~The plan will be available for public review and comment through December 5 ~

RICHMOND, VA – The Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility (OETM), a division within the Department of Public Works, concludes a nearly two-year planning process addressing transportation needs in Richmond with the release of the Richmond Connects Draft Action and Strategic Plan. The plan includes feedback from over 20,000 Richmonders with diverse backgrounds via online surveys, telephone town halls, and targeted in-person outreach.  This plan works to close barriers and gaps in accessibility and toward an equitable transportation network where all residents can thrive. Participants identified and defined transportation needs and provided potential projects and programs to resolve identified issues.

The draft plan for review includes:

• A Priority Action Plan with items for transportation investments in the next 0 -10 year(s). The Action Plan contains both hard infrastructure projects and programmatic recommendations. The infrastructure projects consist of 3 categories:
  
  • Public priority projects – the projects ranked the highest by the public and communities of concern moved directly into the action plan, regardless of cost, “readiness” or difficulty;
  • Existing projects – projects already on the books that address equity-based needs and are partially or fully funded;
  • Shorter Term Projects – projects that are generally supported by the public and communities of concern that were determined to be the most feasible or have a higher degree of ‘readiness’
• A Strategic Plan with full documentation of the planning process
  
  • A list of all equity-centered projects and programs considered for the action plan, from which future action plans can be drawn

Community input is needed to move the project forward. The draft plan will be available for review and comments through December 5 at www.rvaconnects.com. Comments can be submitted directly onto the online document. The next step includes adopting the priority projects and amending the Master Plan to include Richmond Connects as an addition to the chapter on future connections.

For assistance with alternative means to review the plan or to make comments, please email OETM staff at connects@rva.gov. Comments can also be mailed to OETM at 1500 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23219. Paper copies are available upon request by emailing connects@rva.gov.

For more information on the OETM Division, please visit us online at www.rva.gov/public-works/transit-equity or email us at AskPublicWorks@rva.gov

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The City of Richmond Department of Public Works (DPW) is one of only 195 currently accredited public works agencies in the United States. DPW’s portfolio comprises a wide array of services to include leaf collection; street, sidewalk and alley maintenance; trash collection; recycling; grass cutting;  graffiti removal; parking enforcement; urban forestry; street signs; traffic signals and pavement markings and civil engineering. In addition, DPW maintains upkeep on most city buildings; issues permits for working in the city’s right-of-way; manages the RVA Bike Share program and maintains the fleet of city vehicles. DPW’s operating budget comes from the general fund of the City of Richmond.  For more information about DPW services, click here or call 3-1-1