Henrico prioritizing pedestrian safety improvements, sidewalks near schools and busy streets

The next wave of public works projects in Henrico County will prioritize pedestrian safety improvements and the expansion of sidewalks in areas surrounding schools and high-traffic streets.

This follows a troubling rise in pedestrian deaths in Henrico County, which has seen some of the highest rates in 2024.

As of Dec. 10, there are “60 active pedestrian projects [including studies] funded at $220 million,” wrote Henrico Public Works Director Terrell Hughes told the Citizen in an email. The increase in funding comes after the county took over project administration of six VDOT projects – three on West Broad Street, two on Nine Mile Road and one project on Williamsburg Road – wrote Hughes. 

These projects will add 10 miles of shared use paths, bus shelters and benches at more than 50 locations and provide an increase in safety crossings and pedestrian signals, according to Hughes. In total, they also will add about 13 miles of sidewalks to the county's existing network.

High-traffic areas such as Staples Mill Road, Parham Road and Creighton Road have been undergoing multiple traffic and road improvements, according to the Public Works website.

Staples Mill Road has been the scene of three separate pedestrian accidents that resulted in death this year, including the death of a two year old girl in August, according to a news release by the Henrico Division of Police.

Hughes noted that projects in high-traffic areas, such as Staples Mill Road, 'score well' when it comes to securing grant funding. Several sidewalk projects are financed through revenue sharing, which allows the county to cover half of the costs while the state covers the other half, said Hughes.

Another priority for Henrico County has been increasing sidewalks and safer crossing infrastructure in areas surrounding schools. For example, a project to extend the sidewalk to Maude Trevvett Elementary School in Lakeside (funded through revenue sharing) currently is in the right-of-way acquisition phase and is scheduled to begin in late 2025.

“[Schools] have been identified as a safety concern,” said Public Works Capital Projects Manager Kevin Newcomb, who is working on that project and others along another high-traffic corridor, Laburnum Avenue. “[Maude Trevvett] It was identified as a potential high yield project.

“The new sidewalk will tie Rocky Branch subdivision which is Carter’s Bridge Place and it is going to allow the children in the next subdivision to be able to more safely cross Woodman Road in their walk to school.”

Laburnum Avenue also has been a hotspot for new sidewalk and pedestrian improvement projects, partly due to Interstate 64 dividing the community. The county secured just less than $9 million in federal “Reconnecting Community” funds in order to connect the north side of Laburnum to areas such as White Oak Village, said Hughes.

Newcomb, who is involved in the North Laburnum Avenue Pedestrian and Transit Improvements, said Laburnum Avenue is a high traveled roadway and has been identified as a priority area for the county.

“We’ve identified locations where we can see where people are trying to walk through this corridor and it was identified as a priority project for the county to institute some improvements to safely allow pedestrians and other modes of transportation between Harvey Elementary School and the previous Henrico County Fairfield Library,” said Newcomb.

The North Laburnum Avenue Pedestrian and Transit Improvements effort is listed at an estimated cost of $3.4 million on the county’s website. Newcomb confirmed that the project has been funded within the allocated budget.

“It is more of a safety concern,” said Newcomb, “to allow pedestrians a safe option to walk the corridor.”