Richmond City Council to consider roundabouts at four intersections

Richmond will consider building roundabouts at four intersections as controversy continues over one planned at the A.P. Hill Monument on North Side.

The City Council is being asked to allow roundabouts at Belt Boulevard and Hull Street Road; Forest Hill Avenue and Roanoke Street in South Richmond; 25th Street at Fairmount Avenue and Nine Mile Road, and 23rd Street and Fairfield Avenue in the East End.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones is recommending the improvement projects, using $2.7 million in federal and state money. The roundabouts would be built with pedestrian crosswalk markings, handicap ramps and new signs, and be designed to reduce vehicle accidents caused by irregularities in how the roads align at the intersections, according to a report submitted to council members.

The proposal is scheduled to be considered today by the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee and by the full council Nov. 9. The projects haven't been designed, but construction could start by the end of 2010, officials said.

Grace LeRose, who lives near Forest Hill and Roanoke, said the speed and volume of traffic on Forest Hill is a problem, but she is skeptical of the suggested fix. One of her concerns is that the roundabout could take a bite of land from Forest Hill Park.

"I think it will create more problems than it will solve," she said.

Council President Kathy C. Graziano, whose 4th District includes the Forest Hill area, acknowledged the roundabout might be a tough sell, but she credited the Department of Public Works for seeking neighborhood input and said the intersection has issues with left-hand turns and that Forest Hill Avenue could benefit from slower speeds.

"You can't cross that road anywhere," she said.

Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell said she's not sure what to think of the roundabout proposed in her 8th District, at Belt Boulevard and Hull Street. "We've haven't brought it to the people yet," she said.

The new roundabouts are proposed as the city's plans to convert the Laburnum Avenue-Hermitage Road intersection on North Side into a two-lane roundabout have stalled.

The roundabout is designed to reduce speeds from 35 to 40 mph to 18 to 23 mph, but it has also met community concerns about whether it could confuse drivers and create other safety problems.

In summer 2008, Councilman Chris A. Hilbert proposed that the council prohibit the $315,000 project, but a vote is still pending. Hilbert, whose 3rd District includes the North Side area, has planned to request a vote Oct. 26 but also said he would consider other roundabouts on a case-by-case basis.

"I would defer to my colleagues on those, hoping that my colleagues would do the same," he said.

City officials have been reluctant to abandon the Laburnum-Hermitage roundabout out of concerns that it could make it difficult to secure grants in the future and it could force the city to reimburse the Virginia Department of Transportation for $75,000 in costs.

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