Richmond citizens urge shift in Fall Line Trail's planned path through Bryan Park

Community members are voicing opposition and wearing “change the route” pins as they advocate for adjustment to Richmond City’s plan to pave a 10ft wide path through the heart of Bryan Park.

The multi-use Fall Line Trail project will span 43 miles from Ashland to Petersburg and will include a $3 million, 0.7-mile section slated to pass through Bryan Park, which begins on Henrico’s southern border just west of I-95 in Lakeside.

Elizabeth Barrett, a member of the Citizens for a Responsible Fall Line Trail, wore one of the green, tree-shaped pins as she attended the Richmond City Council District 3 meeting Monday night.

“The Fall Line Trail going through Bryan Park is a good thing,” Barrett said, “only the route needs changing.”

During the meeting, Barrett and her fellow stewards of Bryan Park expressed their concern for the trees in the park, some of which have been there for over a century.

Richmond’s Director of Public Works Bobby Vincent, Jr. said that during the trail’s construction, six of Bryan Park’s trees will be removed through the department’s urban forestry commission.

“When we remove trees,” Vincent Jr. said, “we replace them inch for inch. If we remove a 24-inch tree, at that point in time, we replace it with 12 two-inch trees.”

Community members also expressed frustration because they feel that there has not been enough consideration of citizen input during the planning process for this segment of the Fall Line Trail.

Eileen Tangley, a 37-year resident of Bryan Parkway in Henrico, visits the park several days per week and is excited by the trail because she enjoys cycling, she said. However, she does not see why the city wants to pave 0.7 miles of additional asphalt when there are existing paved trails in the park.

City officials mentioned the RVA Big Market and bike races that take place in the park as reasons for not using those existing trails.

“My main concern is,” Tangley said, “I feel like it's being pushed through without a lot of input. Why not talk to the people whose property is involved?”

On Aug. 28, the Richmond City Council held a ground-breaking ceremony in Bryan Park, leaving behind a mound of dirt.

Ann-Frances Lambert, Vice Chair of the Richmond City Council, said that Fall Line Trail updates have been in her newsletter and emphasized that the project is still in the early stages of planning.

“Public input is constantly being taken,” Lambert said. “Falllinetrail.org is where you can voice your concern.”

Richmond’s Public Works Department website has also published information on its plan for the trail route, as well as a section on public involvement and a space to type comments, questions or concerns.

Ryan Rinn, Capital Projects Planner for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, said that community outreach began in 2022 when he met with the Friends of Bryan Park, a nonprofit organization committed to protecting the land. The department met with the volunteer group to discuss the route and then walked through Bryan Park together, Rinn said.

“They're the ones that we go to for what's going on in the park,” Rinn said. “They have representatives of all the major user groups of the park, so it's a good group that has the interest of the park at hand and they’re all dedicated volunteers.”

The Friends of Bryan Park proposed two alternative trail routes, Rinn said. The Richmond Public Works Department then decided on the final trail that goes through the middle of the park. The department published a tree impact study on its website along with an explanation of what exact trees will be impacted.

“We are putting the most intensive tree protection measures in place for construction,” Rinn said. The measures include tree protection fencing, erosion and sediment control plans, preventative air-spading and selective root removal, according to the department’s website.

At the town hall meeting on Monday, Atiba Muse of Richmond’s Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility was present to answer community members’ questions. He outlined the city’s reason for constructing the path, noting that the direct path from Henrico to Sports Backers Stadium may attract tourists.

“The trail will become our region's main shared-use path,” Muse said, “providing a safe and responsible active transportation route that is equitable, easily accessible and ADA compliant for decades to come.”