Traffic Impact Presser_v2

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“RVA and Rapid Transit: Where Are We? Where Do We Need to Be?”

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From Richmond.com:

With an international bicycle race coming to town next year(!), Richmond needs to seriously get to work a bus rapid transit system to make sure all the spectators can get from point A to point B quickly and safely – and hopefully do a lot of dining and shopping while they’re here. – D.W.

GRTC held a public meeting in August 2013 to present a plan for Bus Rapid Transit in the Broad Street corridor. “GRTC and its partners in the plan, including the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, presented the plan for the rapid transit between Rocketts Landing and Willow Lawn and talked about economic and environmental impact studies of the service,” according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
If BRT ever happened, clearly it won’t be ready in time for the UCI World Cycling Championships in September 2015. I do know that Richmond 2015 is working with regional planners on shuttle services and transportation to move the fans around during the two-week cycling event, but that is not part of the BRT proposal.
“The plan calls for creating a 7.6-mile dedicated bus route from Rocketts Landing to Willow Lawn, mostly along Broad Street. For most of the route, the service would operate in a newly created bus-only lane in the middle of Broad Street. It would offer service as frequently as once every five minutes and use on-board technology to control traffic signals at intersections, allowing it to proceed with a minimum number of stops. The service would be in addition to regular local route service,” according to the Times-Dispatch report.
“If constructed as proposed, the new service would decrease travel time for riders by up to 65 percent and increase ridership by more than a third, to about 5,000 passengers a day. It would have 14 stops. The project would cost about $68 million in capital improvements and require about $4 million in annual operating costs. About half the capital costs could be covered by federal grants, with the state and local governments making up the other half.”

Meanwhile, this Thursday, at U of R downtown…

Thursday, February 20, 12:30-1 p.m.
RVA and Rapid Transit: Where Are We? Where Do We Need to Be?
Andrew Terry, Assistant Pastor at Richmond Hill

TAKE 30 is a 30-minute lunchtime series, led by University of Richmond professors and community leaders, to consider questions in the arts, humanities, sciences, business, and law. Each TAKE 30 is free and open to the public.

The Possibility Of Parking Permits

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Special thanks to Mr. Bergin for answering questions about parking decal regulations at last night’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting.

He sent this message this morning:

Hello all,

Attached as a PDF is the city code, Criteria for establishment of a
residential restricted parking district. I want to make a few points on
what we discussed:

1. You should have a minimum of 10 contiguous block faces, and as I
stated legal explained to me that if not contiguous, the separation of
blocks should be reasonable. Also, remember it is not blocks but block
faces.
2. Fewer than 60% of the properties within the proposed district are
owner-occupied. The calculation is based on the proposed district, not
an individual block face, and it is the property not the number of
households at a property.
3. There is nothing to prevent you from having different hourly and
time-restricted regulations in your district.

Please read section 102-301 which thoroughly discusses the process of
establishing the district.

Let me know when or if I can be of assistance.

Good luck and thanks,

Steven D. Bergin
Department of Public Works
Parking Division

Residentail Restricted Parking District

OHHIC Historical Documentation of the Site of Richmond’s Proposed Amphitheater

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Remember the 60 page report? Well now Charles Pool has expanded it to 106 pages. We can only hope intellectual honesty and historic fact will matter as the City decides on Venture Richmond’s plan. It is also important to again recognize that there is a compromise plan that Venture Richmond has so far ignored that would avoid cutting into the historic canal.

OHHIC Historical Documentation of the Site of Venture Richmond’s Proposed Amphitheater (final) January 2014

Because of its national importance, the James River and Kanawha Canal should not be altered, cut, lowered or filled for trivial reasons, such as for improving sight lines or making it easier to cut the grass. It is vital that George Washington’s 18th century canal be afforded the respect that it deserves so that this rare historic resource one day can be a restored “blueway,” a treasure for future generations of citizens of the Commonwealth.

Tredegar Holds Seance This Halloween

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From the American Civil War Center website:

Spirit rapping, ghostly instruments, and other attempts at communion with the dead were once common occurrences in American parlors.

People from every social strata attended séances where mediums purported to be in contact with departed spirits. During the Civil War thousands desperate to contact fallen loved ones enlisted the aid of a medium. What would they have experienced at one of these sittings?

Find out at Historic Tredegar when we present a historically accurate séance inspired by the Spiritualist movement.

Join us October 28th – November 1st for this mysterious evening’s entertainment. Our story centers on Mr. and Mrs. Nelson as they seek to communicate to their son who lost his life during the Civil War.

Admission
$5

Click here to open the website and purchase online.