Carytown road project about done

Carytown's latest improvement project is nearly done.

The city of Richmond expects to wrap up by Wednesday a $100,000 project to repave West Cary Street between Thompson Street and the Boulevard. The work, which started Monday, was managed to minimize disruptions on businesses and their customers by keeping one travel lane open at all times.

Thom Suddeth, president of the Carytown Merchants Association, praised the handling of the project and sees it as short-term pain for long-term gain for the independent-minded, hip shopping district. Carytown was recently recognized by readers of Southern Living as one of the 10 best shopping neighborhoods.

"I can't wait to bring my bicycle down early in the morning and see how fast I can go" on the smooth road, said Suddeth, owner of the Road Runner Running Store.

Last week, he was focusing on some of the final details, such as trying to persuade the city to put down stripes to delineate the travel lanes from the street parking areas. "It gives you a visual to show where to park your car," he said.

The repaving project is the latest in a series aimed at sprucing up Carytown. Last year, the district's need for attention prompted mayoral candidate Paul Goldman to propose rerouting traffic and turning Carytown into a parklike shopping district geared toward bicyclists and pedestrians.

The idea went nowhere, but Suddeth said the changes under way are having an effect. New trash receptacles were added late last year, with bike racks and new signs on the way.

The attention to Carytown stems in part from a meeting between city officials and merchants early last summer, said Carthan F. Currin III, the city's director of economic development.

"I got an earful," he said. "Carytown is an established [business] corridor that we just thought needed some TLC. It's the attention to detail, that's what we're really trying to drive home."

Currin said his department is taking similar looks at the needs of other business areas, including Hull Street, Second Street, Grace Street, Belt Boulevard, Shockoe Slip, and Libbie and Grove avenues.

Carytown has about 300 retail and office merchants, including two restaurants and a women's clothing shop that opened in the past month, as well as a 7 percent to 8 percent vacancy rate, Suddeth said.

The city and merchants association also are working to design curb extensions to slow traffic and to improve pedestrian safety at key intersections with Cary Street -- possibly at Sheppard Street, Auburn Avenue, Colonial Avenue and Nansemond Street.

The project is expected to eliminate a few on-street parking spaces, said Sharon North, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works. Suddeth agreed the impact would be minimal, noting that cars aren't supposed to be parked too close to intersections anyway.

Carytown's merchants also are trying to crack down on the posting of fliers on newly painted light poles, and they've started a weed-removal blitz.

"The joke was, 'No weed left behind,'" Suddeth said.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .