Contra Flow Bike Lane on Grayland Avenue

The city has come to several Randolph Neighborhood Association meetings and contacted neighbors along Grayland Ave over the past few years. RNA supports the increased safety for bicyclists within Randolph. The changes are slated for this fall. We can answer questions at our September 19th meeting. Below is the initial description provided. We will send out additional information soon.

Grayland Avenue Bike Lane Improvements
(Between Addison St. and Harrison St.)

“The City of Richmond has a goal to incorporate bicycling and walking as viable methods of transportation on city streets. The Mayor’s Community Wealth Building initiative, the Mayor’s Healthy Richmond initiative, the Mayor’s Pedestrian, Bicycle and Trails Commission, the city’s Strategic Multi-modal Transportation Plan (Richmond Connects) and the city’s Bike Master Plan all support more bike infrastructure such as bike lanes in

Many roadways in urban areas were originally built without bike lanes. These roadways often act as deterrents to bicycle travel and may cause conflicts between bicyclists and motorists. Other U.S. cities comparable to the Richmond region far surpass us in the miles of bicycle infrastructure.

We feel the needs of cyclists can be accommodated on Grayland Avenue by striping the existing roadway to add a Westbound contra-flow bike lane and sharrow markings Eastbound. A contra-flow lane allows safe two-way bike traffic on a one-way street. Grayland frequently has bicyclists riding against traffic due to the direct and efficient travel and access that it affords between Byrd Park and the Randolph community. Adding a contra-flow lane will address the safety issues associated with this existing traffic pattern. Adequate parking spaces will remain. Bicycle guide signs will be added at key locations. Grayland’s width changes from 24’ to 32’ in several places.

Benefits of bike lanes:

– Increases bicyclists’ comfort and confidence on busy streets

– Creates separation between bicycles and automobiles

– Increases predictability of bicyclist and motorist positioning and interaction

– Increase total capacities of streets carrying mixed bicycle and motor vehicles traffic

– Creates a connection to other bikeways and will help expand the city’s network to make it safer and easier for more people to get to work, school and other places

– Making cycling more widely accessible for people of all ages and abilities encourages more people to get active and creates a healthier community”