During the height of the pandemic in April 2020, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) limited traffic in Byrd Park on the weekends, using road closures to ensure the safety of individuals visiting the park. Gates were put in place on Stollers Lane, Westover Road, and Trafford Road to limit vehicular traffic and allow visitors to walk or bike safely.

Effective Saturday, May 14, 2022, PRCF will implement the additional following road closures in Byrd Park:
- S. Arthur Ashe Jr. Blvd. at Paddle Boat Lane;
- S. Robinson Street at Boat Lake Drive; and
- Lakeview Avenue at S. Robinson Street.

These new closures will be in effect through the summer. Parking is available at Rueger Field, located at Grant and S. Sheppard Streets.

For more information about the department, follow PRCF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities (PRCF) has received funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program. These funds will support a two-year project called The Richmond Environment: Students as Teachers in Their Watershed (REST) whose primary objective is to give Richmond Public School (RPS) students a greater understanding and sense of ownership of their local watershed. The project’s key partners, James River Park System, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and RPS, will engage our community as a whole to develop an Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP) for RPS that is rooted in environmental justice and is specific to this unique urban landscape, fraught with historic inequity and gifted with wild land.   

 “We’re thrilled that this funding will continue the work of making environmental literacy part of every public school student’s education in Richmond,” says Chris Frelke, Director of PRCF. “This project aligns with Richmond’s existing initiatives to improve the health of each City resident through access to green spaces.”

Working closely with students, teachers, and community members, the key partners on this project will create an ELP for the entire RPS school district rooted at the hyper-local level that centers black and brown voices that have historically been suppressed throughout Richmond. This kind of comprehensive planning document will positively impact science education for all 24,000 RPS students in the years to come, seeking to determine what environmental literacy and justice mean for our community.

"We are excited at the scale and depth of work proposed by the REST Planning Team and specifically their commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice through the development of their Environmental Literacy Plan," said Elise Trelegan, B-WET Program Coordinator from the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. "Environmental Literacy Plans are an important strategy for documenting and codifying where environmental education experiences and teacher professional development occur as well as how partners support those efforts."

This project foregrounds the City of Richmond as a regional leader in 21st century environmental education. We are excited about the work ahead, and look forward not just to the next two years, but to a long future continuing our support of RPS as they give students knowledge and skills to spur them to civic action.

For more information about the department, follow PRCF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Teams made the competitive cut because their design, program strength, community benefits and financing approaches meet high city expectations, align with vision for area

Three finalists in the Diamond District redevelopment project will be asked to respond to a Request for Offers (RFO). The RFO will be issued the week of May 30, 2022, and responses will be due June 28, 2022.

The city anticipates announcing the preferred team and terms of the agreement in July. The city reserves the right to alter the process and timeline as needed to ensure the greatest benefit is derived for the city and its residents in the creation of this new mixed-use neighborhood.

THE FINALISTS

After carefully considering the responses to the Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Additional Information (RFAI), the Evaluation Panel has selected three finalist teams based on their design, program strength, community benefits and financing approaches (listed alphabetically):

• Richmond Community Development Partners
• RVA Diamond Partners
• Vision300 Partners, LLC

OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROPOSALS

The finalist teams prepared one-page summaries of their team, concept, and design. Those summaries are available to the public here.

In early June, the city will host a public meeting to update Richmonders on the process. Information on that meeting will be available here.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

About the Diamond District project

The Diamond District project is just one aspect of Richmond 300: A Plan for Growth, which has been awarded the 2021 Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan for the American Planning Association. The plan provides a detailed roadmap to ensure “Richmond is a welcoming, inclusive, diverse, innovative, sustainable, and equitable city of thriving neighborhoods, ensuring a high quality of life for all.”

About the Diamond District Evaluation Panel
 

The Evaluation Panel is comprised of 10 members, including City Council members, city administrative staff, and VCU administrative staff.

Communication with the Panel

Members of the public can send comments/questions to the Diamond District Evaluation Panel by using this form. This form is publicly posted on the project page. Do not email the Evaluation Panel members, facilitator, or advisors about the Diamond District project, as emails sent directly to the Evaluation Panel about this project will not be read. Comments and questions will be reviewed every other week and distributed to the Evaluation Panel during the evaluation process.

Evaluation Panel Members

1. James P. Duval – Investment and Debt Portfolio Manager, Finance Department
2. Sharon L. Ebert – Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Planning and Economic Development
3. Karol Kain Gray – Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Virginia Commonwealth University
4. Katherine Jordan – Council Member, Second District
5. Ann-Frances Lambert – Council Member, Third District
6. J.E. Lincoln Saunders – Chief Administrative Officer
7. Leonard L. Sledge – Director, Department of Economic Development
8. Caprichia Smith Spellman – Interim Director, Office of Community Wealth Building
9. Robert C. Steidel – Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Operations
10. Stephen M. Willoughby – Director of Emergency Communications

Evaluation Panel Facilitator

Maritza Mercado Pechin, Deputy Director, Department of Planning and Development Review, is the Project Manager for the Diamond District redevelopment process. She runs the evaluation panel meetings, coordinate logistics, and serve as the official point of contact between the evaluation panel and the respondents.

Evaluation Panel Advisors

These individuals will attend evaluation panel meetings and offer expertise as needed.

• Lynne S. Lancaster – Deputy Director, Department of Public Works
• Matthew A. Welch – Policy Advisor, Planning and Economic Development Portfolio

WHO:   Department of Public Works, Clean City Commission & the Department of Public Utilities (Stormwater Division)

WHAT: Richmond E-Cycle Day for City of Richmond Residents | Drive-thru Recycling Event for Richmond Residents

• All residents must:
  
  • Wear a face covering
  • Stay in their car during the event and roll the windows down
  • Note: volunteers will take items out of your car
• Paper Document Shredding
  
  • Up to five (5) boxes of paper documents. Be sure to remove all binders, staples and clips
• Electronics (various fees apply)
  
  • Computer systems (hard drive or CPU) and accessories (cables, wires, keyboards, mice, speakers, etc.) VCRs, camcorders, stereos and all phones
  • Televisions, computer monitors and printers
• Household Hazardous Waste Items and Oil-based Paint
  
  • Bug spray, rodent poison and herbicides (Roundup, Weed B Gon etc.)
  • Note: Latex and water based paints will not be collected. These items can be left in open paint cans until they have dried out and then put in with regular curbside trash pick-up.

WHEN:  Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE: Broad Rock Sports Complex, 4825 Old Warwick Road (23224) | next to/behind the Broad Rock Library

BACKGROUND:  The City of Richmond’s E-Cycle Day offers City residents an efficient option to recycle paper and to help keep hazardous waste materials out of city waterways, streams and rivers. This event is available to city residents – proof of residency is required.

For more information on this event, please visit us online at www.rva.gov/public-works/clean-city-commission or email questions to AskPublicWorks@rva.gov

We’re Social! For updates on DPW-related projects, activities and events visit us on Twitter @DPW_RichmondVA

The City of Richmond Department of Public Works (DPW) is one of only 178 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.

RICHMOND, Va. – In light of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on those who live and work in the city of Richmond, the city is offering amnesty on penalties applied to overdue parking citations. Those who currently owe money for parking tickets and overdue penalties prior to May 2, 2022 will have their penalties waived as long as they pay the original ticket amount by September 12, 2022.   

• Tickets received prior to May 2, 2022
  
  • If paid by September 12, 2022
    
    • The original amount of the ticket is due
    • All penalties accrued on the ticket will be forgiven
  • If the ticket is not paid by the September 12, 2022
    
    • Both the original amount and ALL penalties will be owed

• Tickets received after May 2, 2022
  
  • Will not be eligible for COVID amnesty
  • The original ticket must be paid plus penalties will accrue if not paid on time

Residents must still pay the original tickets Amnesty does not apply to Parking Tickets, ONLY to late penalties on those tickets.

Examples of how penalties accrue (all penalties are capped at twice the original ticket amount):

Parking ticket resources:

• Pay Parking Ticket Online http://www.ticketlookup.com/default.aspx?id=richmond
• Online Ticket Lookup http://www.ticketlookup.com/default.aspx?id=richmond

DMV related hold fees are not included in the City of Richmond Amnesty Program.

For additional information, please call 3-1-1 or go to www.rva.gov/public-works/parking-enterprise. Questions can be emailed to AskPublicWorks@rva.gov.

We’re Social! For updates on DPW-related projects, activities and events visit us on Twitter @DPW_RichmondVA

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The City of Richmond Department of Public Works (DPW) is one of only 178 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.