Wilder says delay on roundabout puts funding at risk
In the latest issue of his Visions newsletter, Mayor Doug Wilder says the delay of the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Hermitage Road and Laburnum Avenue “could force the abandonment of the project.” The roundabout, one of two on the boards for North Richmond, was put on hold by 3rd District Councilman Chris Hilbert in July. Hilbert explained his reasons for the hold in a letter to North Richmond News.
In his missive, Wilder wrote:
One of Richmond’s most dangerous intersections has been held hostage to election-year politics and continued delays put the future of the entire project in jeopardy. The proposed roundabout at the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Rd. has been put on hold for months since Councilman Hilbert introduced an ordinance in July to outlaw its construction.
To complicate matters further, any continued delays could result in a loss of funding and force the abandonment of the project. The project is funded through federal and state monies from safety grants…
…Initially, a few complaints were registered when the Councilman proposed the legislation because he claimed that not enough questions were answered. However, two of three neighborhood associations and another involved Councilman whose district borders the intersection have all supported the roundabout…
…Hilbert’s paper was introduced in July, continued in September, and continued again for another 30 days just last week at a Council committee meeting. There is only one more opportunity this year to pass this ordinance or strike the paper and allow construction to begin.
You can read all of Wilder’s comments here. Read all NRN articles on roundabouts in North Richmond here.
I think it is a great solution for a very dangerous intersection
I would appreciate it if Mr. Hilbert and Mr. Davis would please answer the following questions:
1. I know Mr. Davis has children who attend Holton, so I am sure he understands the danger of having young children cross Laburnum Avenue without a light. Where will the crossing guard be?
2. What plans are there to guarantee the safety of the children during construction? [MANY THANKS TO MRS. WOLF (SCHOOL BOARD) and MR. HUDSON (PRINCIPAL)for watching out for the children! They are BOTH GREAT!]
3. What plans are there to deal with the congestion of parking problem that results when Holton parents park on the side of the Laburnum to drop off or pick up kids. Traffic along Laburnum gets really dangerous when there is a PTA meeting or an event at Holton. What can be done to alleviate that?
4. How much will this round-about cost? How long will it take to construct?
5. Why does Mr. Hilbert oppose it?
6. Why is Mr. Davis in favor of it?
Try reading the list of Q&A where I found most of those questions answered. You’d have to ask Hilbert directly why he opposes it.
The Q&A can be found at the bottom of this page:
http://www.bellevueweb.org/news/roundabout.htm
Scroll down past the images of the roundabout.
I would have to question the timing with Wilder’s newsletter. It appears that Wilder is still gunning for Hilbert.
I agree, Steve. Wilder is crazy and hopefully, most of the Northside News bloggers know that already and won’t give any credibility to our Mayor’s comments. It’s sad that Wilder would come after Hilbert in such an obvious and vindictive way. What kind of message does this send about our government?? It’s so obvious that this is all payback for Hilbert’s investigation into the attempted eviction of the school board.
My guess is that the Mayor think that if he can get rid of Chris Hilbert, well than maybe he still has some power left in the City. That’s probably why he has sent his nephew, who just happens to be Hilbert’s former campaign manager, to work for Jonathan Davis.
Wilder’s a joke. He had the opportunity to do so much for Richmond and he wasted it by playing his stupid games. He’s pathetic and it’s so obvious that this is all a power-play effort on his part. I also think it’s interesting that he thinks its okay to spend city money on a newsletter where he bashes a current member of City Council. No real surprise there though. He doesn’t seem to care about city funding especially since he wastes it on his security detail, his PR machine and god only knows what else.
Two more months until he’s gone! Thank heavens Richmond will be rid of his royal highness.
Hilbert is a joke. I don’t appreciate his endless posturing and his personal agendas. I think you will be surprised the number of Northside folks who did not appreciate his little maneuver regarding this roundabout. If the best you have is bashing Wilder to distract from Hilbert’s self serving tactics then you don’t have enough. Since these boards have been taken over by Hilbert thugs I expect to be leaped on relentlessly for this post. I think it is pathetic discourse is no longer viable on these boards – they have been taken over by Hilbert thugs. Fire away.
I posted the last comment (#7) and did not intend for it to be Anonymous.
Dora – Why is it when someone disagrees with you or points out anything negative about Mr. Davis they automatically become Hilbert thugs? I could be wrong, but I thought these blogs existed as an outlet to facilitate debate on Northside issues.
I would appreciate answers from the two men who want my vote.
if you google information on roundabouts, very few have crosswalks near the intersection. And, there is nothing on benefits of a roundabout that has a school near it. In fact, a lot of the information online shows the roundabouts do not have any type of businesses near them, and certainly, not schools or buses.
And, I thought that part of the delay was due to the fact that the RIR traffic was not included as a part of the original study. Also, the study reported that the flow is equal on Laburnum and Hermitage, which raised a red flag.
I, for one, question what would happen during race weekends and any other events that occur at RIR. The traffic backs up as it is with the lights. According to the comments in the attached article, the request is for more data and studys.
I go through the A P Hill intersection every day, during rush hour, both coming and going. I will be absolutely dreading going through that intersection if it becomes a round about. People of Richmond don’t know how to drive. A single raindrop and people act as if it is 5 feet of snow on the ground (OK maybe not that bad, but you get my point). I can only imagine what will happen once the round about is in place. It will be utter chaos.
FighterMom4ever, I appreciate your questions and concern about this issue.
The crossing guards will be located at the crosswalks which will be located approximately 10 feet from the intersection. The police department will make the determination of which part of the intersection the crossing guards will be placed. You can call police special services at 646-1343 and ask for Ms. Hayden; she can give you more specific information.
With respect to guaranteed safety during construction, the contractors will be expected to exercise proper safety procedures working along with the police department. The construction will take about two months.
The roundabout will cost $300,000.00 which includes $50,000.00 which was spent on the design. The cost is being covered by a safety grant which was awarded to the city; any overage will be covered by a contingency fund according to traffic engineering.
Parking in front of Holton is an issue that needs to be addressed and should be in a constructive manner. While it is a separate issue from the roundabout, it is a problem that needs to be dealt with by bringing all affected parties to the table. We need to meet with Traffic Engineering and engage in talks to determine what we can do to alleviate the parking problem on that block.
I am in favor of this roundabout because the high incidence of crashes warrants that we do something to make the intersection safer. The traffic engineering department has determined that this is the best solution for a dangerous intersection. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, roundabouts are the preferred safety measure for major intersections reducing injury crashes by up to 75%. I also attended three public presentations, (two separate civic associations) and afterwards myself as well as the majority were in favor of it; in addition, Holton principal Mr. Hudson is in support of it. I had my doubts at first but through my own research, many meetings and conversations with traffic engineers, I am convinced this will make a busy intersection in our community a whole lot safer.
Jonathan since you are here…. Ali is opening another place on Chamberlayne. If you are our city councilman how are you going to assist in restricting his abc license since you took a $500.00 contribtution from him?
You tesitifed against him… now you are pals? How can you protect the citizens if your have your hands in evil’s pocket?
Mr. Davis – I appreciate your posting, however I do have some follow up questions with regard to your research. I am a Land Use Planner, and thus am familiar with transportation planning and roundabouts. As I am sure you know the Virginia Department of Transportation is not responsible for the maintenance or design of Richmond’s streets, because the Code of Virginia grants cities the responsibility maintain their own road network. In my experience with roundabouts (some have been proposed in the jurisdiction where I work) VDOT has taken the stance that they are to be reviewed in a case by case basis. Additionally, as is the case with this roundabout, there are no other circumstances within the state where a multi-lane roundabout used. Does the 75% figure you cited represent multilane or single lane roundabouts?
There are several issues that arise with the use of multi-lane roundabouts for busy intersections, most notably is the left turn movement which requires weaving from the inside lane to the outside, which is the opposite movement one would make at a signalized intersection. This weaving movement is a major catalyst for motor vehicle accidents, as evidenced with VDOT’s reluctance to use the clover leaf interchange design for high volume roadways. Another issue is the amount of truck traffic that would utilize the roundabout, depending on the results of the auto turn analysis used to design the roundabout, the radius must be large enough to accommodate not only the trucks trip around the roundabout, but also to facilitate the lane movements necessary for the truck to make any desired turns. If this is indeed one of the first/only multi-lane roundabouts in the state, is the radius appropriate to accommodate the current truck traffic capacity? Is it designed to accommodate the possibly of increased future truck traffic?
Another issue that may derive from a multi-lane roundabout is the possibility that there would be an imbalance of direction distribution. From the information that I have received, multi-lane roundabouts work best when each of the four quadrants of traffic provide roughly the same amount of traffic distribution; is that the case with this proposed roundabout?
You mention that the City’s traffic engineering division has stated that this is the best solution for a dangerous intersection, were they referring to this intersection in particular? Have plans been submitted to the city for review? Have there been any formal comments issued by the city on the engineered plans for this roundabout?
I would agree that roundabouts are certainly a physically appeasing option, but I wonder in this case if it is really the right choice for this intersection. In the planning world, there is currently buzz for roundabouts, but it seems to me that though they are encouraged in some cases, there may not be enough multilane roundabouts to use in a sample set to determine whether or not it is a viable option for this intersection. I like to be on the cutting edge, but do we really want one of the first multi-lane roundabouts in the state at such an important intersection? It does not seem prudent, and though in theory it may work, in actuality there are a lot of variables that do not seem to be accounted for. I am eager to hear your thoughts, or research to the contrary.
The 75% reduction that Mr. Davis has quoted is relevant only with single lane roundabouts. The roundabout in question is a multi-lane.
Where is Hilbert’s comment?
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2007/04/16/daily16.html
I believe Mr. Hilbert accepted a $500 contribution from Doug Jemal. To find out more about him, click the link above.
Do you know if Chris knew this? I know Jonathan knew how much of a scum bag the Chevron was he TESTIFIED in court about the wrongdoings…. THEN he took money…
Hello- Fighter mom 4ever-
Chris is not an active participant on these forums and blogs. He reads them when he is able and he is informed on the issues brought out on these boards. He is very active at his full time job, his city council position and his campaign for re-election.
If you want an answer to your question( non campaign oriented question), then please email him at chris.hilbert@richmond.gov
if you have a question that is campaign related then email him at chris@chrishilbert.com
This is a better way to address this since he is not able to give his whole time to this board for responding. :)
Hope this helps.
Doug Jemal did make a contribution in 2004 to Chris Hilbert. Doug Jemal was indicted on wire fraud charges in 2005. Chris Hilbert has not accepted any contributions from Mr. Jemal since he was indicted. By the dates, you can see that no one knew he would be indicted since it was a year prior. I do not think that you can know what a donor will do in the future and if the situation was unknown at the time.. but if information is then known, then make that decision. Mr. Hilbert, once the indictment took place, no longer accepted contributions. That to me, is the right thing to do. Especially compared to knowing that someone has 600 code violations for their property and also another person has trouble with their properties/businesses and you take money from them. I agree with #14 – how can one legislate for the people when accepting contributions from those you have knowledge of that have violations against them.
Hilbert did receive a $500 contribution from Doug Jemal. It was in 2004, a year before Jemal was indicted. Let’s stick to things that are relevant here. I don’t think we can bash or blame someone for what a donor does a year after giving a gift.
Actually, Betty, it doesn’t help. [No Cute Smiley Face Here].
Mr. Davis has a full-time job, he managed to find time to answer my question. He is busy with his community work and, from what I can tell, Mr. Davis is running for election.
One of the complaints that I have heard about Mr.Hilbert is that unless you are someone “important” to him, he doesn’t have time for you.
He has time for YOU, Betty, but he doesn’t have time for the people on these blogs. Seems to me,Betty, that he is ducking MY question.
Mr. Davis found time to answer and Mr. Hilbert couldn’t be bothered. That tells me something about Mr. Hilbert that I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt about.
Oh, and I checked on that Jemal contribution. We need to find out some of the other businesses that Jemal uses in order to really know for sure.
Interestingly, however, it shows that Jemal gave $1,000 to Bill Pantele in 2006!
http://www.vpap.org/
Don’t take my word for this. This is the place to go to check it out for your self.
and $500 to Pantele in 2008.
Fightermom4ever, I really can’t belive that you would think that an elected official actually has time for this type of forum. If you won’t try to contact him personally, how can you be so sure he will not respond? I have contacted him before, and I am pretty much a nobody. I received a response. Just trying to help. If you really want an answer to your question, why not try?
Hilbert has responded on these blogs before. If he doesn’t have time to answer my question here, why would he have time to answer it somewhere else?
He doesn’t return telephone calls from peons like me. I HAVE CALLED HIM before and he has FAILED to return a simple constituent telephone call. I have neighbors who have called him as well.
I was trying to give him the benfit of the doubt. Are you on a first name basis? Let him know he is blowing it by not responding to phone calls and to this blog.
I can’t believe that you think I am so stupid as to buy the excuse that he is “too important” and has no time “for this type of forum.”
JS – it is clear you have not read the multiple posts on the roundabout on NRN or that newsletter. I think just about EVERY question you ask is answered. I went to one of the sessions and they even had a map of the traffic volume, which I think was 55-45. Is that close enough?
FightermomMom4Ever, Please feel free to check the other business owned by Doug Jemal. No other gifts were made to Hilbert and that includes no gift made by his companies as a front. That’s Jonathan’s angle as we saw with Oliver Lawrence.
I don’t normally jump in here, but I think any candidate or sitting representative might want to carve out 15 minutes a week to keep up with North Richmond News — especially the comments section. We’re averaging more than 300 visits to and 10-12 comments on the site daily, which makes NRN a great way not only to keep up with district news but also to keep a finger on the pulse of Northside residents.
FighterMom4Ever, I don’t know what number you have been calling but if I don’t get call back from Chris, I get one from Lisa his assistant.
Looks like the roundabout issues where already address but were not communicated by that Admin of the City or traffic control.
Fightermom4ever, I never said you were stupid, nor did I say he was too important, and no I am not on a first name basis with Mr. Hilbert, but can’t you see that answering a question on this forum leads to more questions….just look at Mr. Davis’s response, it spawned more questions, and very detailed ones at that. I would hope that an elected official does better things with his time that surf the internet all day looking for questions to answer. There is also a big difference between Mr. Hilbert and Mr. Davis. Mr Hilbert is in office. Lets see if Mr. Davis answers the numerous questions spawned by his first answer. If he does, I am sure that will only spawn more questions. Will he have time to answer them all….I would hope not.
Question for John: Can you determine if the 300 visits come from different computers? I’d like to know whether this blog is the pulse of NS residents, or whether 30 of us crazy people (incl. myself) check this blog ten times a day!
John are you kidding me? If I was running I wouldnt be spending hours a day reading these blogs. They have plenty of ways to be reached, phone, email, the tons of meetings they hold.
If someone wants an answer to something why dont they get off the computer…. get off their butt…. and go to the meetings that are held on these issues… there was one last night..about this issue. Did anyone here go?
I know that I look at it numerous times a day also, both from work and home.
Dear FighterMom4ever,
I am responding to your questions below, but first, I do want to express my sincere apologies for the delay in answering your questions. I try to make myself accessible but sometimes as you have indicated through your experience, I fall short.
To be available, I have a monthly district meeting on the 4th Wednesday of every month (except Nov.) at 6:00 at the Police Academy, 1202 W. Graham Rd. My office sends out weekly email blasts to the district. If you want to be added to the list, please sent me an email. I have a website for my campaign chrishilbert.com and a phone 646-0700 and an email address at city hall (chirs.hilbert@richmondgov.com). I believe that I can be most responsive to you if you contact me directly.
It pains me to hear that you have to be someone who is “important to me,” to get me to call. I will meet with anyone as my schedule will allow and try to be available as stated above for all of the people of our district and city.
MY ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS:
1. I know Mr. Davis has children who attend Holton, so I am sure he understands the danger of having young children cross Laburnum Avenue without a light. Where will the crossing guard be?
It is my understanding that the crossing guard will still be there. It is a state law to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.
2. What plans are there to guarantee the safety of the children during construction? [MANY THANKS TO MRS. WOLF (SCHOOL BOARD) and MR. HUDSON (PRINCIPAL)for watching out for the children! They are BOTH GREAT!]
During construction there will still be crossing guards and until the plan is implemented, the lights will still be in place.
3. What plans are there to deal with the congestion of parking problem that results when Holton parents park on the side of the Laburnum to drop off or pick up kids. Traffic along Laburnum gets really dangerous when there is a PTA meeting or an event at Holton. What can be done to alleviate that?
I am glad that you mentioned that problem. During our discussions with the city administration we brought up this issue even though it was not directly related to the roundabout. Obviously, with the roundabout, it could potentially be a much larger problem. Until we mentioned this issue, it was not being addressed at all. I am expecting to hear from the traffic engineering department about this matter. (see quesiton #5 below).
4. How much will this round-about cost? How long will it take to construct?
I believe that the cost is around $400,000 which is being paid through a state and federal grant. City staff has indicated that if the roundabout does not work, it will be undone. However, the cost to undo the roundabout will be borne exclusively by city taxpayers which is estimated to be up to $200,000.
5. Why does Mr. Hilbert oppose it?
Again, I am glad that you asked that question. While the ordinance that I proposed does prohibit the installation of the roundabout, I have stated that the purpose of the ordinance was for the legitimate questions of the public to be addressed by city officials. A prohibition seemed to be the only way to induce these discussions. I have been trying to work the issues because there is substantial evidence that a roundabout can be a good tool in reducing the the severity of the accidents at an intersection that previously used traffic signals. It is not as conclusive to me that the number of accidents will be reduced but certainly a few “fender benders” would be preferrable to one accident with severe injuries or a death.
The last time that I met with city officials earlier this month, I believed that we had an agreement that they would address the following issues:
1) Additional traffic calming from all directions as vehicles approach the intersection. Since you cannot maintain control over your vehicle if you are exceeding 23 mph, it is important to slow down the cars before they reach the roundabout.
2) Extensive public education about how this intersection with a roundabout will work.
3) Additional irrigation to make sure that all of the tree plantings survive.
4) Laburnum parking that your address in question 3.
5) Close monitoring and contingency plans should traffic begin to divert onto the sidestreets approaching the roundabout.
Then, last Monday, the Mayor’s Vision Newsletter came out criticizing me for delaying this matter. In speaking with Adminstration officials yesterday, they still are working under the assumption that once the above items have been addressed, I will be withdrawing my ordinance. I want to thank the administration for their work with the community and believe that the additional dialogue has produced a better plan for this intersection.
6. Why is Mr. Davis in favor of it?
Of course, he will have to answer this question.
I want to thank you for your questions and apologize for the delay in getting back with you. I want to be accessible to everyone so please feel free to email directly at chris.hilbert@richmondgov.com or call my office at 646-0070 if want to express a concern about a city issue. If your issues are political, please contact me at chris@chrishilbert.com.
Thanks,
Chris Hilbert
Lauren -
In August, we tracked just over 4,000 unique visitors and 7,700 visits. There were 13,744 page views, which worked out to 443 page views a day. That’s up from 108 page views a day when we started tracking last October.
Another perspective: Over the past 30 days, there have been 7,110 visitors — 5,400 from Virginia of which 4,100 were from Richmond. 55% of the total visitors this month have been from Richmond.
Anonymous -
No, I’m not kidding. But I’m also not talking about candidates or officials “hanging out” for hours. The dozen or so community weblogs in Richmond are among the best ways for residents or public officials to get information, share information or engage in discussion on local and neighborhood issues. They are not “end all, be all” places to stay plugged in, but I’d argue they are a valuable resource for the communities they serve.
Agreed with John on 37 and 38. The last thing we want is an elected official relying on the paper or local tv news as the sole source of what is going on in our neighborhood. This blog carries many little tidbits and issues that are never covered elsewhere.
Can you calculate the number of hits that are from the Northside (3rd district)? And, do you have any method of finding out how many are double hits from the same person? e.g. I use two computers – home and work.
If we are going to challenge both men who are running for office to participate actively on this blog, then I want to know, from all challengers, how many of the district meetings, community meetings, and debates they’ve attended in order to give their pulse to both these men. BOTH men have been running all over our district, hearing directly from consituents. As an example, Chris attended both the 3rd district meeting and the roundabout meeting last night. In the past two weeks, I have attended three of said meetings to ensure my pulse is taken (blood pressure is great, btw). So, perhaps our pulses would be a bit healthier if we got out from behind our computer screens and into our community meetings?
If I spent anymore time in community meetings, my wife would change the locks on the door.
I haven’t actually taken the time to try to drill down into the stats further,Lauren. I spend about two hours a week on the site writing posts and approving comments, and until I started getting interviewed about the site, I never actually bothered to look at the stats closely.
I’ll try to dig into them soon and maybe put a post up with the data.
It sounds like you need an assistant – or perhaps your wife wants a household assistant? LOL! Good luck on the data collection and statistics (my day job).
Thank you, Mr. Davis.
Thank you, Mr. Hilbert.
I know this doesn’t have anything to do with the subject but I needed to get it out there.
Publicity and Donations for Battery Park
WRIR Independent Radio (“Radio for the rest of us”) at 97.3fm started
their fall pledge drive tonight at 5pm and will run it to midnight
next Thursday.
They have generously offered to contribute toward planting in the
park for any listeners who pledge $200 or more. Instead of giving
out t-shirts or mugs, etc, they want to “pay it forward” and make a
contribution to a greenspace in the city. Last spring’s pledge drive
benefitted Friends of Forest Hill Park which had a tree-planting this
fall with funds received.
Battery Park Civic Association Officers were polled tonight and gave
enthusiastic approval to accepting this partnership with WRIR.
To follow is a short text to be aired:
“Friends of Battery Park/Battery Park Civic Association are grateful
to WRIR listeners who are helping us to restore trees and bushes to
our park by donating $200 or more to WRIR. For more information, or
to join our community eff orts to restore this gem of the Northside,
contact ‘FriendsofBattery@yahoo.com’.”
If you, or someone you know, can donate to WRIR in this amount, go
for it! If you, or someone you know, wants to donate inkind or in
money to Friends of Battery Park specifically for restoration of the
park, checks may be made out for tax deductible contributions to
Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation, with “Friends of Battery
Park” in the subject line. Bring your check to to Battery Park Civic
Association meeting Nov. 11 at 6:30p at Stone House (2803 Dupont Circle).
I’d like us to begin planning a reopening of the park celebration in
the spring in coordination with appropriate city and community groups
to reclaim and restore our park–I envision, tennis tournaments or
lessons, tree/bush/flower planting, a basketball tournament or Horse
game, horse shoes, walking/joggi ng groups, bands, musicians, dancers,
and corporate/community sponsors like Stranges and Bouquets by
Sylvia, Kroger, AutoZone/Advance Auto, Walgreens, Amoco, Parks and
Rec…ultimate frisbee anyone?
Thanks for thinking about it.
Chris is a great guy there is not anything i can say bad about him and he also just won his campain
who ever has anything bad to say about this guy the something is wrong with you CONGRAD’S CHRIS AND I HAD A GREAT TIME WORKING WITH YOU LOOK FORWARD TO DOING IT AGAIN IF YOU NEED ANYTHING YOU KNO WHERE TO REACH ME!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats Chris on a job well done. You were positive throughout the entire process, unlike your opponent. I hope you the best for the next 4 years.