Halloween Events, Rats, and Roads
Cheers RVA!
Today will be sunny with a high of 73. Saturday looks similar, with temperatures cooling on Sunday with a potential low in the 30’s.
the pulp:
Sarah Vogelsong from the Richmonder reports on a tight race for a School Board seat in the 4th district. Íncumbent Garret Sawyer was appointed in May after Jonathon Young resigned, and is being challenged by Angela Fontaine and Wesley Hedgepeth.
Richmond was ranked the 37th “rattiest” city by Orkin, which reviewed new residential rodent treatment data to compile the list, from channel 8. Chicago was #1.
RVA Mag has all the events of Halloweek 2024, including the family friendly Squirrel-o-Ween tonight at the Diamond, the Zombie Walk through Carytown on Saturday at 1 pm, the 18th annual Halloween Parade in Oregon Hill next Thursday, and of course Halloween on Hanover Avenue.
the dive:
The Henrico Citizen reports on how the County is addressing pedestrian deaths on its roads.
There have been 70 crashes involving pedestrians with 11 deaths so far this year in Henrico, as compared to 9 deaths in all of 2023. Last month a 15-year old was struck and killed while walking home from work along Staples Mills road.
Terrell Hughes, the director of Public Works in Henrico, noted the challenge ahead in retrofitting the county to be more safe for pedestrians and cyclists:
We have a significant task ahead of us to retrofit our county into a place that is truly safe for pedestrians and cyclists. The numbers speak for themselves,” said Henrico Public Works Director Terrell Hughes, noting that the county has more than 1,400 miles of roads in its system but only 276 miles of sidewalks, 45 miles of paved trails and 33 miles of bike lanes. “But I want to assure you that we are making progress. In recent years, we’ve been working hard to expand those numbers by constructing new sidewalks, adding bike lanes and installing safe crosswalks.”
While the county has the ability to change the speed limit on county roads and has done so on over 100 roads in recent years, it is up to VDOT to adjust speed limits on state roads. Hughes says they have encouraged VDOT to do so on several state roads including Staples Mill.
Most (90%) of pedestrian deaths occur at nighttime hours, stressing the need for improved lighting and pedestrian visibility.
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Belle Isle foliage from TakeOneAriel.
Have an autumnal day RVA!
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