Henrico citizens talk bike lanes, shared-use paths and roads

Michael Hopkins was one of the many dog walkers in Deep Run Park on an unusually warm afternoon in late October. As the fall foliage fell gently around the park’s pond and gazebo, the Three Chopt District resident talked about the county’s pedestrian paths while his dog relentlessly tried to inch itself closer to a couple sitting at a nearby picnic table.

Hopkins said that, while he thinks that Henrico’s current road system is good, he would like to see more safe walking paths.

“I’m out here walking a dog, so I kind of have a vested interest,” he said with a laugh.

Hopkins was among nearly a dozen park visitors that day who were asked about the county’s need for investment in bike lanes, shared-use paths, sidewalks and roads.

This issue has been a main talking point for candidates vying for office in Tuesday’s election, specifically for those wishing to serve on the Board of Supervisors.

In recent responses to questions posed by the Henrico Citizen, candidates showed support for making roads safer and increasing space for pedestrians and cyclists.

“I am an advocate for safe roads, biking, and more sidewalks,” said Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson in his written response.

Brookland District Supervisor Dan Schmitt also said that he intends to prioritize “safe pedestrian and cyclist connectivity.”

His opponent, Stephen Rast, has made the desire to add more sidewalks a focal point in his campaign as well.

He thinks that the county should designate which roads should be used as highways and which roads should be made more pedestrian friendly, he wrote in response to the Citizen’s question on the topic.

The general support for better pathways and sidewalks is already written into the county’s developing comprehensive plan, HenricoNext 2045. In 2021, the Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University conducted a resident survey to gather information for the HenricoNext plan. The survey showed that residents felt “pedestrian safety and providing bicycle and pedestrian amenities” needed attention.

Residents’ desire for more sidewalks and bike lanes to increase safety dominated the survey’s open-ended responses.

The developing comprehensive plan considers buffered and unbuffered bike lanes, paved shoulders, shared-use paths.

Most of the visitors interviewed at Deep Run Park supported the addition of more areas for pedestrians and cyclists.

Kristin Seegraves of the Tuckahoe District said that she would like to see more “walkable space.”

One father, who was at the park with his son, agreed. He said that there are not enough sidewalks in the area, and they are “badly needed.”

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The county added more than 15 miles of sidewalks and shared-use paths between 2017 and August 2022, but requests for sidewalks are still the most common one sent to public works, said Henrico County Director of Public Works Terrell Hughes on the Henrico Happenings podcast last August.

“I’m the parent of a wheelchair user, so that’s something that’s very appealing to us as well because it would increase the places that would be accessible,” Heather Massey of the Brookland District said, referring to shared-use paths.

A shared-use path is a path separate from motorized traffic and accessible to pedestrians, cyclists, skaters, wheelchair users, joggers, and others.

Fairfield District candidate Roscoe Cooper, III, pointed out “the need for safer pedestrian infrastructure that’s wheel-chair friendly, particularly along Brook Road, Laburnum Avenue, Nine Mile Road, and Azalea Avenue,” in his written response to the Citizen.

Massey also supports the addition of more bike lanes, saying that it would be “one step towards being environmentally friendly.”

Gas is not good for the environment, so the less cars the better,” Bah Djoendia of the Brookland District said. He would prefer seeing more bike lanes added in Henrico County than additional roads.

Candidate for Fairfield District Delta Bowers’ response said that sidewalk installation is one of the items on the top of her agenda, as well as focusing on bike paths, noting the positive environmental effects of both.

Djoendia also expressed the importance of bike lanes because many people in Henrico County can’t afford cars. Bikes and scooters, he pointed out, are much cheaper.

A resident who asked to be identified as Stephanie W. said that she would like to see roads get repaired, in addition to some of these other changes.

“There are just some roads that are dangerous, but why can’t you have both?” she said. “Henrico County, typically in my lifetime, they’ve had surpluses. So, I say spend that surplus. Do some more bike paths and fix roads.”

Others expressed their concerns with the effect of bike lanes on existing roads.

“One problem with the bike lanes is they take a four-lane road and squeeze it down to a two-lane road to make space for the bicycles, and then it can’t handle the traffic,” Chuck Batteau said.

This method of turning space for additional car lanes to bike lanes is called a “road diet.” This can be seen on Libbie Avenue, for example, between West Broad Street and Bethlehem Road.

Batteau said the county should expand roads to make room for the bike lanes, not narrow them, although that method would be more expensive.

Batteau also said he supports more shared-use paths.